What to do with time on your hands
Right now, there's a global pandemic, and many folk are in lockdown or are self-isolating. Given we're all staying inside for the foreseeable, we might want some neat ideas for stuff to do…so here's a totally inexhaustive list of cool activities, wholesome media I recommend, and stuff that you've probably forgotten is fun!
Wet playtime
Okay, you're hermiting. Good for you! There's so much you could do. Don't worry, it won't be like those rainy wet playtimes at school, with just a half-missing jigsaw for entertainment.
You have resources, imagination, and the internet.
Just think of the wonderful things you could get up to…
Look after your body and mind
Dance like nobody's watching. Dance for fun, and joyous movement. Dance like you're a cute girl getting ready in an 80s movie. Because inside, we all are.
Work out: do squats and supersets; pull out that dusty folding bike and stick on a Steadicam video of riding around Japan; do some weights to an awesome workout playlist or two. Sweat, and let it feel good. Do some yoga with Adriene and her nice doggie.
Meditate, or give it a go if you don't already. It takes a while to get into, but first steps and all that.
Do super self-care: shave, wax, pluck, lotion, the whole shebang. Do a mani/pedi. Get your face or foot or hand or hair mask on. Dye your roots, hon'.
Have a relaxing bath or shower by candlelight.
Enjoy massage or self-massage.
Have lots of great orgasms. You should know how by now, and if you don't, find out. There's no shame in having fun with your own body, in the privacy of your own home.
Sleep well: a few nights of great sleep hygiene can really set you on the right track. Don't underestimate the power of a power nap, or a few hours' extra sleep. Turn in for an early night and reap the benefits.
Bake bread, cakes and cookies, because it's rad, fun, and as a side-product you get treats.
Cook or learn to cook, because it's rad, fun, and as a side-product you get dinner. Make those dinners healthy with loads of fruit and veg, and you're bolstering your immune system too. (Truly, a winner, winner of a dinner.)
Meal prep by making stock, or batch cook for freezer meals.
Drink plenty of water. You're at home so you can pee like 17 times a day if you need to. Flush that system and stay hydrated.
Keep your mind busy: try crosswords, sudoku, or any other puzzles that get you hooked. Do a jigsaw - they're loads of fun when you know all the bits are there.
Stay connected: check in with friends via messenger, or video chat. A long chat with a mate can do the world of good.
Consume Pop Culture
Watch - I don't do scary, gritty, or grim. Wholesome TV series recs include:
GLOW, The Good Place, Gravity Falls, Queer Eye, Duck Tales, Buffy, Virgin River (so wholesome it hurts), I'm Not Okay With This (bit of mega injury in the last ep, so, fair warning), Elementary, BoJack Horseman (kinda dark, adult humour, but not scary), The Vox documentaries on Netflix, or their vids on YouTube (Perhaps skip the pandemic one, eh?), Chef's Table, any stand-up comedy by Mike Birbiglia or Patton Oswalt.
Listen - People talking on podcasts and such helps you feel less alone:
Hit Parade is absolutely masterful work. Go check it out. Now.
Ologies is fantastic. (Try the one about crows first.)
If you like comics (and I don't read many these days, but I like listening to the funny guys talking) War Rocket Ajax is fab. (I skip the wrestling shows.)
Look up old Goon Shows, they're hilarious, if unfortunately, occasionally 'of a time'. (That time being before people understood that racism is racist.)
Find yourself some Mitch Hedberg or Patton Oswalt recordings. Shit's funny, man.
Listen to Henry Rollins' travel/spoken word stuff from recent years, it's lovely and inspiring.
The first series of Serial is very compelling listening.
Read - Get that good wordstuff right up into your brain. Recs are:
All of the Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel.
Dominic by Willian Steig. (One of my favourite books, and these first two recs are great for kids, too).
Playing to the Gallery by Grayson Perry.
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. (Life-changing stuff, and a short read.)
HELP!: How To Become Slightly Happier and Get A Bit More Done by Oliver Burkeman.
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher.
Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whittaker.
From The Elephant To Hollywood by Michael Caine.
White Line Fever: Lemmy: The Autobiography by Lemmy Kilminster.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
Jamie's 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver. (For recipe inspo, and full of dishes you'll actually make, over and over again.)
The John Carter of Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Play – Pull out those board games 'n' wargames, and do treasure hunts if you're around people.
Solo play video game recs are…
For Long, life-eating, dozens-of-hours play:
Xenoblade Chronicles, The Witcher 3, Final Fantasy XII, some earlier Assassin's Creed games (the Ezio ones), Persona 5, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask. The original Mass Effect Trilogy. The Borderlands series.
Shorter play-in-a-night/over-a-week-or-so titles:
Night In The Woods. (Oh gods, play Night In The Woods. It's so, so good.) Bastion. Bayonetta. Ico. Her Story, Braid, Undertale, Return of the Obra Dinn, and Celeste. Old LucasArts point 'n' clicks like the early Monkey Island games, Day of The Tentacle, and Sam & Max Hit The Road.
On mobile, The Room series, Monument Valley 1 and 2, and Florence.
Dust off your old consoles, if you have any, and have a nostalgic ball. You won't regret it.
Learn ‘n’ make ‘n’ do
Learn a new skill – Study for fun, and use your noodle:
Udemy has tons of cheap courses on, like, everything; Coursera is free. Pick an area and go for your life.
Learn a new language: there are tons of free resources online.
Learn to play an instrument. I play ukulele, and you can get okay ones for cheap from Amazon. Ukulele not your thing? See also, harmonica, mini keyboard, recorder, ocarina, xylophone, bass guitar – the latter of which you can play with headphones and amp so it's quiiiiiiet. For ukulele, I put chord sheets for songs I like up here, but you can find plenty of songsheets online.
Write something - Chances are you loved writing once, so perhaps craft a:
Story/short story, character profile, song, poem, that novel you’ve been promising, essay, diary entry, letter (love letter, thank you letter, letter to your future self/past self/current self/future kids/future spouse), a description of your vision of the future, comic (storyboard something out, or write a script), blog post, play script/screenplay.
Start a YouTube channel – make videos about anything you're interested in. I've got one, full of stripped-down ukulele covers of songs I like, and demos of songs I wrote. Nobody really cares, but I love doing it.
Make music playlists - for holidays, cleaning, breakups, breakdowns, workouts, and recovery. Make a mixtape playlist on Spotify for a friend, and send it to them. Because you are the hecking best.
Organise your space, or your digital media - you know you should. You're sure to have a stack of something you'd use more if you could only find it... (Hanging up your wardrobe with several outfits all together feels good and saves time when you're in a hurry. Plus you might discover some combinations you hadn't considered.)
Spring clean and sanitise your surfaces - A clean space helps you to feel more present and in control, too. Clear out that closet and declutter. You don't need all those takeaway containers that you move around but never use.
Try photography - you've got a camera-phone, right? Go search your house for cool shot possibilities. Or, create some. Lay out your Insta for a few weeks, and use filters for atmospheric looks.
Make something with your own two hands:
Try scrap-booking or start a bullet journal.
Make a collage.
Print out photos and stick them into a photo album.
Do colouring, you can print out sheets online if you don't have anything already.
Knit: I knit scarves with the one stitch I can do, and it's surprisingly therapeutic.
Do stitchy stuff: crochet, quilt, cross-stitch, embroider.
Quill (not a typo, the one were you make spirals out of thin strips of paper in cool patterns).
Paint on canvas, board...anything thick will do.
Paint little cool wargame figures.
Make wargame scenery from card.
Paint that dresser/wall/whatever.
Draw, either on paper, or digitally with a drawing tablet. I stopped drawing for many years, but now for my job as an indie dev I use a Wacom tablet and Photoshop, and it is fun as hell. For free software, you could use GIMP instead.
Doodle on paper to make your own wrapping paper for small items.
Mould something from plasticine, FIMO or air-dry clay. Make salt dough shapes.
Get a huge roll of string and look up macramé patterns online.
Try origami. (You can make a lot from cheap printer/cartridge paper, y'all.)
Fold some of those old 'fortune tellers' you might've made when you were a kid.
Do any craft kits/model kits you have laying around. That Gundam ain't gonna make itself.
Fix broken jewellery, or if you have the stuff, make some from scratch.
Sort out what you can - Creaky door? Need a hook on the wall? A hem need taking up? Now's the perfect time to fix those little things that drive you crazy, because doing so would improve your quality of life every single day.
Get gardening - plant seeds, propagate those darn potbound houseplants; prune and look after the ones you've got.
Make a mindfulness jar - write little notes of things to be mindful of each day. Put it away for a while, and then pick one out when you need a boost.
Snuggle and play with any available animals.
That'll do, pig. All that should keep you busy for a bit, right?
You never know, if you're open, you might just find (or rediscover) something wonderful that you love. Have fun!
Love always,
Fay
xX