by With the coronavirus (COVID-19) in full, global pandemic mode, many people all over are hunkering down and staying to themselves as much as possible. It’s not just about protecting yourself, but perhaps more importantly, protecting others by not making yourself a vector point for spreading a possible infection.
If you’re running around the house wrapped in plastic grocery bags and duct tape, the CDC recommends taking a break from pandemic news and finding an activity you can do to unwind. A good hobby can help with the stress and anxiety of the outbreak, and it can be a fun way to pass the time while you’re self-quarantining and doing your part to keep others safe.
Fortunately, there are plenty of hobbies you can do at home on your own!
Painting
Painting is a great solitary hobby that takes a lot of time, especially to perfect. If you’re just starting out, you can find several great tutorials on YouTube to give it a go. The only downside here is that you’re going to need painting supplies. Unless you’ve already been dabbling in painting, you probably don’t have the supplies lying around your house.
Fortunately, a lot of the basics can be ordered online. So as long as Amazon isn’t too overburdened during a global emergency, you should be able to get them easily without having to go outside. Still, if you must, a trip to your local Hobby Lobby might be safe enough assuming the virus isn’t everywhere yet and it’s still open. Just remember to go during off-peak hours.
Knitting / Crochet
Knitting or crocheting are both another great time-killer, and the best part is if you do it right you’ll end up with something useful! Like with painting, you’ll need some basic supplies though. Still, if the pandemic is in its early phases it could be a good time to stock up on yarn. And just think, if the world goes pear-shaped after this, you’ll have a valuable skill to use in the post-apocalyptic hellscape. Everyone needs socks, even Coronazombies!
Video Gaming
Here’s a hobby that’s 100% quarantine-approved. Many gamers have probably already been living under quarantine without even realizing. While the early days of gaming often had people squished together on the sofa and even sharing controllers, the rise of online gaming has built social distancing into the very framework of video games.
All you need to get started is a decent computer and an Internet connection. If you have an Xbox, Playstation or Switch, then you’ll have even more options! All the major consoles and PC platforms like Origin and Steam offer digital downloads. So you can find a game today and start playing.
One enormous perk of Internet gaming that will really help during your quarantine is the ability to play online with others. Humans are social creatures, and staying in isolation for extended periods of time has been shown to cause emotional distress and even lead to depression and poor health. But with gaming, you can stay in touch with real life friends or make new ones.
And there’s always solo games too. You could replay some great classics like the original Super Mario Bros. or Donkey Kong 64 or download some new indie games off Steam.
Writing
Writing is a lonely hobby, but you might find value in connecting with the fictional characters in your own mind and bringing them to life on the page can be a very rewarding endeavor. You also don’t need much of anything to get started. You could write an entire epic poem inside your heard and memorize it for retelling later, but surely even in the apocalypse you could find a pen and some paper. And if you’re reading this, you probably have a working computer or mobile device. So you could use that!
There are a lot of options when it comes to writing. Pick what works for you based on what you enjoy and what you want to accomplish. If you want to tell some exciting story, then fictional prose is probably for you. Once you’re done writing, there’s always rewriting to do too. For many novelists, a completed book could take a year or more. Hopefully this pandemic won’t last that long, but you could certainly knock out a chapter or two in a month.
There’s also poetry, or you could always go with stream-of-consciousness free writing. Pick a topic, a feeling, an idea, whatever you want to think about and put those thoughts on paper.
There are also a lot of great writing resources online and communities that can help you hone your techniques. Writers often like to read too, so when you feel like putting down that pen, pick up a book that can inspire you.
Photography
If you’re stuck in your room in some tiny city apartment, you might find photography a particularly challenging endeavor. That peeling bed post isn’t going to get much more interesting, no matter what angle you try. But even if your world has diminished to a few hundred square feet, that doesn’t mean you can’t find good subjects to practice your photography skills on. At the very least, you always have self-portraits.
But remember, going outside isn’t lethal. The idea of a quarantine is to keep yourself from other people. So if you’re fortune enough to have a backyard or can go for a drive to some remote area to be alone with nature, then there’s no reason you have to let this disease get in the way of snapping some great photos.
Just remember not to touch the wildlife.
Knot Tying
Here’s an interesting hobby that can kill time and teach you a valuable life skill. And well, if you never end up in a situation where you need to know how to make a round turn and half hitch, at least you’ll have some fun party tricks up your sleeve.
Knot tying doesn’t require much more than a rope, or a shoelace or something similar. Just remember that the material will affect the type of knots you can make and should make. You might also want a few lengths of rope in case you’re so good at tying knots they can’t be untied.
Origami
Origami can be a greatly relaxing hobby for the right person. And it can be incredibly frustrating for the wrong one. It really is an art of perfection, since every fold needs to be precise in order to get a nice final product.
You don’t need a lot to get started. While there is paper specifically designed for origami, any sheet of paper will do in most cases. Usually you want to start with a square sheet, so cutting your typical 8.5×11 sheets down into squares is a good place to start.
You can find guides and tutorials online. Then it’s just a matter of following the instructions step by step, and hopefully at the end you’re left with some kind of cute zebra or flower. Ultimately this isn’t a very practical skill, particularly in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but if you’re good at it, it can certainly bring some beauty into your world.
And many more!
Of course, these aren’t the only hobbies suitable for life during a global plague. Any hobby that you can do around the home, preferably with supplies you already have on hand, is a great way to kill some time and maybe you’ll even have fun doing it.
If you do decide to go out to get supplies for your hobby, please remember to take precautions while the COVID-19 pandemic is underway. If you have symptoms or reason to suspect you’re infected, don’t go in public at all. Otherwise, you might be okay as long as you’re careful not to cough and sneeze on people or things, and you remember to avoid touching your face. Be sure to wash your hands before you leave your house and as soon as you get back. Don’t stay out in public any longer than necessary and try to keep a good distance from other people.
Got other recommendations for good quarantine hobbies? Let us know in the comments!
