What to Do During the Quarantine?
The world has paused due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and for good reason. The more people that stay home right now, the less burden there will be on our medical infrastructure. Medical professionals around the world are risking their lives every day. The least you and I can do is stay home.
Here are some tips to keep you entertained and fulfilled during your quarantine.
Distance-socializing
It may seem boring to be stuck at home. No going out with friends, eating out, pub crawling, or playing games all night with family. However, there are many opportunities in our digital world to reach out and enjoy each other’s company.
Netflix Party and Randomizer
Do you want to watch Netflix with a friend, but don’t know how to sync it up? Try out Netflix Party! You can share a link with your friends and the video is synced so that if one person pauses, it pauses for everyone. There is also a chat for discussions that appears on the right-hand side.
Not sure what to watch on your favorite streaming service? There are numerous lists on the internet to help guide you to your new favorite show, but there are also web apps like Netflix Roulette to help you make a decision.
Zoom, Skype, FaceTime
Don’t just call someone on the phone. If you have the time, do a video chat with them. Face-to-face interaction, even over a device, can feel more impactful and be important if you are home alone during this quarantine.
Don’t forget to reach out to elderly family members. Help them set up digital devices, if you can do so safely, and keep them in your thoughts when you feel like chatting.
Board Games Online
Do you love playing board games but can’t play now? Steam has a solution for you called the Tabletop Simulator. Many board game simulations are available, such as backgammon or even modern board games like Scythe. You and your playmates must have Steam on your computers in order to play.
Save Money, Reduce Stress, Get Healthy
The greatest benefit of staying home: saving money. Less money spent on eating out, gas, transportation costs, and more. For those who have lost their jobs, saving these funds is a drop in an enormous bucket, but see the section below on making money for more suggestions.
Save Money by Cooking
If you are anything like me, you have not cooked that often, or when you do, it is more for other people than for yourself. If you’re stuck at home and trying to save money, learning how to cook can be a huge boon to your checking account and your personal satisfaction.
If you don’t know how to cook, now is a good time to learn. Involve the family or roommate and in this time of monotony, find something to spice things up.
Reduce Stress with Meditation
We all know that there are benefits to meditation: reducing stress, reducing health risks, enhancing focus, et cetera. Yet forming a new habit is challenging in the busy rush of day-to-day.
You can take advantage of this time to practice stress reducing techniques, like meditation and yoga. There is a lot of stress in the world and your own daily stressors are likely just as present as they were before. Use what extra time you may have from not commuting to the office or job site every day to meditate for 10–15 minutes. Check out apps like Headspace or Breathe for help to get started and practice as a daily habit.
Get Healthy with Exercise
Another great stress reducer is exercise. Physicians recommend 10,000 steps a day, which seems like a lot if you spend most of your time in a sedentary setting.
Even if you cannot complete those 10,000 steps stuck in your home, take advantage of outdoor spaces when you can, keeping groups to the standards set by your government. You can also find exercise suggestions on YouTube for free or join one of the many apps.
Don’t Save Money
If you’re working right now and you are confident that you will be keeping your job or are in a good financial position, you have a responsibility to spend money. That word ‘responsibility’ may seem a little strong, but look at the stock market:
Our economy needs people to spend money, and small businesses in your area are the ones suffering the most. A lot of them may be closed, but some of them may have online shopping and delivery. If you can afford it, please be a patron to your local businesses. Maybe now is the time to buy that fancy popcorn set for movie night?
Learn
The learning opportunities online are endless, and if you are someone who has been considering a career change, now is a good time to explore that option. There are free courses like Free Code Camp where a student can learn about coding and databases from nothing.
There are also resources like Great Courses Plus, YouTube channels on history and film criticism, and online degrees/certificates through numerous universities and Coursera.
Making Money
Have you ever wanted to start your own business? Do you have a unique skill? Or perhaps not even a unique skill but the willingness to work on tedious tasks? Let’s explore some options for making money while you stay home.
Freelance Work
There are numerous outlets for freelancers. You could create your own YouTube or podcast and a corresponding Patreon account. You could join sites like Rev or Fiverr to pick up additional work as an editor, writer, virtual assistant, and more.
Crafting and Etsying
Are you a crafty person and enjoy making things? If you have lost your job recently or just have more time on your hands, consider exploiting these skills for your own gain. There are several places to sell your wares, but Etsy is probably the most well-known.
Tutoring
Do you have a college degree or are in the process of earning one? Consider advertising your services as a tutor. You should be able to explain topics to others and properly price your services. You can choose to join a tutoring agency in your area or work independently.
Self Employment or a New Job
Perhaps you already have a degree or license in something but you haven’t really gotten that business off the ground. Now is the time to plan and re-engage with those goals. Get creative! What do you have to lose?
For those who might want to look into remote work opportunities, check out sites like Working Nomads for part-time, full-time, and contract work.
Help the Cause
Make Masks
There is no doubt that one of the scariest parts of COVID-19 is the lack of equipment. Nurses and doctors are being infected and showing up to work in homemade masks because supplies are low.
Making a mask for yourself or making masks for the men and women fighting this disease are both worth doing. If you are crafty and know how to sew, check out this pattern for a face mask and consider donating them to your local hospital.
Build Ventilators
This is something for any biotech nerds out there, but if you have the skills, consider assisting your local hospital by building a ventilator. Here is a textbook explanation of how a ventilator works. There was a discussion here about using a Raspberry Pi to do so.
Donate Food or Money
There are a lot of people who rely on our public institutions for their livelihood and daily meals. With this quarantine, many of them are left without the assistance they need to survive.
If you can find the time, money, or food in your pantry, please donate to your local charities that are still assisting these individuals.
Conclusion
Don’t waste your time complaining about being stuck at home. Take advantage of what you can, and remember that by staying home, you are saving lives! The better we are at quarantine now the sooner we can leave it.
