Well, it looks like we’ll all be hanging out at home for the time being until further notice. Some of us are working and some of us are not, but regardless, we all have some additional, unexpected time on our hands. Here is a list of 10 Things to do When You’re Stuck at Home to help cure your boredom and create some focus:
1 // Clean out your phone
Our phones can sometimes be the messiest parts of our lives. All of this time is perfect for cleaning out the chaos. Here are some ways to clean out your phone:
- Go through your photos. Delete duplicates and old screenshots. You can even organize them into albums if you want to.
- Delete old messages that you no longer need.
- Clean out your contact list.
- Clean out your inbox.
- Unsubscribe from email lists you no longer want to be on.
- Delete and organize your apps.
- Delete and organize your notes.
- Give yourself a new home screen to change it up.
Then once you’re done, call up a friend and say hello! 🙂
2 // Practice Mindfulness
This is a great time to get quiet and practice mindfulness techniques like journaling, stretching, and breathing exercises. This helps with anxiety and feelings of overwhelm from being stuck at home in addition to the uncertainties going on around us. Here is a list of 1-minute mindfulness techniques.
3 // Make time to play
Play is so important during times like this to shift our focus and remind us of the good. Make time to have a game night or get outside. Make it a priority to add FUN to your time at home.
4 // Purge your social media
I purge my social media twice a year. I go through and delete accounts that don’t serve me anymore (they aren’t encouraging, the account makes me feel less than, they don’t produce content that I want to see, etc.) It is so important that you are only allowing people to speak into your life that encourage you, challenge you, and motivate you to be the best version of yourself. If they aren’t doing that, why are you following them?
5 // Exercise
NOW is the time to start working out like you wanted to in January. There are so many options for at-home workouts on Pinterest. Turn on a mood-boosting playlist and get your body moving!
6 // Clean and Organize
This is a golden opportunity to get your life in order. Clean those places of your home you usually forget (baseboards). Organize the parts of your life that feel chaotic (pantry, bathroom, desk). This is also a great time to gather together things to donate (clothes, home items, food, etc.) because I have a feeling people are really going to need these things after all of this.
7 // Get creative
We all have some sort of creative outlet (painting, writing, music, graphic design, photography, etc.). Carve out time to do something creative and activate that side of your brain.
8 // Work on the things you’ve been putting off
You are positioned perfectly to start implementing and/or completing the things that have been on your to-do list for months. Now is the time to create that budget and start implementing it. Do that home project you’ve been putting off. Plan a vacation for later on in the year.
9 // Learn something new
This could be anything from reading a new book, finding a new podcast to binge, or looking up webinars or ted talks to learn from. Just because we’re stuck at home doesn’t mean we have to become stagnant. You can even invite your friends to join you and talk about what you’ve learned together.
10 // Rest
This is the best time to take your rest seriously because you are forced to do it. Create a bedtime routine and make it a priority. Get the full 8 hours of sleep and listen to your body when it’s telling you to rest. Our culture is all about being busy, but I promise you’ll thank yourself for taking this time to rest while you can. Soon enough, we’ll be back in our busy schedules and we’ll miss this time we have right now.
I hope this list is helpful to you! Comment some of the things you’re doing while being stuck at home and let’s encourage and help motivate one another to make the most out of this time!
courtney nicole heathcock 
I need to do a social media purge so badly!
I just did a social media purge and I honestly felt so much better after! It is so refreshing.
I need to organize everything on my phone, but I also feel like I need a phone detox! I’ve been on it nonstop while at home.
I think I will be focusing on being creative and learning something new while I have all this free time. It’s a great opportunity!
Cleaning out my phone is such a great idea! I’m going to tackle that today.
I’ve been trying to look on the bright side and how much I’ve gotten done in terms of cleaning, reading, and DIY. But cleaning out my emails could probably take me weeks, haha!
Courtney, it’s so funny watching and listening to what people are doing in iso. There are the people with very clean houses, the Netflix crew, social media, phones, zoomers, home renovations and gardeners and the creatives. My husband has been working from home and doing a lot of work around the house. He put in this special subterannean pavers to stop our dogs from digging up the backyard and we have green grass. We bought a camper in case I needed to go into isolation but it needs a lot of renovation and before we could move it into the backyard, he needed to fix up the garage which had been attacked by our feral bougainvillea vine. What I really want to see, is the new floorboards down in the loungeroom and so I’ve been trying to clear that out.
However, my main project has been working on the biographies of WWI soldiers who served in France during WWI and it’s progressing well although I need to switch gears from research to writing now and just get on with it. There are so many distractions, and blogging is almost at the top of the list. However, blogging has been keeping me sane through lock down. I’d had a bit of a blogging break before to focus on my research but decided to switch back through iso as I knew I’d need the people contact. Now, that the cases of covid in Australia are really minimal, I’ll need to strive towards more of a balance while also developing local friendships. It’s a balancing act and we need to keep revisiting how we spend our time and who we’re hanging out with so we’re well rounded and content. We have enough friends locally and online to manage if a few drop off and we’re still reaching our goals in other areas.
Best wishes,
Rowena