Remember when you used to dream about having a few days to sit and home and do nothing? Well now that dream is now a reality and after about a week, some of us are realizing that it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There’s only so much television you can binge and snacks you can consume before your brain (and body) turn to mush.
Here are five ways we’ve found to stay busy that will have a much more positive impact on your well-being than binge watching Tiger King…again. And, because doing things for others has been shown as an effective way to elevate your own spirits, we’ve included a few ideas for helping out organizations in your community.
Quick tip – be sure to check your local guidelines and recommendations for collection and distribution of items before you begin.
1. Make masks from old tee shirts and distribute them to friends, family, health care workers, and anyone else you can think of. Click here to learn how.
2. Have grandchildren or other little ones in your life? Read to them via Facetime or Zoom. Or have them read to you!
3. Learn a new skill. Thanks to YouTube and a wide variety of apps you can learn everything from how to play the guitar to how to knit, or speak a foreign language. Engage your brain!
4. Organize a drive for a charity. Ask friends and neighbors to drop off unopened toiletries for a homeless shelter, canned goods for a food bank, or toys and games for children’s shelters. Many of these organizations can arrange for pickups if you are unable to drop them off.
5. Bake (or order) cookies, muffins or other treats for your local first responders and deliver them to say “thanks.”
It can be tempting to hunker down and wait until this is over to get on with your life, but the fact is, life is still happening all around us every day. Just because it looks different doesn’t mean you should stop living it. Focus on things you CAN do versus dwelling on the things you can’t. And if you can make a difference to someone else in the process—even better!
