Let’s admit the fact that the current global situation is scary. This pandemic is making us lose our minds. We are either scrolling through our social media, hoping for some good news or, we are glued to our televisions, imagining for a piece of miraculous breaking news that a solution has been found. But well, none of these two is happening right now or in the near future.

I really don’t want to scare you but the reality is that we have to stay in quarantine for a month or so. Some countries are ending their self-isolation phase and some have just begun it, with many preparing for it right now.

Every source of entertainment is closed. No restaurants, no malls, no parks and well, all the festivities have been called off too. Staying home is better than being ill and we all are gradually understanding the situation too.

So in this stressful time, we all have realized one major thing; the majority of us, do not have a hobby (LOL). We either eat, sleep or just sit and stare at the walls. Also, staring at the wall and talking to yourself, doesn’t make you an anxiety patient. You are just bored. And you know that you have to have that “pep talk” to stay sane.

Anyways, jokes apart; quarantine has really gotten to us all badly. The idea of self-isolation seemed amazing and we all were dying for it but now that we have it; we want to be social animals. We are missing our Aunt Anne whom we wouldn’t have visited else wise. We are dying to go to a social gathering which we otherwise ditch every weekend to just snuggle in bed. Point being; instead of freaking out about quarantine, you can focus on the positives.

THIS is what the majority of us wanted; some self-time. I agree that the time period for this self-time is quite long and is so badly homebound that it doesn’t seem bright. But, let’s try to look at the brighter side. There are a lot of things to do in quarantine that can make your gloomy days better.

And I will be sharing them with you here! I swear these will keep you sane because I have been doing a lot of these and it is my quarantine day 14 and I am alive and not really frustrated (or just a little bit today).

What to do in quarantine in this global pandemic?

CoronaVirus will be the death of us, it is what I thought at the beginning of it. The words self-isolation freaked me out and then the country going to lockdown was the last thing I wanted. I am not an extrovert but c’mon, I still managed to go out every other day.

But after a day or two of anxiety, I decided to overcome it otherwise, it won’t be possible to go through this time period. And therefore, I added a lot of new things to my routine and literally, the quarantine has done miracles! It is definitely an emotionally challenging phase for all of us, but here is a list of things to do in quarantine and stay safe at home.

1- Declutter

Okay, so we are looking for some massive changes in our routine and trust me when I say, this situation is going to last for a month at least. So, get geared up. And the best way to start changing your routine is to declutter. You can never recharge your energy or make massive changes in your life with a lot of clutter around you.

I am a proud OCD but you can go through several studies that suggest you to declutter your area before you study or work, to stay motivated and be reproductive too.

Studies show us that clutter messes up your mind and makes you frustrated too. It also presses your creativity and productivity which never lets you be energetic or in a positive vibe. Thus, I would suggest you start your quarantine phase by decluttering your space.

Throw away the things that aren’t meaningful or useful anymore and keep the stuff that is beneficial for you or you are actually using it. This will also create a lot of space for you to rearrange your things in a better way.

2- Rearrange your room

Speaking of which, you get another idea right there! Rearrange your room and if you have the skills, then renovate it. Change your bed’s position and shift your books. Add a painting or two to a wall.

In a lockdown, you might not be able to buy paintings; so if you are good at art, you can make some. Or just simply rearrange your room and you will feel amazing.

3- Create Art

If you are good at arts and crafts or maybe you are just a DIY person, then this is the time to unleash your creativity. Make art! Now art is not just confined to a canvas or paintings. All you need is paper and a pencil and you can create art in any form. Maybe art for you is hidden in a camera.

You don’t need a DSLR for unleashing the photographer in you. Bring your aesthetics to work and take pictures of different areas of your house. Capture them with your aesthetic sense or just take pictures of anything you love. Speaking of which, you can make an album of those pictures, tagging them as “quarantine memory lane.”

4- Pick a sport

You can play any sports indoor even basketball. See the best basketballs and the best basketball hoops for indoors here. Staying active is super important during this time. You don’t want to sit on your couch, stressing over the news and eat every hour. You are going to get out of shape and the bad fat will build up and cause a lot of stress too. Therefore, pick a sport you like. It can be as simple as badminton or table tennis or maybe basketball. You can even skip a rope for half an hour to stay active and energetic. Try to pick sports that you can play indoors, so you don’t have to leave the house. Or you can play it in your garage with your masks on. Just don’t step out of that gate and you are good to go.

5- Indoor Games

Now obviously you cannot just rely on an hour of playing badminton outside. You need a little entertainment indoors too. Well, I guess you need a lot of things to do indoors because one day you might be decluttering and the other day, you want something else. This is human nature!

So, find indoor games. I love making puzzles but sadly, my country went into lockdown and I couldn’t get myself any new ones. But I am still making the old ones, after ages. This is because I never got time to sit down and do something that really made me happy. So now I am doing it. You can also play chess or scrabble.

6- Workout

I might sound crazy because all you want at this moment is comfort food. It is as if comfort food understands you being emotional and worried right now. I have been there. I never thought I would start working out during the quarantine because it is a stressful time. But guess what? I did! This might also sound cliche but working out really energizes you. You feel a different kind of high and that is great because you want positivity during this time. It is my 12th day that I am working out and it feels the best part out of the entire day.

I feel like after a month (once this ends), I will be able to have that wonderful and balanced body that i always wanted. You can easily find amazing online tutorials for beginner workouts and they demonstrate the exercises really well. Start with something basic and easy for 15-20 minutes and then you can gradually perk up. Also, you don’t want to lose a good body (if you have it). So better maintain it?

7- Learn a New Skill

Thanks to the internet, we have a ton of tutorials and articles which let us learn new skills. You can learn new software like Illustrator or Photoshop. Or you can learn a new language too. If you love doing art and crafts then you can look up for tutorials to create anything you want to.

8- Binge-watch Netflix

It is like a dream come true for a lot of people. Sadly I am not one of those but I make sure that I watch a movie every week or maybe twice. If you love binge-watching movies or seasons then this is time. You have no early morning lectures and no job to attend. You can simply tune into Netflix and have the time of your life which you don’t get every other day.

Yes, this is a very bad time to think about this but we all want to feel less stressed out and just relax. If you love watching movies then this is a good time to just sit back and watch the movies or seasons which were lined up and you never watched those.

9- Cook and Bake and Repeat

If you love cooking then bring on that recipe wish list that has been lying around for a long time. Now is the time to unleash the cook in you! The same is for baking. I love baking and I tried making molten lava cake at home and damn, it was so tasty. I also tried molten lava brownies and they turned out pretty cool too. I am also planning to make orange chicken spaghetti or chow mein at home.

Aren’t you feeling hungry now? Well, because I am?! Anyways, if you are good at cooking or baking then now is the time to cook some of the best meals for yourself. You are going to enjoy this a lot. Even if you have never cooked before I suggest that this is a good time to do the things you never did. Maybe, you are great at it? Give it a try!

10- Read

If you are a bookworm like me, you will know and understand the pain of not being able to read the books that are just lying on the shelf for so long. You hoard books but your daily life routine doesn’t let you endeavor a lot of them. Now is the time dear child. Read all the books that you have been waiting to read.

I am reading Mark Manson’s Everything is Fuc*ed right now. I just ended Holly Bourne’s, Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes. It was amazing! And Mark Manson is, as usual, the best realist writer that you can read to get a reality check.

11- Practice Gratitude

You can only practice gratitude, in its full form, when things are not really going well. This is the best time to make your habit. These are extremely hard times for all of us. But remember, that being indoors and being healthy are the most important things in life right now. Every day, you are getting to experience new sunshine. You are living, you are breathing and you are surrounded by people who love you; your parents and siblings. Even if you live alone, you know that there is hope at the end of this tunnel.

Practicing gratitude will help you look at the brighter side of this situation. You can make a gratitude list every day and write down the things you are grateful for. For example, I am grateful for being healthy today.

I am grateful for being able to sit and laugh and have a good time with my family when thousands of people are dying and they cannot bid farewell to their loved ones either. I am grateful that it was a sunny day because I love the sun as it brings in hope.

I am also grateful that I didn’t lose my mind today and stayed positive. And the list can go on. But you see? There is so much that you can be thankful for at the moment instead of complaining to turn your day around. Do practice this! Make it a necessity during this time and you will experience a wonderful change.

12- Self-care

This is not just girl specific. Boys can indulge in any form of self-care too. I don’t know why this term is so specifically dedicated to women. Nah, Nah! guys, take a long steam shower and moisturize your face. Build those muscles if you think that it is equivalent to taking care of yourself. Take care of your hair and dress well to feel good.

Girls can make their nails and put that mask on to hydrate their skin. Try an at-home manicure and pedicure session. Also, drink fresh juices and soak in the sunlight.

13- Fix your Garden

It is time to pay attention to your garden too. Take care of your plants and water them regularly. throw away the wilted plants because they tend to ruin the growing ones as well. This is a really good time to experiment with your gardening skills. If you are not good at gardening; give it a try and learn how to grow plants. It is creative and will keep you occupied for an hour easily.

14- Don’t forget your friends and family

Quarantine doesn’t mean that you have to forget your friends and family. You can always keep in contact with them and you should.

Skype, facetime and a bunch of messengers have made it super easy to connect with your friends and family. I Facetime my sisters daily because I miss them so much. It makes me feel better.

15- Dye your hair

Now is a good time to dye your hair! If it looks good; that is amazing. You can redo it after quarantine again. And if it doesn’t; well, nobody saw it, did they? I think you should experiment with your look during this time. It is really fun and it will also make you feel excited and less stressful.

16- Do not watch A LOT of news

Yes, it is good to stay updated but do not watch a lot of news because it will only freak you out. I did the same for 2 days and then I realised that I was stressing myself a lot. Therefore, I decided to watch the news headlines once per day or just check in with the virus stats by the end of each day.

This keeps me sane. Also, we know that this situation is here to stay for a good amount of time, so why go bonkers over one thing over and over? My suggestion is to avoid watching news all the time and be productive elsewhere.

17- Rearrange your Lounge

We usually don’t do much with our lounge because well, it requires a lot of time and effort. But now is a good time to rearrange it. Maybe you can paint it a different color too if you are good at painting walls. Or just try rearranging the furniture and moving some things out of it. Minimal style lounges are really rending and they make your home look chic too. So it is certainly the best time to give your drawing room or lounge a quick and stylish makeover.

18- Sleep

What else can be a better time killer? But well, this one is essential for staying healthy. Doctors recommend eating healthy and sleeping for at least 7 hours daily so that your immune system remains strong. You don’t want to weaken your body and head out, only to get the virus.

Thus, stay strong and take adequate amounts of sleep. My sleep cycle was a mess at the beginning of the quarantine but I am gradually bringing it back to normal. You will also notice that when you do different productive and creative tasks throughout the day, you will sleep in peacefully too. Sitting idle all day will make it harder to fall asleep during the night.

19- Clean your Phone Gallery and Camera

I have done this and it feels good. I have cleaned my DSLR SD card and I have also deleted all the unnecessary photos from my phone gallery. It might not seem big but for someone like me, photo galleries are best cleaned and sorted out.

Try it and you will love your gallery and camera too. You can also clean your laptop from all the unwanted stuff that has been lying there for a long time now.

20- Try switching to a Healthy Lifestyle

I think this is the perfect time to switch to healthy eating because we are not visiting restaurants and there is no way to get fast food at home right now. Even if some restaurants like McDonalds are offering it; not a lot of people are up for eating it. So look up for some good and healthy recipes and try them out at home. Combine it with a good workout session and you can make some significant changes in your lifestyle during this time.

I could go on and on about what more we can do but these are some of the things that I have and I am working on. I love how my day passes by quickly amidst all the productivity and creativity. It is hard due to the challenging times around us but again, just Thank God for being healthy and safe. There are thousands of people losing their lives daily. And you are not one of them! This is enough to keep you going. Have faith and trust me, together, this too shall pass. Don’t let it drive you crazy because there are a lot of things to do in quarantine right now. Just assume it as a break that you need from your daily routine or job.

Now, when we will step back in some weeks, we will be more grateful. We will love going to college, we will be grateful for our jobs and we will value everything a lot more. Take this time to self-reflect and we will stand up again for sure. Till then, try being productive during quarantine and do let me know what you are upto these days. I would love to hear back from you guys in the comment section!

For information and most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic please visit the CDC website or the WHO website.