Things to do while you're stuck at home

October 2021

If you’ve got a tally on your wall for the number of days you’ve been quarantining, and another tally for the number of times you’ve read the phrase ‘uncertain times’, then you are definitely in need of some healthy distractions. We’ve put together our tried and tested favourites:

Read something thought provoking:

We will be sharing our favourite novels on our Instagram story over the next few days, but if you want a sneak peek, start reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (or watch the film! You’ll cathartically weep either way), Normal People by Sally Rooney, and Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (a book that 100% earned its Booker Prize).

Start an exercise routine:

If we lie in our beds for the next couple of weeks we will all completely lose it. Luckily, there are plenty of online yoga classes and fitness YouTube channels that are up and running to stop this from happening. If organised exercise isn’t your thing, we recommend turning your music up high and dancing wildly in your room for a couple of songs to get your blood pumping. Dance like no one’s watching and use a household object as a partner if no one is willing to join you.

Attend an online gallery:

If you can’t quite bear to tear yourself away from a screen, then we recommend you leave Instagram alone for a moment and tune in to an online gallery. Whether you’re missing your local gallery or you fancy virtually globe-trotting, you’ll be pleased to hear that over 2,500 museums are now offering online collections. Our personal recommendations are Amsterdam’s Rijkmuseum and Seoul’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Cook something adventurous:

Not being able to get your hands on every ingredient should not stop you from going wild in the kitchen! Cook yourself and your co-isolators something that either looks or tastes amazing (or both if you want an enormous challenge!). Alternatively, this is the perfect time to perfect your bread baking skills: the potentially boring process of kneading and rising has just become the ideal distraction performance enhancing break from working from home. Your whole street is going to appreciate the smell of freshly baked bread when you fling open your windows to let in the spring air. This romantic image could be your reality!

Edit a Wikipedia page:

Seriously? Seriously. Art+Feminism is a non-profit organisation that encourages everyone to improve Wikipedia’s content on gender, feminism and the arts. You can be an activist from your sofa, with no Wikipedia experience required. While their events usually take place in person, many are now being run online. If taking part in edit-a-thons all over the world is your dream, then you're in luck! Follow their Instagram @artandfem or their Twitter @artandfeminism to keep track of when their next events are taking place.

As ever, our Instagram DMs/Facebook messages/email inboxes are open to suggestions. We’d love you to contribute your own distractions so we don’t all find ourselves lying on the floor rewatching something on Netflix yet again.