“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.” Proverb
With the spread of Covid-19, many people spend way more time at home than usual. We work at home, eat at home, school from home, and entertain from home. With no commutes, waiting in traffic, and at restaurants, there certainly has to be a benefit we may be overlooking – newly created free time in our lives. We could nap it away, worry it away or Netflix it away, but why not swim against the stream and do something new, constructive, and maybe even adventurous? You never know; taking on a new challenge might inject positivity into our worlds. We have a few ideas.
11 Positive Things To Do While You’re At Home
#1: Take an online course
You’re interested in something other than work, right? And if you’re working from home, you have all you need to get started – a computer and an internet connection. You also have time in what would’ve been your travel time commute to and fro and your lunch hour. And maybe the best part, this is time that doesn’t interfere with your Game of Thrones bingeing. Check out this list of “The 100 Most Popular Free Online Courses of 2019”. You can find other options at Skillshare and Udemy. Haven’t you always wanted to learn what your dog is thinking? Well, Udemy has a class for it!
#2: Plant a vegetable garden
Push a seed into the ground, water it, weed it, and watch it grow. Then, enjoy the fruits (or veggies) of your labor. Nurturing something to life seems like a nice distraction from all the bad news. Moreover, a little gardening gets you away from your news machines.
#3: Adopt a rescue dog
They need homes, and you may need companionship. Working from home can get lonely. By all means, combat feelings of isolation with a sweet little mutt who will depend on you. They are an excellent excuse for walking to get a little sunshine and vitamin D.
#4: Start a side business
Side hustles are all the rage now. Just think of everything you do for yourself now that you wish you could get someone else to do for you. You will find people who will pay you for these services. We have a customer who parlayed a side gig of cleaning her church once a week for extra money into a 200-employee commercial cleaning company. By the way, we have a great time clock app if you want to track your time for each customer.
#5: Teach your children how to cook
While you’re working from home and your kids are schooling from home, you have to eat, right? So, why not teach your kids how to cook? This lesson might be one of the biggest favors you can do for them (and their future spouses). And I bet they will thank you later in college when they’re not stuck eating Ramen noodles daily.
#6: Teach your children how to change a tire
You want well-rounded kids, right? Teach them some basic auto mechanics, such as changing a tire. They will certainly appreciate it one day when they are broken down on a dark, deserted highway.
#7: Feed your brain
Ok, if you must binge on Netflix, inject a little education. Search on “documentary” or “history,” and you’ll find plenty of options. Hmm, “The Universe” looks pretty good.
#8: Start a blog
Your blog can be a public diary where you like sharing your thoughts and ideas. Or a blog can be a vehicle in which you communicate your expertise on a specific subject matter. Consider this; if there’s something you can’t stop talking about anyway, it might make a great blog. Your spouse may be tired of hearing it, but you’ll find plenty of people just as interested as you. Furthermore, you could bump the idea up a notch and start a podcast. Udemy has a course, or Pat Flynn can teach you how to start a podcast.
#9: Volunteer
We are in tough times, and plenty of people and charitable organizations need help. The bonus is that giving our time and resources to those in need usually rewards us as much as them. Find ways to help in your community at Volunteermatch.org.
#10: Make a home gym…on the cheap
You might not be able to go to your local gym now, but that’s no excuse to expand your love handles. So, until your gym reopens, build your own home gym for $100 or less. I can personally attest to the wide range of exercises you can do with a yoga ball and a few dumbbells. And don’t worry about a treadmill. You have a new rescue dog to walk!
#11: Can you picture that?
Five thousand pictures hang on your phone, gobbling up space, and when was the last time you looked at them? Many are silly screenshots or otherwise wholly unnecessary now. Go through and delete those and put the remaining pictures in folders on your phone for easy viewing later. You’ll find that perusing your photographs will remind you of fun times with friends and family. Even better, choose your favorite, happy pictures and upload them to an online printing service. I recently had a collection of my favorite beach pictures printed on 8″x 8″ canvas that made a beautiful collage on my office wall. Since I work at home and spend a lot of time in my office, it’s a constant, refreshing memory of more pleasant days.
You See, There’s Lots To Do At Home
While we may feel like we’re cocooned at home, there are plenty of positive and productive things we can do. As a result, we may emerge as better, more equipped, and more fulfilled people. After all, look at what happened to the caterpillar.
Also, check out our pro tips on how to optimize your home office space.
If you need a way to track your time for payroll or by customer for project management while working from home, we can help.
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