So you’re bored and stuck at home. Now what?

Yes, it’s not ideal. Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, it’s inconvenient. But it IS necessary to help protect yourself and others by “flattening the curve” and helping to slow the roll of COVID-19. Hopefully, years from now we’ll all be able to laugh about “those crazy coronavirus times back in the day!” But for right now, well, we’re in the doggone midst of it and have the opportunity to do what we can in our power to slow the spread.

Therefore, many of us are in lockdown mode in our houses, trying to navigate these uncertain times without going BATSH*T CRAZY.

Granted, I’m an introverted Minnesotan; so hunkering down and staying indoors for long periods of time is something I’m unfortunately QUITE familiar with. Regardless, that’s not to say that even I won’t get a lil’ stir crazy from time to time. So my savvy mom—yes, she contributed most of this—and I put together these ideas to help you make it through The Toilet Paper Apocalypse (errrrr, I mean the Coronavirus spread).

If you’re one of the millions that are following recommendations to stay mostly at home in these unprecedented times, now’s the time to dust off that dreaded To Do List you’ve been conveniently avoiding, get those home repairs and projects crossed off for GOOD, learn something new, get creative, and practice radical self-care and resilience.

So as you continue to vigorously wash your hands, try not to touch your face, cough into your elbow, and disinfect all surfaces throughout the day, here are some ideas of what you can do to, ahem, preserve your sanity (and remain at least semi-productive while doing so!).

 

Ideas for Constructing Your Anti-Boredom Game Plan:

 

1. Paint a room
2. Clean the garage
3. Declutter your closet. (Go through your wardrobe and create piles to recycle, sell, or donate unused/unwanted items.)
4. Organize your photos (both physical and online/on your computer)
5. Start spring cleaning your home
6. Clear out your overstuffed junk drawers
7. Sew buttons back onto your clothes and repair small holes
8. Reorganize your furniture (hey, that’s good Feng Shui anyways!)
9. Take an online course. There are many which are FREE or low cost. Check out edX and Udemy
10. Learn a new skill or language
11. Start up a DIY project. Get your butt onto Pinterest, where there are so many awesome DIY project ideas that you can compile to access later
12. Start a sewing or craft project (materials can easily be ordered online and shipped)
13. Read a new book
14. Watch some Ted Talks to feed your brain
15. Put YouTube to good use and try some tutorials of whatever interests you (how to apply makeup, how to fix things, etc.)
16. Start up a board game or card game tournament
17. Create a scavenger hunt for your fam with clues and small prizes
18. Charades, anyone?!
19. Share a fancy dinner that everyone contributes to
20. Get silly and record a video with your quarantined peeps, such as with TikTok (hey, ya never know…it may even go viral!)
21. Call a friend you’ve been meaning to talk to and haven’t in a long time
22. Zoom/Skype/FaceTime your peeps to commiserate
23. Start up that bullet or gratitude journal you’ve always wanted to do
24. Try a jigsaw puzzle
25. Plant some seeds or create/tend to a garden outdoors
26. Bake some cookies or cook up that secret family recipe
27. Meal prep and freeze meals for later use
28. Meditate or listen to a guided visualization
29. Take a luxurious, spa-worthy bath. Add in some lavender essential oil and sea or Epsom salts, light a few candles, and play relaxing music
30. Walk up and down the stairs or do jumping jacks to get your heart pumping
31. Take advantage of a Wii Fit
32. Access free fitness videos from Fitness Blender and Ace Fitness that you can do in the comfort of your home
33. Break out the crayons, markers, or colored pencils and do some coloring for stress relief. This website as well as this one offer free coloring pages, paper crafts, and fun worksheets for kids that you can print out
34. Indulge in some creative writing, poetry, painting, or basically any art form whatsoever
35. Use your imagination and think of some ideas yourself!!

 

AND FOR US ALL:  take a few deep breaths and think of at least 5 things or people you are thankful for in your life right now. Don’t forget to give thanks to all the health professionals and workers that have it even harder than usual during this time. We’ll make it through these uncertain, turbulent times; we’ve got each other.

Just remember, someday we’ll be able to once again happily TP our neighbor’s yard without feeling any guilt, regrets, or social shaming whatsoever.

But until then, hopefully you can use some of these ideas to get the juices flowing and figure out an Anti-Boredom Game Plan of your own.

 

What else would YOU add to the list???