Top 17 Fulfilling Things to Do & Learn on your Stay at Home Notice

Leverage on your time in isolation to learn everything you’ve always wanted

Find yourself on home quarantine, work from home arrangements or on Stay at Home Notice?
Well, apart from figuring out how to work more productively at home, you will also find yourself having more time on hand in the house to do stuff you always wanted.

Here are a few things you can consider to make your time better spent and meaningful during this period of anxiety, worry and stress.

Top 16 Fufillling Things to Do & Learn when you are on Stay at Home Notice

– Self Care –

Our mental well being (not just our physical) is vital during periods where you are stuck at home. Spend time caring for yourself, catch up on sleep and embark on some simple activities like below.

1. Reading

Always have that new book you received from your mentor or a half read book sitting on your shelf you never had time for.

Why not take this time to relish it and read while you are at home. Find a cosy corner in your bedroom or the balcony and block off all the background noise as you devour the book.

You would find yourself feeling a bit uncomfortable or finding it hard to concentrate at the beginning if you haven’t been reading much for a while. However, once you get into the mood and zone, enjoy this silent moment and retreat with a nice cup of tea, blanket around your shoulders and read.

2. Journal and Writing

Pick up that dust covered hard cover journal of yours and take this time to start writing and reflecting again. If you have never gone on a silent retreat before, this is the time to do your own home silent retreat to mediate on how your week/ month or year has passed. Have you been prioritizing on what really matters to you. Are you focusing your energies on the areas that brings you the most happiness or the long term goal you are aiming for.

journal

Writing and reflecting is a simple privilege we all forget, and its much needed in times like these.

3. Paint and Draw

For a person who loves to paint and draw, this is something that I strongly encourage everyone to try and bring out your creative side.

Painting

Order a set of fun do-it-yourself DIY Acrylic Paint set online and have it send to you and start getting creative. It can get really rewarding and fun igniting your imagination and artistic side.

– For your Health –

4. Cook and Bake More

Yes, now is the time to experiment with more meal options that requires more TLC ( tender loving care). Be it a more balanced diet or a vegan meal, its good to check out recipes and options for that.

Make your groceries orders online and get the fresh ingredients and fun starter packs you always wanted.

Cook real, whole, healthy foods!
Cook real, whole, healthy foods!

5. Learn Yoga or Pilates

Given that gym lessons or group workouts at gyms are no longer possible, start doing you own personal workouts at home, like simple yoga and pilates.

Planks, push-ups, and even certain yoga poses can help you get great climber abs.

Invest in a good quality anti-slip and durable yoga mat and start practising simple moves that you learn from youtube videos or from your earlier gym classes. When you get more advance, you will start knowing what routine to work on daily and stick to it. This helps to destress, keep your mind alert and also maintain your physical form and confidence.

– Skills Upgrade –

6. Learn a New Language Online

Always wanted to learn Korean, Thai, Spanish and more? Now is perhaps the best time to put your hands to work to do that. The most common one I know of now is called Babbel. Love the name of it as it is taken off the bible with the reference to the Tower of Babbel where it tells of how mankind use to all speak 1 language and tried to build a tower high enough to reach heaven. God punished them for their arrogance and mankind was hit with a mix of different languages such that they cannot communicate in 1 lingo anymore.

7. Take an Online Course

Online courses are very popular these days to enrich ourselves and learn something new. A lot of them are extremely high quality with great interactive content and very knowledgeable speakers/ trainers and experts. I myself have even paid for a number of highly established ones and recently just designed a Facebook Advertising course on Udemy.

You can literally learn anything from Microsoft Excel to Affiliate Marketing to Soft Skills. Don’t miss the chance to learn something you always wanted.

8. Learn Photoshop or Video Editing

Something that I as an individual was procrastinating on for a long time to work on. Well, procrastinate no more.

Time to dig out all your old video clips and work on your first video. To make yourself take it more seriously, make it for someone in mind or something you can add as a personal portfolio on your LinkedIn or Youtube.

– For your home –

9. Grow something you can eat

Calling all cooks and healthy individuals out there. Tired of getting food that are pesticides infested or overpriced. Why not try growing some things of your own. Start with something small like a little chilli plant, parsley, pandan or peppermint plant. Over time if you get better at this, you can move on to other plants that need more land or a green thumb.

10. Fix something in the house long due

Yes, we know what I am referring to. That squeaky door or that favourite dress that the button fell off. Time to get it fixed and amended given you have nowhere more exciting outside to keep you occupied.

If you are a rock climber like me or someone who sees the importance of workout, then you can even consider building your own home climbing gym.

11. Make a new decorative item for your house

Yes, we know how a little touch or furnish in the house can always do wonders to make it more homely. Perhaps there is that set of paintings you wanted to mount, an IKEA shelf that needs to be made or that corner of the house you wanted to revamp to make it a cosy reading corner. Now is the time to fuss around to create that for your house.

Kids

12. Reorganize your house

Start seeing how you can make your home space more conducive for work as well as rest. Declutter some of the piles of things you have and freebies/ unused items you have stored around.

– For your Family/ Loved Ones –

13. Spend time chatting with your parents, spouse or kids

In this period of stay at home notice, take the time to catch up with your family members you are living with. You would be surprise how little time people living under one roof interact together.

Play With Kids

Have meals together and enjoy each other’s company. These are rather precious these days where you are ‘forced’ to interact and catch up each other’s lives.

14. Call and Video Skype with Friends or Family from Overseas

For those who are living away from your family and friends, time alone in isolation or home quarantine can feel rather alienating.
Take this time to schedule video catch up calls with your family and friends. This helps you keep connected and not dwell on the loneliness you may feel being unable to go out or interact with other people outside which you might be very fond of.

– For your Work –

15. Organize your photos albums and computer files

Hunting for things on your computer can now be easier, if we just spend time cleaning up the files, grouping them better and deleting the unneccessary ones. Leverage on Google Drive and other cloud storage to safeguard your data/ files in the event your computer crashes or reboots.

16. Master a new technological gadget – Computer/ Phone/ Appliance

For those who are not as familiar and comfortable with using technogy, this might be the best time to learn to master something new. It can be Google Home or how to use certain online tools and applications better.

17. Update your Professional Profile or Resume

Yes, that’s right, its definitely the best time to give your LinkedIn profile a fresh new coat of paint. Update on your latest accomplishments and projects you have done in your current and past roles, and don’t forget to mention the certificates or courses you have attended as well. If you were on a search for a new role and never had the time to beef up your resume, this is the time to spend some time to work on it.

Work On Your Laptop - Take this period of isolation and Stay home notice to work on the things you never had the time or luxury to.

Top 4 Things to Avoid

  • Net Flix binging: Its easy to get hooked to some series at this point of time given its so convenient with you being home based. But Don’t! Spend those precious hours working on something meaningful and long term beneficial.
  • Game Addiction: Yes, gaming is always something that many people fall back into and can lose themselves in it. However, by being heavily absorbed by it, you will be it a challenge mustering your focus to do something new or important to try.
  • Keep to yourself: Don’t let home quarantine or Stay Home Notice prevent you from communicating with the world out there. Nothing is more dangerous than a person all kop up at home and then feeling depressed and lonely over time. It doesn’t help with your interpersonal skills and self-esteem.
  • Over Snacking: Yes it will happen. Stocking up on all your favourite goodies and then losing control over how fast you go through them. Don’t do that. Opt for healthy snacks and treats instead.
  • Insufficient Movement: Being slouch over a chair or sprawled over the sofa may seem super relaxing at first, but you start getting more lethargic over time and find yourself always tired and unproductive. Don’t make it a habit, as inactivity is bad for blood circulation and physical well being. In the span of a few days to weeks, you will also see yourself gaining a few pounds and wondering where that belly of inactivity is coming from.

So here’s some ways to leverage on your time in isolation to learn everything you always wanted. Its going to be a fufilling and meaningful time!

Which one have you tried?

Top 17 Fulfilling Things to Do & Learn on your Stay at Home Notice

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