8 Ways to Make the Most of Being at Home During Lockdown

 Being stuck indoors can be boring for most of us; there’s just not enough to keep our interest! For others though, having to stay indoors can be like a dream. With both the national lockdown and wintery weather, everyone is going to have to make the most of their time at home.

But there’s only so much doomscrolling and Netflix a person can take before they need to find something else to fill their time with. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 8 things to do while you’re stuck at home; stop endlessly scrolling through social media or watching the same TV show for the umpteenth time and try your hand at one of these.

1) Try Baking Some Treats

Winter is the time for eating indulgent snacks, so why not try making some yourself? You can appreciate the fruits of your hard work first-hand, and it’s a great skill to have in the future.

Baking is a great activity for both beginners and experts; no matter your skill level, there’ll be something you can make. It’s also inexpensive dependent on what you’re making, and if they’re well stored, they can last for a week. If you can resist eating all of them at once!

BBC Good Food is a great place to go for recipes and can help you get started.

2) Play Games with Your Friends

Games are a great way to catch up with your friends, what’s more, there’s something for everyone. If you are living with some flatmates, a board game night can bring all of your friends out of their rooms so you can enjoy some face-to-face interaction.

Before anyone suggests Monopoly, there’s plenty of good board games out there which can get your brain going, try looking at Settlers of Catan, Codenames, and Chameleon to name a few. But if you’d rather not spend money on a physical copy of a game, or you have friends you don’t live with that you’d like to play games with, there are free app versions of many board games as well.

3) Share Your Views or Interests in a Podcast

Laptop with inbuilt microphone? Check. Internet connection? Check. Then you have all you need to start a podcast. There’s plenty of free recording software (try OBS) and making an account on YouTube to post your podcasts is also free. You just need to think about something to talk about.

This can be a great group activity, and you don’t even need to all be in the same room. Chat server software like Discord allow you to speak to your friends and record their voices as well, so you can easily record whatever you and your friends want to talk about.

The best part of this? If you just want to talk or rant about something, this can be a therapeutic way to do so, you don’t even need to publish the video.

4) Learn That Skill You’ve Always Wanted to Do

We all have that secret interest in some random skill that you never know where to start with. Well, being stuck at home gives you a great opportunity to invest a couple of hours a day into this. It can also help give you some much-needed structure to your day.

While there are online classes or websites that can teach you these skills, they do sometimes cost money. YouTube meanwhile, can be a great source of free learning. Got a magic trick you’ve always wanted to do, or maybe would you like to know how to say “I’m bored and stuck at home” in Japanese? Now’s your chance to learn.

5) Explore Your Surroundings

Admit it, when was the last time you let yourself get lost somewhere? These days we can all be a little too reliant on technology, especially when it comes to learning a locale. While we’re only able to go out and exercise locally once a day, this provides a great excuse to put on your winter coat and scarf and explore what’s around you without looking at a map. (unless you get really really lost!)

Set yourself a challenge; try and hit 10,000 steps by exploring a new area around you each day.

6) Find a Workout Routine That Suits You

It’s all too common; we tell ourselves that we’ll stick to this new exercise routine and proceed to never do it again. Well, now that you’ve got nothing better to do, you can really stick to it this time. Start by trying different workouts and see what fits you, after all, you know your body and what works for you.

You don’t need to invest in anything to start working out at home. Try looking up bodyweight exercises or give something like Yoga a go. If you’d like to spend a little money on something extra to help you at home, resistance bands can help you work out without taking up too much space or breaking the bank.

7) Dip into Your Creative Side

Doing something artistic can help stifle the boredom settling in. Creativity can cover any number of things; collages, drawing, painting, photography, writing and more. The important thing is to not get despondent when something doesn’t work. Be kind to yourself and try again.

8) Mix it Up with an Online Scavenger Hunt

It’s easy to get into the same conversational loops with your friends and family. Add a little spice to your video chats by hosting an online scavenger hunt. All you need is a games’ master and to have knowledge about common household objects. The games’ master states a random item (like a wooden spoon, shampoo bottle or drink coaster) and whoever comes back with the item first wins.

About Unihousing Student Lettings

We are a student landlord based in Selly Oak Birmingham, providing studios and houses to those attending the University of Birmingham. We help both individual and groups of students find quality accommodation, within walking distance of the university. Contact Unihousing today to find out how we can help you.