Just a bunch of gentle ways to entertain yourself without leaving your home
Image: Jonathan Howard Kemp via Unsplash
Hi, friends. Things feel pretty scary right now, and once you’ve had your fill of the day’s (or hour’s) news, you might find yourself with a lot of time on your hands and no idea how to fill it… and that boredom and anxiety can make going out very tempting. (BTW, if you’re not self-isolating yet but really could be, read Your Social Life Is Going on Hiatus and all the links within.)
With that in mind, I put together a list of things to occupy your mind and time for the next little while. (And I’ll update it if/when I think of other ideas!) I hope something on here will be just the thing you were looking for.
To read
The best things I’ve written and edited over the years
The best things I read and wrote in 2019
Old BuzzFeed posts from my team: Terri Pous, Tom Vellner, Anna Borges, and Gyan Yankovich. (And me!)
My Goodreads profile (note: I was adding pretty haphazardly prior to 2019)
My favorite Ask a Manager posts
PSA: You can check out e-books from your local library through the Libby app.
This also seems like a great time to pick up Elin Hildebrand novels!
To listen to
Here are my all-time favorite podcast episodes
More playlists to have on for background noise, including a new one for March + bonus fun bops
To watch
Jane the Virgin
Cheer
Black Mirror (Just “San Junipero” and “Nosedive” for now)
Our Planet (because Netflix pulled Planet Earth recently)
Ken Burns’ Prohibition
Steven Universe: The Movie
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
Pen15
Nailed It
Jeopardy!
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
I Love Lucy
Are You the One? Season 8 (It’ll repair some of the rot caused by Love Is Blind)
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Feel Good on Netflix
To do*
*As long as you already possess the necessary supplies/ingredients
Make delicious use of all your beans and pasta. (Related: Chickpea pasta, lemon butter pasta, and simple recipes to make when your life is in shambles.)
Make friendship bracelets. Also consider this list of creative hobbies to try when everything is awful and you're not okay.
Pour your anxious energy into a tiny home project that will leave you feeling accomplished.
Use YouTube tutorials to teach yourself music video choreography.
Try Yoga with Adriene or a Ryan Heffington IG Live dance class.
Get on the Marco Polo app — it’s a fun/easy way to keep in touch.
Read How to Solve The New York Times Crossword, download the app, and try your first Monday puzzle. (Tip: Doing all the old Monday and Tuesday puzzles in the archives is a great way to get better very quickly.)
Make friendship bracelets. Also consider this list of creative hobbies to try when everything is awful and you're not okay.
Journal daily.
Create DIY/art projects/collages with whatever supplies you have! I’m probably going to dust off my Cricut at some point this weekend and make weird/silly shit with it, and/or make a zine.
And remember to call/FaceTime friends and family to stay connected, especially if you (or they!) live alone — it really does help! 💛