How to Stay Busy, Mindful, and Safe While COVID-19 Keeps You Stuck Inside

2020 has been an intense year! Though it can feel daunting at times, there are lots of ways to keep our spirits up and minds at ease. We’ll go over some tips and tricks on how to keep yourself busy while quarantined, how to keep your mind engaged, and how to keep yourself safe. We may be socially distancing, but there’s still tons of fun to be had this spring!  

How to Stay Busy:

Whether you’re creative, a busy-body, a cozy introvert, or not creative at all, there will come a time where you sit in your quarantine fortress and think...now what? Here are some ideas! And you don’t have to be a pro either. Share your projects with online friends or keep your things to yourself. For best practices, try to set up a ‘working’ environment, such as a coffee table or desk. If you make a work-like atmosphere, your productivity will flourish.

For the creative inclined:

• Finger paint whatever sparks your imagination
• Make a storyboard of that story always running in the back of your head
• Start a comic book to brighten your friend’s days or just for yourself
• Follow a Bob Ross tutorial on Netflix or Youtube
• Rearrange your houseplants into new display
• Write poetry about your feelings during quarantine
• Craft a collection of short stories about your life
• Try out a new art medium
• Start a Youtube channel to share your own tips

For the less creative

• Crossword puzzles pass the time
• Sudoku puzzles keep your brain awake
• Word search puzzles are always fun
• TV or movie marathons are always an option
• Cook a new meal or just meal prep in general
• Plan a future vacation for when things are back to normal
• Map out your calendar for the next two months

For everyone

• Start that book you've had on your shelf forever but never read
• Create a blanket fort and watch a nostalgic movie or TV show inside
• Occasional movement/stretching
• Try out a yoga YouTube workout
• Schedule Facetimes, Skypes, or google hangouts with your friends
• Make sure you’re drinking water!
• Board games and puzzles make time fly
• Stage a cute picnic in your living room
• Enjoy the time with your fluffy friends, if you have pets

How to Keep Mental Health in Check Through Mindfulness:

Keeping your brain engaged and awake is vital during this time. No one wants to feel groggy or off on top of feeling walled up in their homes. Here’s some ways you can keep your mind sharp and fine-tuned. 

• Try out some apps that keep your brain engaged, at rest, and peaceful. Some of our favorites include: Aura, Calm, Mindfulness Daily, The Daily Shift, and Luminosity.
• Start a group chat with friends and challenge one another to a game of riddles. The loser can treat everyone to lunch once we’re all allowed outside again. 
• Trek to your back porch or front door and do a night of stargazing. See if you can track constellations and planets or find shooting stars. Just don’t go too far from your home in order to keep social distancing intact.  
• Ever wanted to learn about a new subject? Google scholar is a treasure trove of knowledge and you can spent weeks reading about new subjects from top researchers in their respective fields. 
• Kids at home? Look up simple science projects you can do with the kids. An easy one we love is how to teach kids about plant system’s water intake process. All you need is a flower, blue or green food coloring, and a cup of water. Place the flower in the colored water, wait one night, and you’ll be able to see how the flower stem sucked up the dyed water and transferred it to the petals! Who knew science could be so cute!  

How to Stay Safe:

It can feel frustrating being all cooped up but remember to keep yourself and others safe by maintaining social distancing practices. Quarantine will keep you extra safe.   

• Follow advice and guidelines from the CDC and other world health organizations 
• Wash your hands frequently 
• Cover coughs with an elbow 
• Stay far apart and practice social distancing 
•  If possible, work from home 
• Schedule virtual friend meet-ups, dates, and other social get togethers  

Got any other ideas on how to stay busy, mindful, and safe during social isolation? Share them with us in a comment below!