The world has been hit with a pandemic on a scale as we’ve never experienced in our lifetimes. Our lives are being affected in some way or another by the Covid-19 virus or Coronavirus. Many people are on quarantine because they have symptoms of the virus while others are on quarantine because their employer and other businesses in the area are shut down. Others are just stuck at home because everything is closed.
Staying busy is essential to staying healthy both mentally and physically. If we spend 3 weeks sitting on the couch, eating potato chips, and watching TV, this is going to negatively affect us. The human body adapts very well to new circumstances. If you allow your body and brain to do nothing for the next month, you will adapt to that sedentary lifestyle. If you stay busy and keep your mind and body active, your transition back to regular life will be a breeze when this is over.
HERE ARE 25 WAYS TO STAY BUSY DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS:
1. Watch Online Video’s About Investing, Money Management
Investing in the stock market can seem like a daunting task, I totally understand that feeling. I wanted to invest for years but had no clue where to start. After watched about 10 hours of online videos just learning the basics then got the Stash App. Stash is an easy investing App. The best part is you only need $5 to start. I bought my first 2 stocks with a total of $15. If you’re interested in investing with Stash E-mail me soberdogs2@gmail.com.
Take this time to learn more about money management. Money management is a skill anyone and everyone needs. I know I want to be better prepared if something like this happens again, at least my savings account wants me to be better prepared.
2. Clean Out Your E-mail
I hate cluttered e-mail boxes, and it’s only getting worse because every store and website is now asking for our e-mail’s to send promotional stuff or sell our data. An organized e-mail makes me feel so much better, but it takes time and often we’re to busy to sit down and go through all our e-mails. This is the perfect time to go through and delete all those old e-mails and organize your folders inside your e-mail.
If you’re like me you will feel much better seeing a clean and organized e-mail. The trick is to keep up with it weekly.
3. Clean/Organize Your Computer, Phone, and Cloud
I got a notification last week saying my iCloud storage is used up. I went into my iCloud and 50% of the stuff in there was garbage, taking up space. Go through your old files and pictures to see what can be deleted to free up space and make your phone or computer run better and faster.
At least 30 of the picture I had in my cloud were pictures of the floor when I hit the camera button by accident. These photos and videos take up a ton of space on our phones and cloud storage.
If you’re not in recovery there are still thousands of meetings for everything. Business meetings, motivational groups, musical groups, support groups and tons more. Facebook groups and social media platforms provide groups for anything you can possibly think of.
5. Build A Pillow Fort/ Tree Fort With Your Kids
Keeping the kids busy is very important. Kids like structure to some extent like most of us adults do (feels weird calling myself an adult). Without school and not knowing if and when they’re going back can take a toll on their mindset. They might not admit it but it probably is affecting them to some extent, especially younger kids who enjoy school.
Build a fort in the basement with your kids, explore their imagination and see what they like and spend some quality time with them.
If you have the ability to go outside and build a tree fort with them. When I was 9-10 my friends and I had a competition against my brother and his friends building tree forts. My brothers’ was better but ours was better protected. We had traps set up to ward off unwanted guests haha. My dad would always come out and help us. He didn’t tell us but he was also inspecting it to make sure it didn’t come crashing down on top of all the kids in the neighboorhood.
6. Wash Your Car, Wax Your Car, Vaccum Your Car
If you live in the South or out West you probably have beautiful weather. Even in upstate NY where I am the weather is getting better each day. This is the perfect time to clean out the junk in the car and give it a good vacuuming. I always find at least 3$ in change under my seats and floor mats when I clean my car out.
Many of the car washes in Rochester (where I live) are shut down, at least the ones with human workers. It’s a good time to get the hose out of the garage and wash the car at your house. It’s free (except a little soap and water).
Spring is coming, this is a great time to get a nice coat of wax on your car. You can make your car look 5 years newer with a good cleaning, vacuuming, and waxing.
7. Make A Homemade Meal/ Try A New Recipe
Many of us ate at restaurants, fast food, or the store for most of our meals before all this coronavirus shutdown. We can still order food from many places but we can’t sit down at a restaurant, at least not in NY, PA, CA, and many other places.
This is the perfect time to try a new recipe or take the time to make a nice homemade meal for your significant other. You can find online recipes and tutorials for any meal you can think of. Step-by-Step videos that walk you through the whole process.
8. Play Board Games
My dad went to wal-mart to buy a chess board for us and the board game section was sold out. That is great!!! I think it’s great to get kids and everyone playing games with each other. There are so many fun board games to get the whole family involved.
For the first time in years, my father and I sat down and played chess. No phones and no TV, just us 2 playing chess and using our brains.
9. Start A YouTube Channel
Many people want to start a YouTube channel but always say they don’t have time. Well, now we have time. Get out there and record your first video and upload it. You don’t need any expensive equipment. All you need is a smartphone. The majority of YouTubers record their videos on smartphones and even the really big channels started out using their phone. Every video on my Youtube channel was recorded on my iPhone: My YouTube Channel.
It doesn’t matter what the topic of you channel is there is an audience for everything. Cooking, cleaning, gaming, building, vlogging, finance, art, product reviews, parenting, politics, and many more. You can create a channel on anything you want.
10. Create A fun Homeschooling Lesson
Many kids are out of school for at least a month if not longer. Some schools are doing online classes but many aren’t equipt for that yet. Create some type of fun lesson to keep your kids engaged and learning. Some things like video games can be used for learning if done in the right way.
You can also go online and find some work for your child’s grade/skills level and have them do some school work at home to keep their skills on par for when school starts back up.
11. Apply To New Jobs Online
Many places are still hiring right now and desperate for workers. Stores like Wal-mart, Wegmans, Tops, Publix, Lowes, and Home Depot are all hiring right now. If you are temporarily out of work maybe it’s time for a change. All of these companies are good places to work and provide good benefits.
There are also industries right now that are growing at an unprecedented pace due to the Coronavirus. The NYS Unemployment office just said yesterday they are looking to hire 200 new workers at their call centers in Albany NY and Utica NY. This might only be temporary work until this crisis is over but it’s still a job for now. Try to find places like this that need help during this time. Medical companies, hospitals, retailers, government agencies are all places that need extra help during this crisis.
12. Spring Cleaning
We all have that dresser, bed, or table that never gets moved. It’s been in the same spot for decades and could use a good dusting and vacuuming underneath.With many of the family at home, put the kids to work. Do a thorough cleaning of the house before summer comes. At my house, dog hair is like dust, its everywhere and impossible to get rid of it all, but a good cleaning definitely helps. We all know the kid’s bedrooms could use a serious cleaning.
13. Do A Stretching Routine
Stretching is such a simple task that is often overlooked. Stretching helps our muscles, skin, tendons, joints, and ligaments stay healthy. Studies have also shown the benefits of stretching for elderly people. Elderly people who stretch are less likely to fall and get hurt. (Source)
I try to stretch 3-4 times a week just sitting in front of the TV. I notice it helps with muscle soreness and I feel better when I exercise the next day.
14. Go For A Hike/ Get The Kids Outside
There are some many great places to go for a hike no matter where you live.If you live in a big city it might be a city hike but still a hike. Getting out in nature is great for everybody. Put the dog in the car and get out to a park you haven’t been to in years.
Getting the kids outside is important. If you can do it without the kids getting to close to each other then get them to play soccer, kickball, or anything outside with other kids in the neighboorhood. Because of the virus and the 6ft social distancing, a game like kickball might be better than basketball during these times.
15. Read A Book or 5 Books
Warren Buffet and Bill Gates both read numerous books a week. Reading is a great way to unplug from technology and get our brains working. Fiction, non-fiction it doesn’t matter reading, in general, is a great way to keep our brain healthy and learn new stuff.
I have a stack of books that I want to read but never had the time to start. Over the past 10 days, I got 2 done and 15 more to go (realistically I’ll probably only get 4-5 more done, but hey big goals right?).
16. Start Meditating
One of the reasons so many people are having a hard time during this quarantine/shutdown is they can’t sit quietly with themselves. I know the feeling. I have a hard time just sitting with my own thoughts. My thoughts can get crazy, hectic, and wild. But learning to harness our thoughts and become comfortable with ourselves is a great way to improve our state of mind.
Meditating had been shown to increase telomere length in our brain which is directly related to Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and ageing. It has also been shown to increase the size of our brain region directly related to memory. Meditation has also been shown to help with patience, less anger, and lower levels of stress.(source)
17. Organize Your Room, Junk Drawer, Basement, Garage, Attic, or The Entire House
How many times do we all say “I’ll clean the basement tomorrow or when I have time”. Now we have nothing but time so it’s the perfect thing to do. Studies have shown that when our houses, rooms, and work areas are clean and organized we feel better mentally and are more productive.
Cleaning out the attic is not particularly fun, but necessary to keep the house clean. This task can be fun if you choose to have some fun while doing it. Every time I clean out the garage or basement (I don’t have an attic) I find things I haven’t seen in years. Old baseball cards, school pictures from first grade, water balloon launcher, etc. Have some fun and the task will go by a lot faster. Also, I’m sure you will feel better once it’s organized, you might even find some stuff you can sell for some extra cash!
18. Workout- Try Yoga, Pilates, Body Pump, P90x
I think 90% of the population (myself included) has said to themselves at some point “I want to start working out or I want to try this workout”.What better time to start working out then now.The biggest barrier people have about going to a gym is self-esteem. Most people feel they’ll be judged or ashamed the first month they’re at the gym and totally out of shape. During this quarantine time, you can start working out at your house with no one watching. When it’s all over if you decide to join a gym you already have a head start. For great at-home exercise equipment click here.
Study after study has been published showing the benefits of exercise. Exercise is not only good for our health and longevity but it is essential to our mental well being.
YouTube has millions of hours of workouts. Yoga, pilates, body pump, self-weight, TRX, botty boot camp, cycling, or whatever else you can think of.
19. Call That Family Member or Friend You Keep Avoiding
I think we all have a few friends from the past that we never seem to call back because we’re too busy. Or that friend that never stops talking…Well, this is the perfect time to call them. We have the time so we can actually talk and it’s the right thing to do. Life is short anything can happen. I don’t want to say “Damn I avoided __ for months and now he/she is gone”.
20. Take An Online Course
There are thousands if not millions of online courses. Many of them do cost money but it’s a good investment to learn a new skill. But don’t worry if you don’t want to spend any money during this time. There are millions of hours of free courses online for anything and everything you could possibly want to learn about.
Social media marketing, speed reading, investing, public speaking, cooking, organizing, and many more.Just type it into Google or YouTube and you’ll find free videos on all those topics.
21. Build A Website
Yes I know this sounds like a ton of work. But it doesn’t have to be. Many platforms allow you to build a website for free and it doesn’t have to be anything crazy. I know people that build sites that no one will ever see, they do it to learn how.Learning the in’s and out’s of building a website can be a great skill for your career. Godaddy, Bluehost, Wix, and Squarespace are some of the hosting platforms you can build a site on.
I use Bluehost to host my website and I love them. They have been awesome from day one and have outstanding customer service. If you’re interested in more info about Bluehost for building a website click here: Bluehost.
22. Build A Shelf, Dresser, Desk, or Something You’ve Always Wanted To Build
I’m not handy. When anything breaks at our house we call to have it fixed. But some things I try to build or fix and actually do it. Learning to build or fix things is a great thing to know, and I’m sure most of you are way handier than I am. Build those shelves you’ve always wanted to, build that desk for your kids or anything else you know you can handle.
23. Start A Journal
Journaling sounds old-school, but it’s a great way to get idea’s out of your head of just clear your mind. I never knew how much just jotting down something every night would help me. It allowed me to express how I was feeling that day. What things I liked or enjoyed that day and what things pissed me off or frustrated me.
To all the guys out there… I know society tells us journaling is something men don’t do. I say screw that, I don’t care what society tells me to do. Journaling helped me during my addiction and it still does to this day.
24. Play With Your Pets, Walk The Dog
My dog is sick of walking, hahaha. This past week she has walked more than she ever has. Not only is it good for her to get out and exercise but it helps me a lot as well. Every time I walk the dog I clear my head, get some exercise and enjoy nature.
I know it’s hard but try to avoid using your phone during walks.When I use my phone during a walk I end up looking down at the screen the whole time and miss out on the benefits of actually getting fresh air and enjoying the world.
25. Draw, Paint, Color
Many of us at home have plenty of time to explore our artistic side. Paint a picture, draw some sketches, or get out a coloring book and doddle with your kids. Coloring books are making a comeback in our society. Many adults are coloring to help them calm down and relieve stress.Also, it’s a great way to get the kids away from playing video games and explore their artistic side. Click here for: Art supplies and coloring books
Silver Lining
There is nothing wrong with watching Netflix and chilling, but during this time you want to keep your brain and body active. It’s imperative to our health and well being to not let this shutdown/ quarantine destroy us mentally. There are many benefits coming out of this awful situation. I know people are sick and dying, and I wish you and them the best, but we can still try to find a silver lining and come out of this stronger and better as a whole society.
Kyle Ruggeri, CARC (Certified Addiction Recovery Coach) is a recovering addict/alcoholic. Kyle created Soberdogs Recovery as a way to get accurate and first-hand information about addiction and recovery out to the world. Kyle has been in recovery for over 5 years.
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