50 Things To Do while Quarantined (Beyond Binge Watching)
By Carrie Gress
We are faced with an international crisis but it doesn’t mean we have to live in fear and anxiety. It is easy to get sucked into the news cycle or binge watching series after series, leaving us feeling dissipated and uninspired.
The key, no matter what you do, is to make sure your spiritual life is alive. Certainly, we should be praying for an end to this plague and those suffering from it, but tapping into our relationship with God can animate all that we do in new and fresh ways.
This unprecedented time is an opportunity to do creative and life-giving things that can bring order, calm, and peace to our lives now and after the pandemic ends. Think spiritual staycation not imprisonment. Here’s a list to spark your creative juices:
Catch up on sleep
Write a letter (with pen and paper)
Read one book of the Bible slowly and carefully
Pray the daily rosary
Start a garden
Mani/pedi
Tell, retell, or record family stories
Organize closets or cabinets
Take a masterclass
Shop online sales
Do a craft project, sew, or knit
Tend to your yard or indoor plants
Make preserves
Cook new recipes
Read a novel
Do a puzzle
Exercise
Tackle your DIY list
Discover new cocktails
Shop online at local stores (or purchase gift cards)
Rediscover your dreams
Follow up on unanswered emails
Watch daily Mass online
Go for a walk or bike ride (where legal)
Polish silver
Play cards or board games
Reach out to an old friend
Get digital photos organized and printed
Work on family genealogy
Send thank you notes to essential service providers
Be merciful to those around you
Sit in silence for mental prayer
Organize your books
Take a long bath
Clean out your car
Read aloud books as a family (or with grandparents on Zoom)
Go through old photo albums
Look for things for which you are grateful
Sort through your wardrobe
Send a letter or small gift to someone who is alone
Try new wine
Read poetry
Make croissants
Take pictures
Make a retreat
Cut and arrange spring flowers
Paint
Clean your freezer and/or oven
Listen to classical music
Find things that make you laugh
