The Homebody’s Guide to Reconnecting with Yourself

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4 min readApr 16, 2020

Reconnecting with yourself is always a good thing, regardless of what is happening outside. Whether it’s to de-stress, learn a new skill or improve on an existing skill, re-evaluating priorities in your life provides opportunities for growth and fostering self-confidence. Don’t be put off by limited options during this stay-home period. Here are a few activities where you can embrace ingenuity with simple materials found at home to begin your journey of reconnection.

Modular Origami

Set aside your memories of paper folding in primary school. Origami can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. If paper cranes are too boring and traditional for you, check out modular origami. Modular origami is a blend of mathematics, sharp and angular precision folding, and sophisticated advanced-level assembly rife with terms like equilateral, hexagon and dodecahedron. Don’t be intimidated. Elaborate and complex pieces are created by assembling simple units that are within the grasp of most origami beginners!

What you need: origami paper. Alternatively, cut out squares of old newspapers or magazine pages.

1. Beginner’s Book of Modular Origami Polyhedra: The Platonic Solids by Rona Gurkewitz

Get the eBook here.

2. Mind-blowing Modular Origami: The Art of Polyhedral Paper Folding by Byriah Loper

Get the eBook here.

New Languages

Beyond the ability to bargain with street vendors or put across the correct order for coffee, we also pick up cultural values and nuances when learning a new language. Acquiring a working knowledge of another language takes time and perseverance — and there’s no better time than now to start preparing for your next holiday where you’ll be all set to put your practice into motion.

What you need: paper, pen, and earphones (optional).

1. Korean in 40 minutes: Learn to Speak Korean in Minutes with Collins by Collins Dictionaries

Get the Audiobook here.

2. Learn Indonesian: Ultimate Getting Started with Indonesian by Innovative Language Learning

Get the Audiobook here.

3. Essential Tagalog : Speak Tagalog with Confidence (Tagalog Phrasebook) by Renato Perdon

Get the eBook here.

Scrapbooking

Old photographs, birthday cards, random admission tickets from previous holidays — many of us keep these mementos tucked away in a forgotten corner of a drawer until a spring-cleaning session brings them to light. Why not upcycle your best memories by compiling them in a scrapbook that you can refer to in one place? As an interactive photo album or a supplement to a written diary, scrapbooking offers limitless opportunities for personalising your very own memory bank.

What you need: scissors, glue, personal artefacts, construction paper, and any decorative materials like lace, glitter, stickers, or rubber stamps.

1. Time to Scrap: Techniques for Fast, Fun and Fabulous Scrapbook Layouts by Kathy Fesmire

2. Modern Memory Keeper: A New Approach To Scrapbooking Your Family Legacy by Ronee Parsons

Get the eBook here.

Creative Writing

Just as an artist clocks in hours conceptualising, drawing, or painting, the same goes for a writer. A good piece of writing is rarely accomplished in one sitting. Time is needed for various stages of reading, revising, reviewing and editing. Speed up those stages, master ways of looking at your own writing with a different eye, or find invigorating ways of exploring the written word with these innovative warm ups and writing exercises.

What you need: pen and paper, or a personal computing device.

1. The Five-Minute Writer: Exercise and Inspiration in Creative Writing In Five Minutes a Day by Margret Geraghty