I am going into week 5 of social distancing and time away from my brick and mortar job. Fortunately, I am still going strong with my online teaching schedule. Posting frequently on the library’s Facebook has also taken up time while I try to remain productive at home. However, days have begun to run together and I only know the days of the week by the students I teach in the morning and early evening. So I devised this list of some productive and fun things to try while stuck at home.

- Challenge yourself to discard so many items. (Example: 20 items in a week or 50 in a month.)
- Read some books you already have sitting on your shelf.
- Try watching some Korean dramas (#kdramas). Many are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and the free Viki app.
- Write a letter to a long lost friend.
- Scan your old pre-digital pictures.
- Learn a new language. (Verbling even offers face to face digital classes in all languages.)
- Research your family history online for free.
- Take an exercise class on YouTube.
- Try those beautiful Pinterest cupcakes.
- Keep a video vlog of your feelings during self-isolation.
- Host a Zoom Happy Hour.
- Plant an herb garden in random containers.
- Fill out surveys for cash, air miles, or gift cards.
- Pick a movie series you love and binge it with popcorn.
- Plan your dream vacation for when all this is over.
- Try some thing you loved as a kid again.
- Foster an animal in need.
- Trades stocks on Robinhood. (Get started with just 10 bucks!)
- Satisfy your Starbucks craving by making your own cold brew.
- Audit your finances by pulling old card and bank statements. (Challenge yourself to find your biggest money drains.)
- Laugh until your sides hurt with the podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno. (Warning it is very explicit!)
- DIY pedicure. (All you need is some Epson salt, lotion, and your favorite nail polish.)
- Clean out your social media accounts.
- Have a living room dance party with music from your teenage years.
- Read a book on FaceTime to your favorite kids.
- Take a free online course. (They are all over right now.)
- Dig out the old board games and host a game night.
- Find the “Most Instagram Worthy” spots in your neighborhood.
- Make a fairy doors for your yard.
- Check all your pens, highlighters, and markers to make sure they are not dry.
- Back up your phone picks and free up space on your phone.
- Camp in the backyard or stargaze from your balcony.
- Now is a great time to try that natural deodorant, hair dye, nail polish, etc.
- Complete a 24 hour read-a-thon.
- Print free adult coloring sheets to try.
- Have a tapas night and make sangria.
- Repaint a beat up piece of furniture to make it beautiful again.
- Make homemade ice cream in tin cans or zip lock bags.
- Make a vision board or collage with old magazines.
- Visit All Recipes to create your favorite restaurant dish.
- Start a gratitude or bullet journal.
- Trash all your expired beauty products. (Remember, mascara only is good for about 3 months!)
- Make an Amazon Music play list that reminds you of happy times.
- Release your inner artist with sidewalk chalk. (If it doesn’t work out you can always hose it off.)
- Donate to Feeding America. They need help now!
- Record an Instagram TV to share a skill or tutorial to help others. (Pick something you are good at.)
- Clean your walls with a magic eraser.
- Check into refinancing your mortgage or car loan. (Now is a good time!)
- Clean out old email inboxes and unsubscribe from spam emails.
- Try something on my 20 in 2020 list.
Get on with it!
I hope this list sparks some creativity and productivity this week. Although I have managed do get what is needed complete, I am still feeling unproductive. So I hope to use this week to get my creativity flowing again to create for this blog as well as new ones I am developing! (More to come later.). I would all my reader fam out there is safe and healthy.
What are you doing during your self-isolation?

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