Much of the world is stuck at home at the moment for an indeterminate length of time, thanks to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Understandably, this is a stressful situation for anyone to find themselves in, and there’s plenty of uncertainty and worry to go around.
In such a situation as this, therefore, it follows that one of the most positive and sensible things to do is to keep busy with uplifting projects that will do some good for you, in general, while also simultaneously boosting your sense of well-being and helping to restore a bit of structure, normalcy, and purpose to your everyday routine.
While there are certainly all sorts of things you won’t be able to do at the time being if you are confined indoors – such as travelling, going out for
Here are a variety of uplifting projects you can undertake while stuck at home.
Planning a redesign of your home
It might be that there are new arrivals on the way in your family, and that you would like to do something to prepare for them. Even if it’s early days and you don’t know the sex of the baby yet, you could nonetheless do something like explore gender neutral nursery ideas, for example.
Going through the entire process of redesigning your home at this exact moment in time might not necessarily be feasible – but you can certainly begin planning and preparing for the grand overhaul, with the aim in mind of moving your home closer to your dream template, as soon as you have the opportunity.
Fortunately, there are all sorts of resources to be found online that can help to inspire you, motivate you, jog your memory, and enlighten you as to the options available.
Why not make a list of the different things you might want to do as part of a general home redesign, while also gathering the contact details of different contractors who might be able to help you out, so that you can really hit the ground running when things get back to normal.
Get started on a home fitness routine
An unspoken secret of the fitness industry is that, for the most part, the stuff that get marketed to you is superfluous – if not completely redundant.
While certain gym equipment such as treadmills, a barbell power cage, and a variety of cable machines, can certainly be useful when it comes to getting you in the best shape of your life – and while the gym setting is, in and of itself, likely to be very useful in terms of providing a dose of motivation – it is certainly possible to get in great shape at home, with minimal equipment.
The bottom line is that whenever you move your body in even a vaguely strenuous way, you are “exercising.” If you do enough moderately vigourous physical activity, your heart and lungs will become stronger and your cardiovascular fitness will increase. And, if you exhaust your muscles against sufficient resistance on a regular basis, they will get stronger and will grow (at least, if your nutrition is on point.)
There are all sorts of different guides can be found online that give good outlines on how to get fit at home, so why not do a bit of research, get a few ideas, and then get started?
Overthinking it is likely to cause you trouble, if anything. It really doesn’t have to be so complex – just do things like jumping jacks, push-ups, situps, and so on, in a relatively structured way – and write down your results so that you can track them and work on making your routine incrementally more strenuous over time.
learning a new language
It’s a big world, filled with all sorts of different peoples, cultures, and languages – and each language is, in its own way, a different lens for viewing the world.
If you’ve been wanting to learn a new language for some time, a period of isolation at home could certainly serve as a good opportunity for getting started on some of the basics.
You may be able to find platforms that offer live online teaching seminars, but at the very least you can use popular “gamified” language learning platforms and tools such as Duolingo in order to begin familiarising yourself with some of the basic phrases, grammar, structure, and maybe even the alphabet of a particular language.
There are, also, more “immersive” platforms that you can get involved in, such as the Rosetta Stone system – now web-based – which functions on the premise of simulating the experience of being in a country, and surrounded by the language in question.
Earning educational certificates or degree
Once upon a time, the only realistic way for most people to study for degrees and certificates was by attending classes in person, and dedicating a major chunk of their time to the process.
These days, correspondence courses have become infinitely more finessed and accessible, thanks to the Internet. It is now possible to do entire degrees from the comfort of your own home – minus the exams you will have to sit at the University itself.
In any event, online degrees are not the only option if you are interested in advancing your education and earning new qualifications when stranded home – you can also earn less in-depth and far more affordable certificates courtesy of platforms such as Coursera, which can give you a good grounding in a topic you’d never explored before, and which in some cases will also give you credits towards official higher education certificates.
Why not use some of your time spent at home productively, by pursuing these kinds of certificates – or even a degree – remotely?
Creating a piece of art
Maybe you’ve always wanted to try out a bit of drawing, painting, or writing – but have just never really found the time to do it, and have always felt a bit nervous about the prospect of getting started.
Well, why not sit down with a pencil and sketchpad right now and try your hand at producing a few basic drawings? As always, it’s possible to find all sorts of online guides that can help you to pick up the basics of drawing, and you may even be able to get a fairly comprehensive guidebook delivered to your home through the mail, or else to download it in digital format.
You don’t have to show your art to anyone, of course. But the simple process of getting started with creating something, and trying out your own hand at this form of self-expression, can be very uplifting and can serve as an enriching way of spending your time.
Participating in an online book group
Surprisingly few people actually make the time in their daily routines to regularly read books, which is a big shame considering the fact that books serve as one of the deepest and most effective ways of absorbing information, and, for that matter, getting lost in fantastical worlds of the imagination.
While it’s certainly worth doing some reading on your own while you are confined to your home, it could also be a good idea to sign up to a professional, well-vetted online book group, so that you can take satisfaction in the general social phenomenon of reading good books and sharing your thoughts on them with other people.
Not only will this help you to experience a greater sense of insight while reading, but it also helps you to practice your communication skills, while giving you an opportunity to interact with other people.
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