Right now, many of us are cooped up at home in a make-shift remote office, wondering how long will we have to continue to work at home?  Working at home sounds great, until you are working at home. You begin to miss the “social” life you had at the office and all of the hustle and bustle. You also begin to miss going places after work and on the weekends. You can’t go to the gym or go out to eat. Instead, you have to find something to do at home, when you were already at home the whole week!

Not going out of your house for a day can make someone anxious, much less, days or even weeks. Frankly, it’s boring and not healthy to always be at home. You need to go out and have a social life, experience new things, and participate in different activities. So how does someone adjust to this drastic change in lifestyle without having anxiety?

As with anything in life, you have to find the silver lining in every situation. You definitely don’t want to sit at home and watch the news all day.  That will cause nothing, but gloom! You need to stay informed, but limit yourself each day. You have a new life to live at home! During this time, you must stay positive, busy, and try new activities to keep it exciting. There is more to do at home then you may think. I hope you enjoy some of the ideas below to make the most of your new life at home!

Do the Things You Always Wanted to Do

This sounds unusual, doesn’t it? There is a way to gain something from all of this? What better time to start that thing you always wanted to do, then now! You have all the time in the world after work and on the weekend. No places to go, nobody to see (physically), why not work on that thing you always wanted to do. 

Perhaps you have always wanted to write a book. Get out your laptop (or pen and paper if you prefer to be more old school) and start writing! Every book starts with a blank sheet of paper. Or maybe you wanted to take up a new hobby. Painting, knitting, graphic design, etc.  If you need to buy supplies for your hobby, you can easily purchase them on Amazon. Once you have your supplies, search the web for a video or course to help you get started! No matter what it is you always wanted to do, now is the time to begin doing it. 

Go Places Without Leaving Your House

There are surprisingly a number of institutions that are providing live feeds and virtual tours. Check out live streams and virtual tours from museums, zoos, and aquariums around the world. 

Museums

Google is offering virtual tours of some of the world’s greatest museums and sites.

The National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian are offering virtual tours of some of their exhibits. 

Louvre Museum, Paris is also offering virtual tours.

Zoos

Check out live cam’s of your favorite animals at the San Diego Zoo.  

See what the Pandas are up to through the Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam.

And we can’t forget about the Polar Bear Cubs at the Ouwehand Park Polar Bear Cubs Rhenen, Netherland. Check out their live cam.

Do you love Penguin’s? You can watch a 24 hour live stream of the penguin exhibit at the Kansas City Zoo. 

Still can’t get enough of animals? See more live cams at Smithsonian’s National! 

Aquariums

Do you have a love for the sea creatures? There are even aquariums hosting live web cams and virtual tours!

Check out the live cams at Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

Take a virtual tour at the National Aquarium. 

What about a virtual field trip? Check out the Seattle Aquarium’s #VirtualFieldTrip.

Travel the World

With Google Maps, you can travel anywhere! Type in a destination you always wanted to go and explore the streets. 

There are even several landmarks that offer virtual tours from your living room. Check some of them out below!

Walk The Great Wall of China 

Explore the stones at Stonehenge 

Visit Pompei   

Explore the Taj Mahal 

Walk around The Vatican, Italy 

Live Concerts

During this time many celebrities have been hosting live concerts from the comforts of their own home. New musicians are performing concerts every day at home. Google your favorite artists and see if they will be performing! 

Below are some of the concerts that have been performed so far. Click the links to watch them on Instagram!

Chris from Coldplay performed a mini gig. 

Keith Urban held a concert and was joined by wife Nicole Kidman. 

John Legend performed songs requested by fans on the piano. 

Charlie Puth also performed songs on the piano from his home. 

Other Music Related Content 

Miley Cyrus launched a daily Instagram live talk show called “Bright Minded: Live with Miley” to offer viewers positivity and comfort. Tune in at 2:30p.m. Eastern or check out the broadcasts later on her Instagram.

The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles remains closed, but every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, they will debut never before released digital programs from its archives that can be viewed for free. Billie Eilish, Bob Newhart, Brandi Carlile, Greta Van Fleet, Larkin Poe, Scarypoolparty, X Ambassadors and Yola will be the first round of artists featured. 

Give Back

While being stuck at home is not an ideal situation for anyone, there are still people that aren’t as fortunate as we are. Now is the time to give back to those that are in need of help. Visit the website of your local food pantries, hospitals, shelters, nursing homes, etc., and see how you can help. These can be monetary donations, food donations, supply donations, or cards to simply lift someone’s spirit. 

There are also different service projects you can do at home that can be distributed once everything is over. Some ideas include: making placemats for your local Meals On Wheels, gathering clothes you no longer wear to donate, or putting together care packages for patients in the hospital or the homeless. There are countless of options available to give back even while you are at home. Do a Google search for more ideas!

Stay Educated

Have you checked out the classes available on MasterClass? An endless number of classes are available to take, including classes you never even imagined! Did you want to brush up your writing or photography skills? Or just take a class for fun? Any kind of class you would be interested in taking is available. MasterClass even offers classes put on by famous celebrities. Want to learn about comedy from Steve Martin? How about learning how to perfect your tennis serve by Serena Williams? Dare you take a cooking class from Gordon Ramsey? All of these are available and more!

Now is also a good time to take an online class to help advance your career. There are numerous classes available online to gain new skills and receive a certification. How impressed would your bosses be that you return back to work with a new certification?

Learn to Cook 

As many restaurants are closed in the U.S., now is the perfect time to learn how to cook or make new recipes. Dust off your cook books and pick a new recipe to cook every day. Typically, on weekdays it may be hard to cook a meal, but working at home makes it easier for you to prepare a home cooked meal. 

You can also purchase a new cook book to keep it exciting or explore recipes online that put a twist on your favorite dish. You can even watch a video of your favorite chef and cook a meal together! If you don’t normally like cooking, these are all ways to make it more fun. Who knows by the end of it you may find a love for cooking and surprise your whole family with a 6-course meal!

Stay Social 

As you are becoming the next Gordon Ramsey, watching live feeds of Panda’s, and doing that thing you always wanted to do, let’s not forget to be social. For work, consider conducting web chats instead of conference calls. Web chats make conference calls ten times more fun and are also needed as we are secluded at home. Usually I don’t like web chats, but as I am staying home all day, barely interacting or seeing anyone, I scream for web chats! I’m thrilled to see people in the real world! I’ve also noticed web chats help engage attendees more and promote participation in ways a conference call does not.  It still allows everyone to have a face-to-face interaction.

Some companies have also hosted virtual coffee breaks, water cooler talks, and happy hours. None of these are work related! Everyone can still use breaks throughout the day. Perhaps you can hold a happy hour with your team and catch up on what everyone has been up to at home?

Aside from work, you can also take the time to catch up with friends you haven’t talked to in a while. Perhaps you have out of state friends you can even call. Make an appointment and schedule a time to chat! To continue that face-to-face interaction, try FaceTiming.

Also, don’t forget to check up on your family, especially the elderly. See how your grandma, grandpa, and parents are doing. See if they need groceries or anything else you can pick up for them. As we all know, the elderly are the most at risk.  Now is the time to check in and see how you can help them. 

Then, there are the people you are living with. If there are others in your household, take the time to spend quality time together. Eat dinner together if you don’t always do, play a game together, have a movie night, cook together, work on a house project or other fun project together. As always, the possibilities are endless! It is also important though to spend some time apart. Seeing others in your household and no one else could cause cabin fever, so make sure you also take the necessary time for yourselves. A mix is healthy!

Stay Active

We will have gym buffs reading this blog and we will have those who dread working out. Whichever category you are in, you must stay active! By the end of the first day I worked at home, my legs were aching. I was thinking, why are my legs aching? It’s because I barely moved! I sat, went to the bathroom. I sat, made lunch, I sat, made dinner, and laid on the couch to watch TV. How many steps did I even get that day? Did I even get 1,000? That’s when I realized I’m going to have to get moving. 

During your lunch break or after work, hop on your treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, etc. If you don’t have anything like that at home, there are still many ways to work out. Watch workout videos online or check out fitness apps on your phone. These will walk you through different exercises, depending on what kind of workout you are looking to do. If you are used to going to the gym and lifting weights, find household items at home that you can lift instead. Perhaps your child? No, maybe that’s not a good idea. 

Yoga is also a good practice during this time if you are stressed at home (you shouldn’t be if you read this blog article.) Everyone could use a little Yoga though time to time. It’s a good way to relax and decompress.

Also, remember to take breaks and walk around during the day. At home, there are not many places to walk around (unless you live in a mansion). But you want to keep the circulation going. It’s also healthy to take a break from work to stimulate your brain and recharge. You are still able to go outside for walks, as well, as long as you continue to practice social distancing. Fresh air and walks outside can instantly lift your spirits and is a good form of exercise. 

Stay Entertained

I kept staying entertained last because I feel like this is the obvious one. We will all try to stay entertained in some way with books, magazines, TV shows, movies, video games.  Yes, absolutely take the time to binge watch your favorite TV show and watch movies! If you plan to watch Netflix and want to watch with friends, you can through Netflix Party. It is a Google Chrome extension that allows you to watch Netflix remotely with friends. You can even chat with them as you watch and everyone has access to pause and play. 

Do also try to read a book. I know for myself; I love reading books, but don’t have a lot of time to read (now I will.) Consider reading a book whether you typically enjoy reading or not. It’s a peaceful activity and good way to take a break from the TV screen. 

Don’t stress or panic-- make the most of it!

And lastly. Nope, staying entertained wasn’t last! During all of these activities, remember don’t stress or panic. Look at all of these cool things you will be doing! Getting certifications, mastering skills, traveling the world, seeing celebrities in concert for free, starting new hobbies, and more! You need to make the most out of every situation and this is how you will. I hope you enjoyed your complete guide to making the most of your new life at home. Stay safe and have fun.