How to make the most out of Covid-19

Summary

The article provides suggestions for making the most of the Covid-19 pandemic by engaging in productive and fulfilling activities at home.

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has confined many to their homes, leading to a search for meaningful ways to spend time. The author shares personal experiences and recommends activities such as indoor gardening with leftover veggies, taking up writing, learning new skills like yoga, maintaining a daily routine, investing in the stock market with caution, experimenting with cooking, and cycling for exercise and mental well-being. These activities are presented as ways to combat boredom, improve mental and physical health, and find joy during isolation.

Opinions

The author initially enjoyed staying at home but eventually missed the routine of going to work, reflecting a common shift in sentiment during prolonged isolation.
Decluttering is mentioned as a common initial activity, but the author suggests moving beyond it to more engaging pursuits.
Indoor gardening is highly recommended by the author, who found it to be a rewarding pastime that can be started with basic materials like plastic cups and potting soil.
Writing is presented as a passion that the author rediscovered during the pandemic, suggesting that others might also find fulfillment in expressing themselves through writing.
Learning new skills, such as yoga, is encouraged, with the author highlighting the abundance of online resources available for self-education.
Maintaining a routine is emphasized as crucial for mental and physical wellbeing, with the author advising against a sedentary lifestyle during isolation.
Investing in the stock market during the pandemic is discussed as a potentially beneficial activity, but with a clear warning about the associated risks and the need for thorough research.
Cooking is suggested as a fun and creative activity, with the potential to become a newfound hobby for those who may not have enjoyed it before.
The author expresses enthusiasm for cycling, noting its positive impact on physical fitness and mental health, and its availability as an activity depending on local restrictions.

How to make the most out of Covid-19

Strictly no declutter or home makeover

Most of us are staying at our little or big homes during the pandemic. Some like that and many hate it. We never thought of living our lives stuck at home. Personally I was happy to stay at home one or two days a week without going to my 9–5 job (wasn’t a reality at that time). But now I’m home 24/7 and I must admit that I miss going to work although I never thought I’d feel this way ever before. The fact is we are exhausted and bored to death. No unexpected visits from loved ones, no hangouts with friends, even going to the beach will make you a criminal. So I stay at home 24/7 because I don’t want to be a beach criminal or party criminal. I know most of you are the same.

So rather than being bored and scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, I thought I should make the best out of this time. First I started to declutter, and declutter and declutter after watching too many YouTube videos. Hey why not Netflix? There wasn’t much to do until I looked around. In this article I’ve added some more suggestions along with what I did myself.

Happy self-isolation!

Go green and try indoor gardening

This is literally something I fell in love with. What I simply used were leftover veggies. You can find hundreds of videos if you want to plant leftover veggies. Since I have time, I can take care of them. All you need are some veggies and potting soil. I used plastic cups to plant my veggies because I didn’t have pots (I didn’t do gardening before). But you should make some holes in the cups to ease the drainage.

Start writing

I must tell you that I became a writer during this pandemic. Writing was something I loved since childhood but I didn’t have time to write before. Since I have time I thought why not giving it a try? Writing helped me to spend most of my time during weekdays. The most important thing is to find an exciting topic to write. If you have something like that in your mind, try to put it into some words. You can publish your stories anywhere and maybe you’ll love the results!

Learn something new

We’re self-isolated at homes most of the time with technology in our hands. So why can’t we take this time as an opportunity to learn something new? I picked up yoga. I knew Yoga is something incredible but I didn’t have time and effort to put into it. Now that I have both time and effort, I thought of self-educating some Yoga. I found plenty of resources online to start with. I didn’t feel the need of a teacher but if you really feel like you need a real person to teach you, there are many Yoga gurus out there sharing their knowledge. Find someone like that and start your journey. But remember, it doesn’t necessarily have to be Yoga.

Maintain a routine

Maintaining a routine is extremely helpful for mental and physical wellbeing. Trust me when I say this. Don’t let yourself spend most of the day in your pajamas while you suddenly remember to brush teeth at 2 pm. This can worsen the boredom and wellbeing. I’m not asking you to fall into work, eat, sleep cycle. Rather, find little things to amuse you during the day. Just to keep you happy. It can be an afternoon workout session or a little reading. Setting up a routine for myself really helped me to stay calm during this pandemic.

Invest in stock market

Do you know that this is one of the best times to invest in the stock market? Yes there’s a high risk. Will the markets drop further? probably. However, if you’ve got some extra money in your bank, you can give it a go. At some point the markets will increase and you’ll get the benefit out of it. However, remember to invest only if you have extra money that you probably won’t need any soon. Buying stocks should be done after a thorough research and remember it comes with a huge risk.

Try some recipes

Love cooking or don’t love cooking? Well it’s worth giving a try. If you search online, you’ll be amazed by the number of easy recipes you can try at home. Apart from that you can even be creative and make your own recipes. Maybe you’ll fall in love with your own cooking. If you live with your family, try to engage everyone and make it fun.

Go cycling

Where I’m living, exercising and cycling aren’t prohibited. So I can still go out for cycling. I found some cool apps which show my cycling route and it’s awesome to try. This is something I hadn’t done for many years and now I’m grateful for this free time which is helping me to try something different. The best thing is that I have lost an incredible amount of weight thanks to cycling. Cycling helps you to get in shape and fit. Apart from that, I found it to be psychologically satisfying as well.