Coronavirus Outbreak: Twenty Fun Yet Productive Things To Do In Time Of Self-Isolation

Now that schools, malls, restaurants are closed, we have plenty of productive time which we can use to reboot our lives in time of corona.

1. Start reading the book you always wanted to. There are many free online libraries where plenty of books are available. Some of these are Open Library, Goodreads or google free e-books. Not interested in reading? You can listen to audiobooks on Kindle and audible.
2. Cleaning one’s place is therapeutic. It is also time to explore KonMari method. This is a system of simplifying and organizing your home by getting rid of physical items that do not bring joy into your life. It was created by organizing consultant Marie Kondo and described in detail in her best-selling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
3. Kids are at home, and they are feeling bored. This is an opportunity for parents. Introduce them to online fun courses. This will be a productive and enjoyable screen time. There are plenty of free coding and robotic classes and other courses from Khan Academy, Coursera.org, WhiteHatJr, Amarchitra Katha  and Tinkle. Some of these are offering their entire catalogue free till March 31.
4. Spend time doing Yoga, meditation. Follow Deepak Chopra’s different meditation courses on YouTube. Watch Ted talks for self-improvement.
5. Learn new skills, some DIYs, candle making, paper mache, soap making, origami with everything available at home in your stationary drawers or kitchen shelves. Take help from YouTube channels.
6. Cook family meals together. Spruce up your sun deck. Enjoy your morning coffee/smoothie with the much-needed sunshine vitamin.
7. Take online free courses from Harvard, Coursera, Udemy, edX. You only have to spare 1 -2 hrs everyday. They also offer paid certificate courses.
8. Start a blog, website, or YouTube channel. Build an online community of Book lovers/online gamers.
9. Learn a new language. There are apps like Duolingo, Coursera offering language courses . Work on your vocabulary. Be the linguist you always wanted to be.
10. Organise a movie night/Binge watch with your family at home. Enjoy with popcorns & Nachos. Who needs to go to the theatre if we can have one at home.
11. Call/FaceTime/Video call friends, family members with whom it’s been a long you had a word.
12. Take a virtual tour of famous art and culture museums throughout the world at http://artstandculture.google.com/ View pictures of famous artworks and read about them.
13. Learn about Books, history of books, what to read, anything and everything about books on Bookriot https://bookriot.com/ Play board games, quiz contests.
14. Listen to music. There are virtual music fests till March 31st around the world.
15. Follow a Self-Care routine. Have healthy Breakfast. Keep yourself hydrated, take multivitamins, higher intake of Vitamin C, skincare and haircare regime. Follow the diet regime you always wanted to and couldn’t do all this while.
16. Pause, Relax, retrospect, introspect, set goals, press the refresh button. Start thinking about the much needed steps each one can take to reduce carbon footprints share with your family, friends and follow them.
17. Start making a bucket list for next year and keep adding. Plan your next vacation in advance but hold the bookings for a while.Make a family picture book with old photographs. It’s been a while we all had one this, as they are all saved in clouds. Make videos of all the activities you do with family during the lockdown.
18. Markets are crashing. Time not to get bogged down. This too shall pass. Reassess your financial planning. Learn about stocks. Finish all the online documentation, KYCs that are still pending.
19. Work on your CV, Your LinkedIn, do online networking, look out for new job or next Project you wanted to take up.
20. And Take that 8 hours of good night Sleep. It’s the most important thing we need to catchup in our otherwise hectic urban lives. Sleep deprivation has found to be one of the leading causes of lower immunity and other health conditions so give yourself that much needed rest.