As bizarre as it may sound, I find myself thriving while being stuck indoors during these uncertain times. Having a great deal of control over my daily routine apparently works for me. Have I been wearing PJs all day? Yes. But, I’ve also been getting a ton done and focusing on my wellness like I’ve never had a chance to before. Here are some of the things I’ve been keeping busy with during what I’ve been calling Coronacation (for the sake of having an easy one word name to call this period of time) that you could try out too.
- Exercise. I know plenty of people find time to exercise in their daily routine, but I generally don’t. I like to exercise first thing in the morning which doesn’t pair well with my desire to avoid getting up any earlier than absolutely necessary. Working from home has given me the flexibility to use my mornings to exercise and shower instead of rushing around to get ready to head into the office. Though weight loss wasn’t my goal I’m already down 7 pounds.
- Skin care. I am already a skin care addict, which you would know if you’ve seen my latest Sephora Haul. That said, I have plenty of time after my morning showers to let a face mask soak in while I work through my emails. Who doesn’t love a professional life/self-care multitask session?
- Home cooked meals. Austin and I cook at home all the time, but if often feels rushed and passionless. After a long day in the office and the drive home (I hate driving) my creative juices are usually running pretty low. I’ve loved having the time to stare in the fridge and come up with something interesting to make. Another added bonus to being more intimately familiar with the refrigerator is that I am now acutely aware of what leftovers or prepped components need to be used up. I hate food waste so I’ve been loving feeling more in control of my fridge.
- Cleaning. No, I don’t mean your run of the mill weekly chores; I mean the hands and knees, procrastinated for a year, contemplate paying someone else to do it kind of cleaning. This past weekend I scrubbed the baseboard in my bathroom and I can promise I have no desire to ever do it again. I think that’s one thing that I’d be happy to pay someone else to do next time, but at least now I know. But seriously, vacuum your couch, dust off your sconces, wipe down your windows. You will not regret it.
- Declutter everything. I’ve gone though our pantry, coat closet, linen closet, TV stand, basement storage, kitchen cabinets, and my makeup. Nothing is quite as satisfying as throwing out the “better save this incase we need to return it” boxes that my husband insists on hoarding, recycling of course. I have a donation pile, 3 different piles of things to give to various people, a to-sell pile, and a dump pile. Our house will be feeling slim and trim after I’m done getting rid of all of the random stuff we don’t need. This would also be a great time to go through your closet and start up a Poshmark account.
- Watch that show you’ve been intimidated to start because there are a billion seasons – for me this was RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’m into season 4 now and loving it!
- Play with your pet. Frannie is 100% certain that we are home all day specifically just to play with her. She is loving every minute of this isolation time period.
- Finish projects you started and abandoned. The picture above is a project literally started over a year ago and then abandoned when life got busy. I’ve collected maps from my travels all over the world and I wanted to frame them and create a gallery wall with them. Our first weekend stuck inside I started this project back up and the maps that I already have frames for are now hanging in my office.
Other things you might consider doing while stuck at home:
- Pick up a new hobby you’ve been interested in
- Start a blog
- Start a YouTube channel or TikTok
- Organize FaceTime dinners with friends
- Promote your favorite small businesses on your social medium
- Pick up a daily vacuuming habit
- Go for walks around your neighborhood, socially distanced of course
- Flip through your cookbooks for inspiration
- Read or re-read a book
I know that this could be a difficult time for many of you whether you’re sick, newly jobless, or paralyzed with anxiety. Many of us are stuck indoors and not be able to figure out the repercussion of COVID-19 until the spread comes to a halt. I always find that keeping busy and completing tasks makes me feel less blah about being stuck at home. If you’re that way too, I hope this list has given you some ideas about what to sink your teeth into.
