Hello everyone!

If you’ve read my last few posts, you would know that I have been off this entire week due to school closures in fear of the coronavirus spreading throughout my area. If you’re in a similar situation or have completely switched to online classes for the rest of the semester, you might have a lot more free time on your hands right now that you’re not sure what to do with, especially if you’re not supposed to be leaving the house at all/for unnecessary things. Keep on reading if you want some ideas for what to do at home while you’re bored!

1. Read for fun! I know, I know, it sounds like something an adult would suggest. But what can you expect from a girl who loves to read and write? If you don’t have a book or some other material you’re interested in reading at home, find some material online- I know a lot of libraries are physically closed, but some have online options so you can check books out from there!
2. Do your schoolwork. Yeah, this one’s probably a last resort (just kidding, teachers!) but it’s important. I haven’t been switched to online school yet at the time of writing this so I don’t really have any work to do, but when I was really bored I decided to get ahead on some of my work for English and AP Euro. If you actually have online classes, then it’s even more important to get your work done. Similarly, you could study for your AP tests since those will definitely be a little hectic with the uncertainty of school right now. You can also study for the SAT/ACT if you haven’t taken it yet or if yours got postponed.
3. Bake/cook something. This kind of depends on your current situation; if grocery stores near you are wiped out, you probably don’t want to waste ingredients/food on a whim. However, if you have plenty of food around to spare, try out a recipe and have a nice family dinner. I know things get hectic during the school year and often having everyone together for a meal becomes rare during the busy weeks.
4. Write a nice note to someone. Check in on your extended family and your friends, particularly if you haven’t talked to them since the virus madness started. Send an email, text, DM, Snapchat, whatever. It helps if you’re feeling lonely- this is one of those times where we can really see the benefits of social media. You can be FaceTiming your friends and digitally hanging out even though you can’t see each other at school!
5. Catch up on TV/movies/videos. I finally got to watch some movies I’d been wanting to watch, and I watched all the videos in my YouTube subscription box that I hadn’t yet. Yes, it’s a more mindless activity, but it can be enjoyable and take your mind off things if you’re particularly stressed about the situation at hand, since I know a lot of people get anxious about getting sick.
6. Learn something new. Practice a new language on Duolingo, do some random research on a topic you’ve always wanted to read more about, ask your family members at home with you to tell you a story from their childhood you’ve never heard before. Just do something different, or something that will stimulate your brain in the absence of being in a normal classroom.
7. Do something creative. If you like to write, work on a new story or write some poems. If you’re an artist, draw or paint a new piece. Find some way to express your creativity. I feel like time alone at home is the perfect environment to do this- just enough boredom to inspire something great out of it.
8. Clean your house. This is the perfect time to clean out a closet or drawer that you haven’t had time to. Sanitation-wise, it’s also a good idea to make sure your house is actually clean; you can vacuum/clean the floors, dust, scrub the bathtubs, etc. I cleaned out my desk the first day of the week that I didn’t have school, and it felt really nice to have a clean space, especially since I was going to be spending so much time there throughout the week.
9. Make plans for the future, when everything’s back to normal. Plan a trip you can go on once it’s safe to travel again. Talk with friends about what you want to do once you can all hang out in public places normally again. If you have specific plans, it’ll give you something to look forward to and remind you that this situation is only temporary.
10. Practice extra self-care. Now you have an excuse to pamper yourself at home- you finally have the time! Take a hot bath, relax with a face mask, light candles. You might as well, if you’re going to have so much me-time. It’ll also help calm you in these stressful and strange times, which is very important.

I hope these ideas help you out if you’re bored or going stir-crazy within your house. I hope you are all safe and healthy, and wishing for our return to normalcy as soon as possible. Let me know if you have any more ideas you think should be on this list, or if you need someone to talk to 🙂

Brooke