No joke, it’s been a crazy time where everything in the world seamlessly changed in the blink of an eye. In an instant, the pandemic uprooted all our lives before we even had time to take in what was happening. You’ve probably spent the past two weeks laughing along with the quarantine memes, which offer us some instant comfort in this dark time. However, now that it’s setting in that social distancing will be our new norm for awhile, we need new activities to occupy our time. I’ll admit, I spent the better half of last week sleeping in, staying in my PJs and eating but I doubt I can keep this up for the next couple of months. If you’re like me who hasn’t been able to work since the lockdown, I’ve compiled a list of cool and fun things you can do with your time at home. It’s time to get creative and enjoy your quarantine (yes, it’s possible) until we are free to roam once again.

 

1. Skincare & Chill.

One of the most obvious and easiest things to do with all the free time we have is to take care of our skin. How many facial sheet masks have you collected these past months or year that you still haven’t used? For me, it’s at least 10 and it feels so nice to finally treat myself to some skincare and chill time. It’s the closest thing to an at-home spa treatment that we have currently. I like pampering my skin for 10-15 minutes after doing my skincare routine with one of my Korean sheet masks (Innisfree’s a personal favourite) and then just Netflix and chill until time’s up. It’s so easy to feed yourself with junk during this time that keeping up with a skincare routine becomes even more important as we go into week four of quarantine. After these sheet masks are done, I’m going to start trying out the clay masks I left out to die on my bathroom counter. Now’s the time to finally treat your skin the way you’ve always wanted if only you had the time.

 

2. Learn How to Do Your Own Nails.

Yup. That’s right, girls. Let’s rewind back to simpler times when we’d actually attempt to do our nails at home and struggle with drying them before having them ruined accidentally. The only difference is that we can learn how to do Shellac nails instead by investing in an acrylic nail kit with UV light included (which instantly dries nails within seconds) all in the comfort of our homes. No, it won’t be as amazing as getting pampered and having a certified nail technician do it for you but it’ll save you loads of money in the long run. Before the quarantine period, I was spending about $50 a month on a shellac manicure for the past 4 years. However, I recently found Vishine’s UV gel nail manicure set on Amazon for only $70 that will probably last me for years to come. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t invest in one earlier – I could’ve saved so much money and now you can too.

 

3. Paint Yourself a Denim Jacket.

This might be more ambitious to do but I recently went to a paint night hosted by Original Genes in Toronto where I got to hand paint my own denim jacket. I haven’t painted in years and it just felt so good to do something out of the ordinary – this plus painting is a natural stress reliever for me. At this paint night event, most people either painted canvas bags or a denim jacket. I liked the concept of painting a cute denim jacket instead because of how much I love rocking denim jackets in general, so I figure it’d be super cool to have a personalized one. Of course, not everyone wants to paint a jacket so tote bags are always a safe choice – you can pretty much paint anything on canvas tbh. Don’t have anything to paint or paints in general? No worries, check out this affordable 12-colour acrylic paint set and chic plain tote bag you can easily order online. The best part is by the end of it, you’ll have a personalized item you can take with you anywhere.

 

4. Do a Puzzle.

I can’t even remember the last time I did a puzzle but when you think about, it helps the time pass that much faster. We all remember how therapeutic it was to just sit there for hours figuring out which pieces fit where – not to mention super fun. I’m starting to think of this quarantine period as one big mental vacation from real life but that doesn’t mean we have to sit on the couch all day watching Netflix (not that there’s anything wrong with that because I love doing that too). Doing nothing all day gets old real quick so instead, I challenge you to doing something each day that stimulates your brain. Doing a – say 1000-piece – puzzle will not only help get your mind off the fact that we’re stuck indoors for days to come but take away some anxiety from the current situation.

5. Take up Cooking.

Confession time – I don’t know the first thing when it comes to cooking but this quarantine period has brought out a different side of me. I’ve been starting simple by finally learning how to make ham and cheese omelettes and it’s actually quite fun. I’ve always been the type of person to dine out or eat quick meals but now that we really have no choice, learning how to cook seems like a no brainer. It’s also a really nice bonding experience to do with your quarantine partner (if you have one that is) and with all this free time, the least you can do is learn how to cook amiright? I’ve finally learned how to properly chop up mushrooms and you can too. YouTube exists for a reason; you can basically learn how to cook anything on it. A quick google search will bring you into an eye-opening world of yummy recipes so no excuses!

 

6. Start a Workout Routine.

Alright, I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of slacking off majorly in the staying-active department but it’s the perfect endorphin-releasing activity you can do right now. I know times are depressing and you just want to lie in bed all day (guilty of doing this as well) BUT one of the biggest cures for depression has always been exercise. Since many businesses have been forced to close due to the current situation, they’ve instead moved their services online – for free! Many gyms within the city are live streaming their workout classes so you can follow along in the comfort our your home. One of them being Fit Factory based in downtown Toronto. Tune in live at 12pm and 5:30pm to get that blood flowing. Best part? No one can see you sucking at those push-ups anymore. Always remember to take care of your body!

 

7. Make a Scrapbook.

This is probably one of my favourite ideas. What’s more fun that making a scrapbook when you’re bored? I haven’t made one in years and also haven’t had any of my photos printed in recent years either. It’s a fun way to organize all the memorable moments in your life into a neat little package. It’ll also keep you busy by looking through your long forgotten archive of photos in your phone so you can bring them back to life in physical form. I’ve been eyeing the HP Sprocket portable photo printer for awhile because it’s such a convenient way to get your photos printed instantly directly from your phone. I literally take so many photos and now that I have the time, I feel it’s finally time to find a way to display them in a more meaningful way. What’s the point of taking photos if no one ever sees them?

 

8. Do an Online Guided Meditation.

I don’t know about you but since the beginning of this quarantine and social distancing period, I’ve been feeling anxious about the uncertainty of our future. It doesn’t help that I have anxiety on and off but this lockdown has definitely escalated those feelings. Staying at home for long periods of time has taken a toll on my body mentally because I naturally love going new places, trying new things and exploring in general. That’s why it’s so important to take care of your mental well-being when hit with negative feelings. One of the best ways to help de-stress is by mediating. It’s not always easy to shut off your mind to outside stresses, which is why following a guided mediation on a meditation app is so helpful. One of the better meditation apps I’ve heard about is Calm, which can help you find your inner zen and even put you to sleep with the voice of a certain Matthew McConaughey.

 

9. Make a TIKTOK.

This one’s a no brainer – join TIKTOK! Since the lockdown happened, TIKTOK – more than any other app – has been giving me instant mood boosts. There’s dance battles, lip-sync challenges and lots of laugh-out-loud quarantine humour. I’ve just been having fun with it and made a couple of videos myself already. I’ve come to realize anyone can make a TIKTOK out of pretty much anything and anywhere – whether it’s related to your daily outfit inspo, a dance number or even what you ate for dinner. The app provides a library of different soundtracks for you to dance, lip-sync and pose to so you can easily make videos out of them. The point is to let loose, have fun and make someone’s day by giving them 15-60 seconds of feel good vibes. Maybe you can even become TIKTOK famous after this, who knows? You can check out my TIKTOK account @michellechentikoks.

 

10. Start an Online Business.

Probably the most productive and feel-good thing I did in all two weeks of quarantine is start my own Amazon Influencer shop. I put it on the back burner for awhile but so glad I finally joined because now I get to share all my favourite Amazon products with you. I’ve always loved shopping on Amazon for good quality products with fast and easy shipping so starting my own online shop only felt natural. I now have an official storefront on Amazon.ca, which people can shop directly from, complete with different lists of products that I recommend from the site. Although I do earn a small commission from the site, most are products that I’ve either used or are brands that I’ve had good experiences using. All in all, rest assured, they’re all products that have stellar reviews to boot.

Since I haven’t been able to go to work since the lockdown, starting an online business now seems like the perfect time to get things moving. Let’s not waste of our time in quarantine. It’s time to try new things and to explore what truly makes us happy – that’s probably the coolest thing we could get out of this craziness.

 

As an Amazon Influencer, I earn a small commission on all Amazon products featured.

 

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