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Many of us are restricted in how we can have fun while in quarantine. Every non-essential business is closed. We’re limited in socializing.
We’re limited in our options for having fun.
And with the lack of social interactions, physical hobbies, travel and outdoor adventure, having fun is a bit more challenging nowadays.
There is also a lot of pressure to be productive. However, having fun is extremely important for our wellbeing, health and happiness. It’s also important for our work, success and productivity.
Especially during times like this when many of us are feeling anxious, stressed, lonely and depressed. And isolated.
After all, all work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl.
Even then, many of us are not even working at all which gives us even more time for boredom and feelings of aimlessness.
Earlier this year, after my 25th birthday, I gave up a lot of things to give myself more time, energy, and prioritization to my goals and what was most important to me.
I gave up solo entertainment. No watching movies or tv shows by myself. I decided I would only watch them when I was spending time with someone. I realized that I wasn’t gaining much by watching movies every night before bed. Instead, I could use this time for reading, which was more important and better for my life.
I set constraints on social media and technology use. (Learn how I did that here). I temporarily stopped using dating apps too.
I also substituted music with podcasts for things like working out, showering and cleaning. The only exception of this was when dancing.
I set constraints for alcohol in which I would only have one drink whenever I did drink which isn’t very often.
As you can see, I’ve had to get very creative in how to have fun, especially with a pandemic happening.
If you want to have fun in more unique, interesting, creative and meaningful ways, it’s important to cut out some things which can limit your time for this kind of fun.
What to avoid:
- news
- consuming social media
- overindulgence in entertainment
- overindulgence in video games
I believe that these things can lead to even more boredom or feeling of being unsatisfied with “fun.”
Now, let’s get to the fun stuff.
Here are some ideas on how you can have fun at home if you’re bored.
Get Creative
You don’t need all the best art/craft supplies or spend a lot of money to make art or crafts. You can get even more creative and use what you already have in your home.
Make Art
Here are some ideas for different types of art you can try:
- draw
- paint
- sculpt
- digital art
- calligraphy
Make Crafts
Here are some ideas for different types of crafts you can try:
- scrapbooking
- knitting/sewing
- paper crafts
- jewelry
Karaoke
Karaoke can be a lot of fun if you’re quarantined with a few friends or family. You don’t have to buy a karaoke machine or microphone to have a karaoke night! All you need to do is access YouTube through a tv or computer screen. Then, pick any karaoke video of a song and sing your heart out!
Facetime Date
Consider having a facetime date with a friend or with someone you’re dating/talking to. This is a great way of connecting and catching up (or getting to know someone) “face to face” while still social distancing.
If it’s a friend date, you could do different things together like play games or be artistic or have a glass of wine together. My friend is a makeup artist so for our facetime date, we decided to put on makeup together while we catch up.
If it’s a romantic date, you could dress up and eat together like an actual date or you could just stay casual.
Send a letter
It doesn’t have to be an actual physical letter, but you could write up a thoughtful email to check in on a friend, parent, coworker, grandparent, brother/sister, cousin, grandparent, nephew/niece, or long distance boyfriend/girlfriend. You could even send a letter to a stranger through a service like MoreLoveLetters. You’re guaranteed to lighten up someone’s day. And it feels great! It’s a grand gesture that’s not likely to be forgotten. At a time where we’re forced to socially distance, we all need social connection more than ever.
Play games
There are many different kinds of games you can play to have fun at home!
Here are some ideas for games:
- Improv games
- charades
- Pictionary
- drinking games
- card games
- board games
- would you rather or truth or dare
- VR or video games (active and social video games like Just Dance)
Dance
Dance is a great way to not only have fun but to get some exercise in, especially cardio. You can dance alone, record it and share it on social media (try learning a Tik Tok dance), or dance with your roommates. You could even try having a dance party or competition.
Read a book
You might be rolling your eyes at this point under “fun things to do” but hear me out.
A lot of us read or want to read because we feel it’s something we should do or because we want to learn and be a reader.
Reading can take you on an amazing and interesting adventure, to a whole new world, or inside a different person’s mind. It’s not the same as passively watching a movie. You’re active and engaged and immersed into a story.
So, instead of just picking up any book lying around, or a book you think you should read or a book that was recommended, I want you to choose a book that you think would be interesting or fun or entertaining to read.
If you’re not enjoying it, stop reading, don’t try to finish it and just try out a different book.
Get to know your partner/roommate(s)/family
Just because we spend a lot of time with someone doesn’t mean we know a lot about them or even that we know them well. Look up different lists of questions to ask your partner, friends or family. Or even make games and quiz each other on how much you know about each other.
A great set of questions to connect with someone on a deeper level are the 36 questions. These questions have been backed by research to deepen romantic relationships, friendships and even business relationships.
Make a movie
With everyone having cameras on their phones and the free or relatively cheap technology available to us, the possibilities are endless. You could make any kind of short movie with just an iPhone and edit it using a video editing app or program!
Experiment
Who said that science experiments are just for kids in science class and scientists? There are many interesting, fun, creative and educational experiments you could look up and try from home! Or you could come up with your own!
Brainstorm different things you’ve wanted to try to see what happens. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “I would what would happen if…?” that could make for a possible experiment.
Try challenges
Learning challenge
Challenge yourself to learn different things in short amounts of time like a dance or a language.
Different routines
Since many of us are no longer working or have changed our schedules and routines to be working from home, this is a great time to experiment and try out different routines and schedules for ourselves and find out when we work best, when we should wake up, when to sleep, when to work out, and so on. Try out different morning and evening routines. If you normally read an hour at night before bed, try reading an hour after waking up.
New diet
Now that restaurants are closed and most of us are staying home and cooking, we have the opportunity to experiment and try out different foods and different diets and see how our body reacts to these different diets. You don’t have to label yourself or follow dogmatic diets set by someone else. You can create your own rules and variations of diets to suit your needs for your body best.
Meditation
If you’re feeling especially stressed out or have always wanted to meditate, you could start trying out meditation and experimenting with it – different lengths, types of meditation, times of day, laying down, sitting up, or standing up.
Journaling
Journaling can be really fun and creative. There are many different ways you can journal or things you can journal about. It doesn’t always have to be about what’s on your mind, what you’re feeling or how your day went. There are many different journaling prompts that can be fun, creative and artistic. Bullet journaling is a popular one which is a fun and creative way to get organized with both your thoughts and life.
New workout
Since most gyms are closed, many of us are taking to working out from home or working out outdoors in nature. This can open up new ways of working out and lead to experimentation, especially with bodyweight exercises. The extra time can also have us trying different times to work out and for different lengths of time.
Learn a new skill
Learning a new skill can not only be challenging and rewarding but incredibly fun too!
If you’d like some ideas, check out this article on skills you can learn from home.
Train or teach your pet some tricks or play games with them
Many animals have been adopted from shelters since the coronavirus which means that many of us now have a new friend with us at home. Even if you’ve had your pet for long, you can still have fun with them and teach them new tricks or try out games with them like this scent game for dogs.
Home or DIY project
Have a home or DIY project that you’ve been putting off? Now is the perfect time to get it done! One of my sisters recently took the time to paint and redecorate her room and now she absolutely loves her new room.
Try out new and interesting recipes or learn how to cook
Instead of just cooking meals you already know how to make, consider trying to learn something new and totally out of your comfort zone. There are not only thousands of recipes out there, but educational videos that show you how to cook practically anything step-by-step.
Virtual museums
Many museums all over the world are now offering virtual tours! Here’s a good list of some popular ones.
Livestream shows
There have been many Broadway and musical show livestreaming on YouTube. Many popular musicals are streaming on this YouTube channel every Friday. There are also music festivals and concerts as well as live zoo exhibits like this one of otters. Most of these shows are completely free too!
Swimming
If you’re fortune in having a pool at your place, swimming is a great idea for many different fun activities. And you can get quality exercise in too.
Esoteric arts
I’m not talking about witchcraft here, but more so mind and dreaming skills which are more art than science. These are things like lucid dreaming and astral projection. Lucid dreaming is the ability to wake up and be conscious while still dreaming. Astral projection is similar to lucid dreaming, except it feels more like an out-of-body experience. I have experienced both and it’s a very unique and entertaining experience. It’s completely harmless too.
Looking at the stars
You do need a telescope for this one, but it’s a fun way to connect with nature from your own backyard!
Make a plan and set goals
It may sound like it’s not a fun thing to do, but if you set goals to accomplish during quarantine or when we do get out of it, it can get you excited for the future and get you to start working on things which will lead you out of boredom.
Setting goals gives you aim, direction and purpose in your life. You’re less likely to feel bored and aimless if there is something you’re working towards.
Your goals don’t have to be work or job-related, they could be things like getting the splits or getting a handstand or learning a new skill.
I personally find setting goals to be a fun and exciting activity so naturally there are others who also find it fun and exciting.
If you’re feeling stuck at this point in your life, I recommend checking out this article.
Final Thoughts
If you’re feeling bored, all you really need to do is get curious, creative or driven!
Since I’ve set constraints in my life and taken out a lot of fun things like drinking and have had to quarantine, I haven’t really been bored much because of this.
The curious, creative and driven mind is rarely, if ever, bored.
Have fun!
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