45+ Things To Do When You’re Stuck at Home

Thanks to the whole coronavirus situation and all this talk of social distancing + most companies making options available for work from home for employees, I think most of us are suddenly finding ourselves with some extra time on our hands. Even for the ones who are REALLY working from home, truth is, you’re saving on so much commute time (in my case: about 2-2.5 hours).

After a couple of days though, the novelty might wear off. Even the most introverted ones (read: me) or the greatest homebodies might start feeling stir crazy if we’re forced to stay at home for days at end. In the hopes of being able to avoid that, I started putting down a list of a whole bunch of things to do when you’re stuck at home, which you can read below.

Before you get on with that list, I think it’s important to highlight one very key thing: CREATE A SCHEDULE, or a TO-DO LIST for the day, or just anything that gives a semblance of structure to your day. Because truth is, when you suddenly find yourself with a whole extra chunk of time on your hands, it’s easy to fritter all that time away just being lazy. And while a little bit of laziness can be a good thing, a schedule or a to-do list can provide just that right boost of productivity that you might need.

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Okay, now getting on with the list, finally!

FOR PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT AND LEVELING UP ON YOUR SKILLS/ROUTINES: No better time to hunker down and work on yourself!

1. Take a class or two on Skillshare (get two months of Premium membership using this link)
2. Watch a TED talk, or two, or five (Brené Brown on Vulnerability, Elizabeth Gilbert on Creativity, Neil Pasricha on Living an Awesome Life, Kal Barteski on the Art of the Polar Bear, Anjali Kumar on Trying to Find God and so many more)
3. Actually go through that online class you signed up for 5 months ago (I’ve got Passport to Pinterest and a host of Adobe Illustrator tutorials queued up)
4. Find an online workout that works for you (so many options these days – Yoga with Adriene, Melissa Wood Health, SWEAT app, Barre3, KaisaFit, Tracy Anderson Method, Blogilates and so many more)
5. Make a vision board
6. Work your way through a guided journal
7. Challenge yourself to do a workout or two which is different from your usual routine
8. Learn and practice some breathwork
9. Read up on Laws of Attraction and Manifestation and see how you can incorporate the principles in the your life

FOR YOUR HOME: This would be the perfect time to get done with all the home admin + long-pending projects!

1. Kon-marie the shit out of your house
2. Clean out the usually overlooked parts of your home, like the garage or the attic (for me this should read as: clean the f*ck out of your car’s boot!!!!)
3. Show your yard or garden or plants some TLC
4. Organise your collections – jewellery, books, vintage glasses, whatever!
5. Sort your medical supplies cabinet
6. Clean out + stock up your pantry with the basic essentials
7. Check the items in your freezer for expiry dates
8. Arrange your medical/financial records
9. Change up your display cabinets
10. Make photo albums out of your digital photos and display them around your house like coffee table books
11. Finally tackle that home project that you’ve been putting off forever!

IF YOU WORK IN A CORPORATE SETUP: Even if you’re working from home, you can totally use this time to do some “housekeeping”, as I like to call it. And honestly, these ideas would be valid for even someone who’s freelancing or running an online business.

1. Read up on that industry research/news that you’ve been putting off
2. Organise your work files
3. Organise your work inbox
4. Prepare any reimbursement/expense filings, if pending
5. Dig deep for leads – depending on your industry, you could spend time on LinkedIn or industry databases and create a “To Contact or Connect With” list
6. Update your resume
7. Sign up for a course/conference linked to your industry

IF YOU RUN A BLOG OR AN ONLINE BUSINESS: Specific ideas for those of you running a blog or an online business.

1. Check for broken links on your website
2. Make sure your website’s backups are all functioning properly
3. Delete any extra/unused plugins
4. Update your content/product calendar for the rest of the year
5. Update/refine your About page
6. Change up your blog’s design (if you run your blog on WordPress, you should totally check out 17th Avenue Designs – their templates are affordable, easy to use and super stylish!)
7. Create a lead magnet or content upgrade for your newsletter subscribers
8. Shoot some brand pictures – for your blog or your social media, or of your products
9. Create blog/social media content for at least two weeks, if you don’t already have this in place
10. Run a Pinterest audit to make sure that your boards are aligned with the needs of your ideal reader/customer/client

CONNECT WITH OTHERS: Because social distancing should not mean social isolation!

1. Ask your parents/extended family for a family favourite recipe and try it out
2. Call up your friend who you’ve just not had the time to speak to for the last three weeks
3. Check in with your elderly relatives/neighbours, even if it’s just over the phone or via FaceTime
4. Take your dog out for an extra long walk

FOR FUN: Do I even need to explain this???????

1. Learn one of Beyonce/JLO/Shakira’s dance routines
2. Try out that new recipe you bookmarked 2 weeks ago, or better still – work through a cookbook!
3. Work on a new puzzle, or LEGO kit, or paint something new
4. Start a new show (if you haven’t watched Schitt’s Creek yet – seriouslllllyyyyyy, what are you even waiting for????)
5. Reread your favourite book(s)
6. Read some of the latest releases

TREAT YO’ SELF: Because this is as good a time any other to indulge yourself a little bit!

1. Get in your zzzzzsss
2. Take a long shower or bath. You should go all out – light up the candles, bust out that expensive bath oil, bring in a glass of your favourite wine!
3. Give yourself a manicure and pedicure at home
4. Update your skincare routine for spring
5. Follow along some makeup and hair tutorials on YouTube (Allana Davison, Deepica Mutyala, and Samantha Ravndahl have some of the best ones!)
6. Buy something new that’s fun and try it out (suggestions: the Dyson hair styler or an AirFryer)

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Now that’s one really long ass list of things to do when you’re stuck at home! What ideas would you add to the list? And how are you dealing with the whole coronavirus situation? Let me know in the comments below!

PS – I don’t mean to make light of a situation which is impacting so many people negatively. I am fully aware of the gravity of the situation and cannot emphasize enough how important it is to do our bit in maintaining proper hygiene and to not overburden the healthcare system if we can.

Images via The Creative Library. The post may contain affiliate links.