Social distancing and isolation are fundamental to stop this health crisis, but for the many of us who are working alone or alongside our kids, keeping it together can get tricky. Although I am used to teaching English online, I am definitely not used to not leaving my house. So for those working from home (parents having little “helpers” around the house, I have so much admiration for you!), I put together this list with 45 things you can do without leaving your house to make the most of all this.
Make these cultural and entertaining plans from home
1. Music. Listening to music is always a good idea. Listen to this Quarantunes Spotify playlist by Rita Wilson or create your own all-time best playlist. You can’t find a song you’re looking for? Use Midomi. Want to discover new songs? Check out Forgotify.
2. Musicals. Watch these 15 Broadway plays and musicals from home.
3. Movies. Watch those movies and shows you’ve been putting off. Hard to decide which ones to watch? Here are some resources for you:
Tastedive helps you discover new movies, TV shows, books, music and more. Get instant suggestions with their recommendation engine:
Watch some feel-good shows and movies to get your mind off any concerns you have. This list includes The Office and Great British Bake Off among others and it is a great starting point.
A Good Movie to Watch offers a curated list of movies that you can select based on genre, mood or just randomly.
4. Short Films. Watch My Darling Quarantine Short Film Festival:
5. Museums. Go to the museum from home. These 12 famous museums offer virtual tours you can take on your couch.
6. Opera. Go to the opera for free. The Met Opera is hosting “Nightly Met Opera Streams” worldwide on its official website. The Berliner Philharmoniker is also offering free access to all concerts and films in the Digital Concert Hall.
7. Podcasts. Listen to podcasts. Here are some of my favorites:
No Such Thing as a Fish: a funny weekly British podcast series with interesting facts produced and presented by the researchers behind the BBC Two panel game QI.
The Infinite Monkey Cage: a “witty and irreverent look at the world according to science”, a comedy and popular science series hosted by physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince.
How Stuff Works: an American infotainment website to provide an insight into the way many things work. They have very interesting podcasts on different topics, the most popular ones being Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class.
This American Life: Learn about the current situation and the past while listening to real-life stories of people affected by them.
9. Video chat with family and friends.
10. Bake a dessert. Don’t know how? Check out the above-mentioned Great British Bake off – the show that keeps a good part of the Talaera team sane. 🙂
11. Online games. Play some of these 10 relaxing games online.
12. Books. Finally read that book that’s been sitting on the shelf for way too long. Check out book reviews and quotes, create your own reading list and get inspiration on Goodreads.
13. Comics.
The Odd 1s Out is a hilarious comic strip website with a satirical take on everyday life questions and general funny stuff.
XKCD: satirical comic strips relating to romance, math, and language.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal: funny and punchy, this daily webcomic features comics about superheroes, science, romance, dating, parenting, and the meaning of life.
14. Storytelling. Read these real life stories told by the people themselves on The Moth. It also has a podcast that features all the stories told across the world on Moth stages.
Develop your skills from your couch
15. Exercise your brain with sudokus and crossword puzzles.
16. Chess. Learn and train chess online with chess world champion Magnus Carlsen or play against a friend.
17. Artsy hobbies. Take up embroidery, calligraphy, knitting, sewing or origami.
18. Coloring, painting, drawing. Challenge yourself to draw one picture every day. Need some inspiration? Check out Inktober.
19. Languages. It’s time to finally improve your English skills or learn a new language.
20. Coding. Learn to code for free on Codecademy or any of these other 22 free learning resources.
21. Interesting facts. Vsauce is one of those websites that makes learning fun and interesting where you can learn concepts like the infinite money paradox, the game you win by losing, the napkin ring problem, and more. Mental Floss tells you the hidden stories behind popular happenings around the world, from science to history to pop culture. Wait But Why, a personal favorite, is a popular long-form, stick-figure-illustrated blog about almost everything.
22. Online courses. Build skills with Coursera’s online courses from top universities like Stanford, Yale, Michigan, and learning companies like Google and IBM.
23. Survival skills. Learn these 46 survival skills to keep you entertained in the backyard and alive in the backcountry.
24. Explore the universe. 100,000 Stars is an interactive visualization of the stellar neighborhood. It shows the real location of over 100,000 nearby stars. Zooming in reveals 87 major named stars and our solar system.
25. Wikipedia. Ever felt guilty for spending too long on Wikipedia going from one link to the next? Time to get lost! You can also play the Wiki Game, whose goal is to start on a randomly selected article and navigate to another pre-selected target article, solely by clicking links within each article.
26. Cooking skills. Cook a new recipe every day. Use Supercook to get recipe ideas with the food that you have at home and learn these 25 skills every cook should know.
27. Web design. Practice your web design skills by creating logos, illustrations or packaging for imaginary companies using this company brief generator.
28. Video animations. Create your own animations with one of these free animation tools for your company, for yourself or just for fun!
Get stuff done from home
29. Clean up your house, Time to dust your blinds, clean the baseboards and sweep the floor behind the sofa.
30. Tidy up your closet. Organize your clothes, get rid of those items you never wear, and -why not- try things on and do a private catwalk show.
31. Play with your children (if you have any). First, learn how working parents can prepare for coronavirus closures, and then pick a few games to play with your family.
32. Paperwork. Catch up on admin stuff, file your taxes, and pay your bills.
33. Photo gallery. We never have time to delete pictures from our phone and organize our gallery. Now you don’t have an excuse!
34. Résumé. Check templates and ideas online and put a decent CV together. You can also build your personal one-page profile for free with Carrd.
35. LinkedIn. Rewrite your bio and update your profile.
36. Writing. Improve your storytelling skills by writing a book or a short story.
37. Blog/Vlog. Always wanted to set up your own website? Get started with this tutorial: Install and Optimize WordPress In Under One Hour
38. Unsubscribe. Say goodbye to all those newsletters you don’t need that keep flooding your inbox.
Take care of yourself
39. Workout. Pick your favorite style and move your body! FitnessBlender and HASfit or check out The Fitness Marshall, heart-pumping dance videos for a perfect quick cardio session.
40. Yoga. Improve your practice with these 6 free yoga online resources.
41. Meditate. You can start with this brief mindfulness meditation routine.
42. Spa day. Pamper yourself at home with a bubble bath, exfoliate, and light up some candles.
43. Journal. Write about your quarantine life or photo document it.
44. Sleep. Catch up on all those missed sleeping hours.
45. Nothing. Literally do nothing. Lay down in bed and unplug from the world for a while without feeling guilty.
The most important thing is that you keep yourself busy and keep finding ways to cultivate your mind, body, and sanity overall.
If improving your English is something you have been wanting to do for a while, learn more about your options here.
About Talaera Business English Training
Talaera is an online platform that provides one-on-one English language training, anytime, anywhere, with 100% personalized lessons, and native-English instructors that will help you achieve your learning goals.
If you are working from home and interested in making the most of your time, you can now try our online business English courses for free. Get in touch to get more information.
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