4 Ways to Keep Yourself Occupied during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Being stuck at home isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe you can relax, binging a couple of seasons of your favorite show, catch up on housework, or spend time with your kids. After a few days, however, and along with the reverse psychological effect of being told you can’t leave your house, you’ll probably start to become a little stir-crazy. If you’re looking for a break from constant television or surfing your phone, here are some ideas to get you inspired during the coronavirus pandemic to see this as an opportunity to better yourself.

1. Get a grip on your finances.

This probably goes without saying, but if you’ve suddenly found yourself without a steady income, this could be a perfect opportunity to get your finances in order. Do you have a budget that you stick to? Right now, especially if you don’t have an income, it’s most important to get a budget and stick to it. You can’t do much about building an emergency fund if you’re intent on surviving.

However, an emergency fund is designed to cover these sorts of unexpected events, and once things return to normal, it’s imperative that you start building a savings fund that can cover 3-6 months of expenses for yourself and your family. If you’re fortunate enough to still have a job, maybe this is the stimulus you need to get a better handle on your finances so you’re prepared in the future.

2. Declutter your house.

With almost unlimited time at home, you might as well try and make that home more comfortable for yourself and your family. Decluttering can help keep you occupied and can really help you feel a sense of accomplishment when you clean out that closet you’ve been dreading for months. Additionally, it can help provide a little bit of income to help you get you through a rough patch. Just don’t go out and buy more stuff to replace it!

3. Find a side hustle online.

The internet is home to almost endless opportunity if you’re trying to make some money on the side. Whether it’s just a way to spend your time productively or an attempt to replace lost income, an online side hustle is a great way to work from home. Make a list of some of the things you’re good at or that you’re interested in, and search for ways to use those skills and interests.

There are ways for a person with any skill, whether it’s leading streaming fitness workouts, writing freelance articles, or helping a business with social media marketing, to ply their trade in the online arena. And with people online more than ever, this is really the perfect time to try something new.

4. Learn a new language

There are few mental activities that are shown to be correlated with longer mental clarity into old age than learning a new language, and with time at home, you have that opportunity. There are plenty of free or inexpensive apps out there to learn from, and online resources aplenty. There are even websites and apps that link you with native speakers in your chosen language that allow you to trade translation services and get feedback on your speaking and writing.

Americans are notoriously bad with foreign languages simply because they’re not stressed in school and we’re not constantly interacting with foreign language speakers, but you could see this as an opportunity to change that. If there’s a language you’ve always wanted to learn but never could seem to find the time, make that a priority now.

You could choose to spend your time watching television and surfing your phone, and indeed, everyone needs some downtime to do that. However, being kept at home can be a blessing in disguise as it allows you to slow down, figure out what’s really important in life, and take some steps to improve yourself. Hopefully this article provided some inspiration and motivation to see this as an opportunity rather than a restriction, and you can develop some good habits you can carry into the future as a result.

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