Top 10 Quarantine Activities to Keep You Sane
As an extrovert, this stay at home order has really put a damper on my social life, but I ultimately understand staying at home and flattening the curve is the easiest and most responsible thing I can do right now! I’ve created a list for extroverts and introverts alike to help you stay sane during quarantine and find some ways to keep your mind active while still entertained! Let me know what ways you’re trying your best to keep busy and having fun!
Puzzles - I’ve never really been into puzzles but quarantine’s got me staying up until the wee hours of the morning trying to complete one with a sore back the next day. But for my overly organized brain, I love puzzles because they stimulate my mind and make me feel like I have a sense of control and completion. Some of my favorites have actually been from the local Silver in the City store! I love their National Park one the most. ThredUP is also doing a Puzzle Pop Up to support Feeding America.
Try a new recipe - We went vegetarian before quarantine so it’s been a lot of fun finding ways to sub out meat options in our meals and test some new flavors. I have Pinterest boards full of inspo if you need any motivation! Some of the best meals I’ve made so far are our vegetarian quesadillas! These are super easy to make, I’ll leave the recipe here:
Spray a small skillet with olive oil spray and lay down a tortilla.
Cover the tortilla with cheese, add corn and beans (or whatever veggies you like)
Add more cheese on top and then place another tortilla on top of that.
Spray the top tortilla with the oil and flip a few times until browned.
Cut with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa or sour cream!
I’ve also been loving these recipes I’ve saved on my Pinterest board:
Mix up some fun cocktails or coffee - Every Friday, I do a #SippingWithShay where we make fun cocktails on Instagram Live! Some of my favorites have been the Lavendar Bee’s Knees and the Gin, Elderflower, and Prosseco cocktail. This Friday, we’re making a Sangria Mexican Mule! This is a fun way to get creative in a different form other than art or crafts, cooking is one of my favorite hobbies and cocktail making is slowly becoming another hobby of mine. However, I know not everyone is into alcoholic beverages so I’ll leave my blog post I did on how to be an at home barista here if you’re more into coffee! These recipes are easy to follow at home and usually you have everything you need right in your kitchen.
Read some books - Grad school definitely killed my love of reading so I’ve been trying to get back into it during all of this. Some books I've had on my list/loved are:
Little Fires Everywhere - This book made me really think deeply about motherhood and relationships between moms and daughters. The show on Hulu is great, too!
The Widow Clicquot - I love me a good nonfiction book about a historical figure. If you’ve ever had good champagne, you may love to learn about the amazing woman behind the yellow label.
Fancy AF Cocktails - If you’re trying your hand at the above activity, you may want to look into a cocktail recipe book! This is the perfect addition to any bar cart set up.
Declutter - Now’s the time!! I do suggest if you’re going to declutter, take it day by day; separate it into rooms, so on Monday do your closet, Tuesday do your room, Wednesday do your office, and so on. Check out my post here on more tips to declutter, or screenshot this image to help you separate it out and space it into chunks.
Tie dye - Tie dye is trending right now, and if your mom wasn’t gracious enough to keep her threads from the 80s, you can definitely make your own on a budget! You can use things you already have in your closet or order cheap white t-shirts or pants online. Tie dye can be so unique and all your own, I know I love the feeling of having a piece that no one else out there has! There are really great tie dye kits from Walmart or Michael’s that you can get to up your tie dye game!
Make a vision board - This is super easy and can help you think of brighter days and future plans! Just head to Pinterest (notice a theme with these activities?) and save whatever pictures strike your fancy! For my vision board, I used these pictures and just cut them out and pasted them to a piece of cardboard I’d had from an online shopping box. You can make your vision board just include pretty pictures, or you could make a mood board for an at home photoshoot, pictures of quotes and words with your future goals and plans, or just things you like.
Learn a new language - I had planned to go to Thailand for my birthday in May, but that doesn’t seem to be happening at this time. I was using an app called Drops to learn some Thai so I wouldn’t seem like a total tourist so now I have extra time to practice! I also have been using Duolingo to learn French; I took Spanish in high school so it’s been fun to see the similarities and differences between the two languages.
Try out some photo editing - I know I’ve been using this time to learn more about photo editing and ways to make my Instagram feed look more cohesive. Whether it’s for a brand or just for fun, I’ve used the Over app to create some really fun edits! This is a great way to pass some time and really get creative. I’ve also loved using Canva to create pin covers and templates, too.
Start that thing you said you never had time for - We’ve all said it before: “I don’t have time to do that”, “I’m way too busy to start that”, “If only I could sit down and knock that out”. STOP. Now we have nothing but time. If you’ve been wanting to start a blog, learn how to play an instrument, or just catch up on some Hulu shows, NOW. IS. THE. TIME. Develop yourself, learn new things, come out of this quarantine a new human being.
I do think above all of these fun things you can do, the most important thing you can do is to REST. There is such a push to be over-productive, over-achieving, and create the “next best thing”, and it can be overwhelming. I know this may make this post seem hypocritical but please remember to schedule time to rest and relax and take care of yourself. We are all going through a globally life changing event and there’s nothing that says you can’t watch Netflix all day or sleep. Take. Time. For. You.
