How to Make Staying at Home Fun
It is very easy for anyone to think that staying at home would allow them to do all that they have ever dreamed of doing, have fun, and spend lots of time with family and loved ones. All this could be achieved anyway, but it doesn’t always come easy. Staying at home mostly turns out to be boring and tiring in the long run. People are likely to lose all their ideas and enthusiasm and become redundant
Seeing as we are going to be cooped at home for the next two weeks, I have come up with ways to make staying at home fun.
Bring Out Your Art Supplies
Whether you like working with poster colours, watercoloring, or drawing, set up a little corner to start practicing art again. Adaobi Onyeakagbu, my friend, recently took up painting and she says there are YouTube channels like Wow Art that teach you how to make art in under 30 minutes using items that you probably already have around the house! No skills are required!
Crafting and getting creative is such a great way to get out of your head.
Channel Your Inner Mixologist
Instead of sticking to the same old drink recipes, challenge yourself with simple mixtures (I mixed a bottle of red wine with Zobo two days ago) or some trickier (and more exciting) cocktail recipes. Everyone will thank you — even if “everyone” actually just means you and yourself.
Take Up Knitting
Studies show that knitting is a huge stress receiver. So not only will knitting a new blanket give you something to cuddle up with, but it’ll also be a soothing process. Again, there are YouTube channels like RJ Knits that help you learn.
Learn Exciting New Recipes.
I have always taken pride in my ability to cook world-class noodles, that is probably the only thing I can cook, so this hack is for me too. A lot of us have functioned under the assumption that we can always buy already made food, this lockdown avails us with the opportunity to learn how to cook tasty and exciting dishes. Remember, you don’t have to learn how to cook dishes you cannot pronounce, you can learn how to cook Nigerian meals differently, for example, try cooking jollof rice with low heat!
Join a WhatsApp Bookclub
The more time you spend at home, the more time you have available for reading. Try joining different reading challenges and get together with friends on WhatsApp to discuss, if you want to see your friends, you can always try having the discussions on House Party. You can also catch up on books you’ve always wanted to read but never had the time, I am currently reading Children of Virtue and Vengeance by the amazing Tomi Adeyemi.
Bead Jewelry
Doing something detail-oriented and creating something beautiful is both soothing and long-lasting! Now is the time to make the Ileke idi that you’ve always dreamed of!
Master New Makeup Looks
Just because you’re not going out lately doesn’t mean you can’t have fun trying out some new makeup looks. Look on the bright side: You’ll have plenty of time to master them before their public debut. Scour youtube and Instagram and try out as many looks as possible.
Teach Your Community
Everyone has something to offer, now is the time to teach people in your community. For instance, David Mong, our head of Product Design at Genesys Tech Hub, has started a #DesignWithMong series where he teaches people about design. You can use your WhatsApp stories to pass the message along.
Do Yoga
The art of practicing yoga helps in controlling an individual’s mind, body, and soul. It brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve a peaceful body and mind; it helps manage stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxing. It also helps in increasing flexibility, muscle strength, and body tone. There are so many great at-home apps to try, many people on social media that teach yoga too. You could opt for a guided class or just look up moves to replicate at your own pace.
You could also be like my amazing friend Intrastellar, and do Yoga for two days then start posting Yoga Memes. It’s all fun!
Learn a New Language
If you’ve had the Duolingo app on your phone gathering dust, now is the time to start using it again. There are similar apps to Duolingo like Memrise to help you learn new languages. It is advisable to have a partner you can practice with when you want to learn a new language. So start hitting up your friends, you are all learning new languages!
