25 ways to be productive during quarantine

The entire globe is put under drastic measures to prevent the further spread of Covid-19. Concerts are postponed, events are canceled, schools are closed and tourist hot spots are shut down.  

Self-quarantine is the most recommended and even imposed method to protect citizens from exposure to the virus. Governments and health experts make sure that people stay at home and only leave their house for necessary transactions outdoors.

So while we are indoors, boredom and a need for self-preoccupation will inevitably strike. What’s there to do while stuck indoors?

There are just so many things to do, actually. For one, you can finally have a real self-time: indulge yourself with things you had wanted to do but never got around to. Also, remember the errands you always put off for when you have “a better time” for doing them? Well, you better get started with that list, and perhaps you can add more items to that. Here are suggestions:

1. Rearrange your wardrobe

Declutter your wardrobe by discarding those you really no longer wear and folding the clothes properly. Don’t let them lie in the closet unfolded and crumpled.

2. Complete that book

This unexpected and extended time at home is the best time to catch up on some reading and finally get around to diminishing the mounting pile of books you’ve bought and hoarded over the last few years.

3. Work on your health

Pay attention to your health and start getting physical, if you haven’t yet. Make space for your home gym and draft a workout routine for yourself. You can do yoga for self-meditation as well, and to make it more fun, you can do it together with your friends virtually.

4. Make or tend to your garden

For those with a green thumb or had always been interested in gardening, plant new saplings and prune your plants in these days. Water them too. In nerve-racking times like this, gardening is an excellent de-stressing activity.

5. Spend time with your family (and pets, if you have)

Apart from keeping your family safe, a wholesome chit-chat session with them is a good way to sit the pandemic out. If you have a pet, take out time to feed, groom and bathe them.

6. Clean the house already

There are corners and things you have not been able to clean for so long. Cobwebs, furballs, forgotten receipts – get rid of them all.

7. Binge

Binge watch your long pending favorite series or movies. Binge read the novels, magazines, and comics you have almost forgotten. Binge play the videogames you purchased and are gathering dust on your Steam account. Now is the time for all those binging activities.

8. Start a hobby

Wanted to build a hobby and stick to it? It takes an average of 21 days for a hobby to pick up, and this quarantine isn’t going to end anytime soon.

9. Set up a structure for your day

Maintaining a routine during quarantine is healthy for the mind. It gives you a sense of purpose and it keeps you from getting bored and direction-less,

10. Plan a holiday

We all hope for the pandemic to pass so we can get back to the life we know. While we are sitting this out, you can start wishful thinking and plan your next trip.

11. Keep a written or virtual journal

Start or continue on your journal to document this unique albeit unfortunate experience care of the pandemic. You can also vlog your day-to-day social distancing life, or just keep a record of some sort. 

12. Declutter your computer or phone

Delete some unnecessary files and repetitive photos on your devices. Transfer photos from your phone or computer to an external hard drive.

13. Declutter your email

Read the emails you tagged next priority, reply to those you haven’t to, and unsubscribe from all the newsletters clogging your inbox that you never open.

14. Join online forums, film club or book clubs

Discussing the things you love with strangers online is not a new idea. Now that there are more people online with much more time in their hands like you, join them and geek out with them.

15. Play games with friends virtually

Whether it be with your gaming consoles or tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons and board games like Pandemic, round up your friends and get competitive with them every once in a while.

16. Learn something new and be an expert in something

Want to be that guy or gal with the fun facts at the next dinner party? Then study something new! It’s now possible to take thousands of top-level courses online and be an expert in topics that really interest you, completely free.

17. Rearrange the furniture in your room

Family photos and some framed artworks are not getting their light of day. You can move them around. Your computer needs reshuffling too, along with some cleaning. Move the bed, rearrange the dresser.

18. Rethink your food waste strategy

Open the cupboard and check to see which foods are about to expire, and use them up in the next few days. Throw out the ones that are growing molds or causing the smell in the fridge.

19. Do some errands for the elderly

Make use of your youthful energy and good health by helping the elderly and those with young children on your block or in your apartment building. Buy them their needs at the pharmacy or grocery store. 

20. Do virtual humanitarian work

There are many petitions online that mean something to you like animal protection, environmental awareness, and even petitions that are close proximity to you. Take time to sign them, or donate some money to causes. Do your research.

21. Keep yourself updated with news

In these times, it is also your responsibility to stay up-to-date with the latest affairs of your community, country, and the world. Watch the news, listen to podcasts, read news articles.

22. Learn new things

You have so much time on your hands. Learn a new language like Spanish or French or Mandarin. Learn how to sew or knit or change the tires on your car. Learn plumbing, or be an expert of a subject topic like world economics or odd bits of history – anything under the sun.

23. Walk or bike around

The world is in a health crisis already – don’t add more carbon footprint by using your car to get to places. If your area is not on full lockdown, go for a walk or a bike ride. Revisit your neighbourhood and get some sun or some evening quiet.

24. Update your resume

Re-evaluate your career profile and what you have achieved in the past few years. Pick up your CV from the wayside and start updating it. Get your resume in order and update your LinkedIn page as well.

25. Work on some long-term projects

You must have a lot of activities that took a backseat before this whole pandemic situation. Have you been meaning to build your personal website? Got a half-finished cross-stitch or painting in your craft space? Writing a book or coding a simple program? Thinking of starting a podcast? Well, you have a lot of time to kill.