- Written by Chaitali Verma, intern at URI North India & Afghanistan
With the coronavirus striking up, most of us now find ourselves amid a lockdown. After a long time in the fast-paced busy life of today’s age and time, we now seem to have endless time on our hands that we have to spend within the walls of our houses. This, of course, can soon get boring and monotonous and extremely unproductive. And after all, there is only so many movies and series one can binge on before desiring another past time. So, here are some activities that you can do in your homes while practising social distancing other than ‘Netflix and chill’:
Read the books you’ve always wanted to, but haven’t had the time for When was the last time picked up a paperback and curled up on the couch with a cup of coffee? With the digital age stepping in and electronic screens taking over all our free time, most of us are guilty of not having touched a novel in a very long time. So pick up that novel you bought two years ago which been lying around, gathering dust and give it a read! Also, here are some recommendations if you can’t decide what to read (Kindle and online PDFs to the rescue in case you don’t have them lying around!):
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoodi
- Baaz by Anuja Chauhan
- The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Do some Gardening! You don’t have to have a huge sprawling garden in your house in order to indulge in this rather soothing and calming activity. One can always plant a few pots and grow them in their balcony or even on the windowsill. Watching your plants grow over time and taking care of them in the meanwhile is one of the few leisures of a simple slow-paced life that our usually fast lives do not really have the time for. It will also give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, which may be much-needed by most people as they may be working from home or not working at all, both of which can cause frustration and dissatisfaction. You can also grow cherry tomatoes, spring onions, lettuce etc. to use in your kitchen especially as it may get difficult to go out to get fresh vegetables! Gardening can also reduce stress as well as help you burn calories and improve your heart health!
Here are some other potted plants that you can easily grow at home:
- Thyme
- Basil
- Lettuce
- Mushrooms
- Cactus
Learn to cook your favourite ‘Ghar ka Khaana’. How many times has your mother insisted on teaching you how to cook? This undoubtedly is the perfect time to take up the many things that many of us have been too lazy or busy to do because there is such little time. Even if you’re living alone, you can still master the art cooking by learning from youtube videos and getting inspiration from various food bloggers. Also, if you’re lucky enough to have an oven in your kitchen or even own a simply microwave, baking can be a great hobby too!
Start a journal! Keeping daily or even a weekly journal can be an extremely helpful practise in a time like this. It can help one to organize their thoughts in a rather confusing time like this and can also aid us in setting and achieving our goals as it is more than easy to be distracted or turn lazy within the comforts of our homes. Additionally, it can also help you record your ideas on the go, which can be of use once things bounce back to normal and encourage creativity. Plus, it allows you to self-reflect in trying times like these.
Do yoga to stay fit. With all public places shutting down for good, gyms too, have closed down. While one can still exercise at home, most of us don’t have all the gear and machines available to us. Yoga can be a perfect solution to this as it does not require any gear as such and can be followed easily from videos. It can also be extremely beneficial in the current scenario as it can help improve your immunity and relieve stress. It can also help boost energy and cardiovascular health, which we can all use especially as one easily tends to suffer from lethargy when constantly staying home!
In the end, it is up to each one of us on how to effectively deal with this situation. It can be a confusing and anxiety-inducing time for many people and staying calm and composed is the best thing one can do however difficult it may be. Most importantly we should all make it a point to stay home and practise social distancing by all means to limit the spread of the virus as much as possible! Stay safe, stay healthy!
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