13 quarantine self-care tips and hobbies for you.
“Wait…so I’m unemployed?” I said.
“Yes. Today is your last day,” They said.
I buried my face into my hands. Not again. This can’t be happening AGAIN. It was the Zoom call I prayed wouldn’t be “that call.” I finally found the job and the company that I enjoy coming to every single day and it slipped through my grasp.
But it was also out of my control.
It was hard for me to leave my bed the next morning. I got to a point where I didn’t want to sleep away my days feeling sorry for myself. So, to lift my spirits, I listened to a podcast episode of “How I Built This” where Guy Raz brought in Whitney Wolfe, the CEO of Bumble. She talked about a rough patch in her life, specifically, her very public lawsuit against Tinder. Awful words to describe Wolfe were sprawled across social media and popular tech blogs. There were days she said she didn’t want to wake up, days where her confidence level was next to none. But then, she said something that really stuck out to me:
“What I had realized is that you can’t kill ambition, you can kill confidence, but you can’t kill drive. Through all of this pain and struggle, I still had an itch inside of me to create.”
That was enough for me to get out of bed and create meaning among the madness.
I want to acknowledge that I do have the luxury of being able to do fun projects in my spare time because I don’t have the responsibilities many Americans have, like running a household. Still, if you’re couped up at home without the usual structure in your life that you relied on, here is a compilation of things you can do that enrich your physical and mental health during this scary and uncertain time. ❤ ❤ ❤
1. Create and join Virtual communities.
- What hobbies or interests do you have? Join Facebook groups! For example, I love theatre and music, so I engage a lot in the San Diego Virtual Cabaret a community of artists posting covers, monologues, dances, and pictures of productions that didn’t make it to the stage.
- Ever heard of 48Hour Film Project? Channel your inner filmmaker by making short clips with just you, your household or friends virtually. Sign up and get the week’s “Challenge” then get creating in 48 hours!
2. Do at-home workouts.
The best workout channels with HIIT, yoga, strength training, pilates, and more:
- Fitness Blender
- Alo Yoga
- BeFit
- PopSugar Fitness
- Blogilates
- Pamela Reif
- HASFit
- WORKOUT
- The Body Coach TV
- Yoga with Adriene
- Heather Robertson
If not YouTube, know any friends or friends of friends who are fitness professionals and stream classes live? Support them by taking their virtual classes and donating what you can. I took a yoga sculpt class that a friend of a friend led via Google Hangouts, it was a great time (though it was miserable for my thighs).
3. Go for a physically-distant walk or jog outside.
- AllTrails, an app to find trails near you.
4. Write in a “Gratitude” journal.
- 3 things you’re grateful for, every day.
5. Learn something new.
- Harvard’s Free Online Courses
- Khan Academy
- Udemy
- Lynda
- The Great Courses
- Online Free Ivy League Courses
- Coursera
- edX
- Ted Talks
- SkillShare
6. Try new recipes — with the ingredients you have readily available. These channels and recipes are simpler and easier to follow.
- Easy recipes to cook while quarantined
- Binging with Babish
- Tasty
- Pantry Meals during Quarantine
- 13 easy recipes while quarantined
- Sam the Cooking Guy — he has a series called Quarantine Munchies!
- Goodful’s healthy recipes playlist
- Bon Appetit’s test kitchen
7. Interested in starting a blog & monetizing it?
Start with the basics:
- How to build a website
- Pick a CMS: WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Weebly, etc.
- Pick a host: HostGator, GoDaddy, DreamHost, Hostinger, Bluehost, etc.
Great SEO resources for building a Google presence:
- Learn SEO — to help you build good traffic by ranking in Google SERPs
- Learn SEO in 2020
- SEO Made Simple
When your website gains enough traffic, try monetizing it! These are both great options to get some good ad revenue.
8. Freelance websites:
9. Apply for jobs — what’s in demand?
- Who’s hiring now?
- Great job application websites: LinkedIn, Indeed, & Zip Recruiter
10. The books to read or audiobooks to listen to:
My personal favorites:
Meditations By Marcus Aurelius (Philosophy)
Sapiens (Anthropology)
The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson (Personal Development)
Never Split The Difference (Persuasion)
Blue Ocean Strategy (Business & Marketing)
The Four Agreements (Personal Development)
11. Podcasts (top-rated in their categories)
News & Current Events:
- NPR’s Up First
- The Daily
Talkshows:
- Joe Rogan Experience
- Armchair Expert
Trivia & Science:
- Stuff You Should Know
- Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
- Science VS
- Freakonomics
Philosophical & Personal:
- Heavyweight
- Revisionist History
- Invisibilia
- Hidden Brain
- This American Life
- RadioLab
Entrepreneurial:
- How I Built This
- The Pitch
- Planet Money
Technology:
- Reply All
Beauty:
- Fat Mascara
- The Beauty Brains
- The Beauty Closet
- Breaking Beauty
Crime:
- Serial
- Dr. Death
- Dirty John
- Sword and Scale
12. Donate to Mom and Pop shops or local businesses.
- Beauty salons & spas
- Bakeries & Cafés
- Local Theatres
- Event-planning businesses
13. Arts and crafts!
- Origami
- Crocheting for beginners!
- Cardboard Wall art — for those empty boxes lying around!
- Learn how to play the piano from this playlist!
- Build a good old furniture fort!
- How to knit for beginners
- Sketching and drawing for beginners
Stay safe & healthy ❤ Let me know in the comments of some other hobbies you like to do!
Photo credit: <a href=”https://www.freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/people">People vector created by pikisuperstar — www.freepik.com</a>
