Three fun ways to pass the time during home quarantine

Cosying up at home sounded like fun until everyone had to do it. For anyone stuck in quarantine, who’s had their fill of quirky TikTok videos and Instagram challenges, maxed out streaming services and can’t face another Zoom call with friends, here are three fun ways to pass the time safely at home.

Take an online course or boost skills

Now’s also a good time to learn something new. No one can see the times when it’s difficult, so it’s an opportunity to simply emerge from quarantine like a new butterfly, dazzling with fancy new skills.  Whether it’s learning something new in the kitchen, picking up a skill or taking a course that will blow the dust off the resume and make it even more appealing, there’s sure to be something interesting and inspiring to enjoy. 

Learners shouldn’t be afraid to think outside the box, either. Sure, it could be something obvious, like a new certification that will add to a CV, but it could be time to try something new like knitting, baking or learning a craft. Since those four walls are the limit and social circles are suddenly very limited, now’s the perfect time to try it out. Udemy and Coursera are well known for offering low-cost courses to get users started.

Online gaming

Anyone who was already a fan of console and computer video games might find that exploring online portals will offer a wealth of new games, and the experience can be social too – especially multiplayer games with chat functions.

Not sure where to start? It depends on the kind of game that’s needed. For instance, for virtual farming, players can start from Facebook; for football, basketball, Formula 1 and more there’s EA Sports; for something riskier, there’s Profit Squad, (which also brings some reviews and other features for peace of mind). For the latter kind of games, it’s important to stay extra safe by checking any online casino is currently registered with the UK Gambling Commission, which regulates legitimate operations in the UK.

Do that thing! Or don’t – both are valid

Everyone has something they’ve been putting off because they don’t have enough time. Often it’s related to goals or learning something, as mentioned above. But it could be worth thinking more broadly than that: has there long been a promise made to sort the office out? Spring clean the flat? Practice a new language or musical instrument? Redo the flower beds? Paint the walls? Learn stand-up paddleboarding? Well, it’s probably not possible the last, but it’s easy to start researching the hows and whys.

A lot of people have goals they continuously put off. Now’s the ideal time to bit the bullet and check if they’re really the right goals – and often, they aren’t. Maybe it doesn’t matter if the flower bed is overgrown or the desk is messy. If that’s the case, it’s time to let that guilt go! That goal has no business hanging around. It’s time to do something fun instead! Or dig into some real personal goals that are going to be more fulfilling. Freeing mental space of “nonsense” goals can be very rewarding.

And if it turns out it is worth achieving, after all, now’s the time to get cracking!

So there they are: three easy activities will make the time in quarantine go past a little bit faster.

The editorial unit