I was brain dumping on ideas for content that I’d like to put up and came up with a list of possible blog posts. Right when I was finalizing my next post, I thought why not write something about a list of things to do when you’re bored during quarantine being stuck at home.
We’re going through a difficult time with the pandemic and the uncertainty can be a bit overwhelming but this isn’t the time to let fear and anxiety control our emotions rather take this time to reflect on our life that many have been avoiding during their normally busy lives in the past. This can become a period of transformation for us if done right.
Anyway, keeping the former things in mind, it is also okay to not do anything and just chill with your family or just yourself. These ideas are not just for the people who are bored at home but also for people working from home. They’re easy to do yet fulfilling in a way.
People working from home are usually going through the ‘Eat, Work, Sleep, Repeat’ cycle during this time and might think I just don’t have enough time to do these extra things, my plate is full with work and all I want to do is sleep and watch Netflix! I can feel you, I’ve been there as well.
Worry not, these ideas are quite simple and when done right, you’ll definitely reap benefits from a few.
Start a Journal
Keeping a journal is beneficial for your mental health and also it can be a fun thing to do. They can be used as a memory rack where you record your emotions or important events in life which you can reference back to any time later in the future.
There are various ways to journal, one of them being the bullet journal method. I’m sure many of you have heard of these. You design this on a monthly basis consisting of various spreads like a habit tracker, mood tracker, and a weekly spread for your daily to-do’s.
Maintaining a bullet journal may seem like an actual task in your day but it is such a fun way to stay occupied when starting out and designing your spreads. It is a good productivity tool when used right. If bullet journaling is not up your alley, you can maintain other journals like a travel journal or a photo journal recording your past experiences.
I maintain a journal personally and looking back at my previous months, I can see how much I’ve grown and progressed from the old me. If keeping a physical journal is not ideal for you, you can always resort to maintaining a digital diary and there are plenty of apps that give you this feature. You can start by journaling for just 10 mins right before bed reflecting on your day.
Bullet Journal method: Beginner’s bullet journal
Learn a New Language
Learning new things always gets me all excited and one of them has been learning a new language. It is fun to learn about another country’s culture and ways of communication. Who knows, you might even end up traveling there in the future. This is also a good brain exercise and puts your memory skills to test.
One of the fun reasons I started learning Korean is because of the Korean dramas I binge-watch and the K-pop music I listen to (I’m sure all my fellow kdrama & kpop friends would relate). I’ve been using this app named Duolingo to learn Korean and it has a variety of languages that you can choose from.
You can set up your goal, be it 10 mins or 15 mins a day. It breaks up lessons beautifully into bite-sized pieces so that it is not overwhelming or too much at a time. You should definitely check it out.
App: Duolingo
Design a Vision Board
If you’ve come across the Law of Attraction, you must know what a Vision board is. Visions boards are nothing but a visual representation of your dream life or goals. You can set it up by compiling pictures of things that you’d like to bring into your life or any feeling that you’d like to manifest.
It is a fun planning session where you can play around with ideas and visualize the kind of life that is ideal for you. There are so many benefits to having a Vision board, one of them is putting your thoughts and desires out into the universe for it to bring or manifest into your reality. I don’t want to get very deep into the details.
You can start by collecting pictures that bring joy to you or something that you’d like to manifest. It can be a car, money, or even the feeling of success and accomplishment. I have included an example of a Vision board below just to give you an idea. It can be a physical board or a digital one that you can create on Pinterest.
The point is to look at this board every day and get inspired, also to get a feeling that those things are coming to you soon and for you to work towards them. You can check out the video below to get a better idea of this concept.
How to create a Vision Board: Vision board tutorial
My Vision Board: Pinterest board
Refresh your Goals for the year
You must be thinking “What 2020 goals? Gone with the wind, my resolutions, and goals for the year right after the first quarter!” Yes, it can be a bit demotivating but you shouldn’t give up. Write it down in your journal or the notes on your phone and refer to them every now and then to keep track of your vision for the year.
You can split up your goals into categories like Personal and Career. List down your goals under each of them and work towards your vision. If not now then when? I personally use an app called ‘Trello’ to list out my goals and wish lists. It helps me stay on track and work on the things I need to focus on.
App: Trello
Try Guided Meditations
Okay, stay with me on this one. I’ve had my personal share of struggles with mediation. Meditating has always been on my habits list for a very long time but I’ve failed miserably every single time.
With buzzing phones and noise everywhere, I know it can be difficult to just sit down and do nothing for a fleeting 10 mins. Recently, I came across guided meditations, where you have a voice guide you through your entire meditation session.
I cannot stress enough how calm and at peace you feel once you have mediated. It has so many benefits on your mental well-being and clarity to life, in general. I’ve included some apps you can check out for guided meditations.
Guided Meditation Apps: Headspace , Mind Detox , Calm
Watch Documentaries
I know that many of us are binge-watching our favorite shows during this period to stay entertained and kill time. If you happen to get bored with your usual shows, you can try watching documentaries on various subjects documenting the reality we live in. They are short yet so full of fascinating stuff.
Some of the websites you can check out for free are Documentary Wire, Vimeo, Hulu, Internet Archive, and YouTube. Some paid subscriptions like Netflix and Amazon Prime also have a collection of documentaries to watch.
Start a Blog
I started writing about things that interested me as a hobby in 2019. In the beginning, I didn’t give it much thought and just wrote whatever I wanted because I thought no one would ever read my blog posts. To my surprise that wasn’t the case and many started sending in feedback and this motivated me to continue what I’m doing.
Blogging is a great way to let out your creative spirits. You can start by blogging about your thoughts on anything or it can be a photography blog where you can display your beautiful photos.
WordPress is a great platform for blogging, especially for beginners. I included blogging in this list because at first, you may think it isn’t really up your alley but being a little ambitious and just going for it is all you need.
Listen to a Podcast
If you’re not much of a reader, listening to a podcast is a great alternative. You can gain a lot of insights into a large variety of subjects like self-care, mental health, business, and just anything and everything.
Also, there are podcasts with short stories for fiction readers. There is an app named Castbox where you get thousands of podcast episodes for free which are educational and fun as well. Don’t you think it’s that time of the year where you become the person who showers other people with your wisdom?
It very well is! Go ahead and check out this app.
App: CastBox
Take care!