QUESTION: What are you up to these days? How about now?
Matching this article with a warm mug of coffee or digging in to the website while on the warmth of your bed?
Wherever you are, may it be on print or digital, we will always keep you company!
Amid the enhanced community quarantine imposed by the government to address the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, what makes you busy?
We tried to ask around and some friends shared how they are spending the time in their pockets.
For someone who’s stuck in the corners of their home, perhaps killing hours has been very challenging. But you can be productive, too!
Here are 12 things you can try at home during quarantine.
1. Grab a book and read.
You can choose from a wide array of books: from novels to anthologies to mags and comics, even e-books. You can also finish up the remaining pages of your Zoology or maybe, uhh… TC7. With this, your mind can do a little bit of workout. You can then travel to different places without leaving your doorstep!
2. Color your thumbs green! Try backyard gardening/raising.
One effective (and healthy) way to kill time while dissing your hunger (for food and scenery) is to be-friends with nature. Leafy vegetables could sound like a crunch! Plants could keep CO2 bustle around. So go get to the soils and let those baby greens sprout.
You may also opt to raise chickens and/or hogs. Maybe after ECQ, you could hear their sounds, a lot more energetic than before.
3. Write… anything.
We know friends who are really dying (and trying) to write something. Just write your heart out! Could be a song or a poem or a flash fiction. Or a letter to someone hmm. Anything. Go grab your pens and conjure those ideas through word-runs.
4. Let’s get physical via home-based workout.
Turn the speakers on and let’s get on and on and on! You can start from a simple warmup down to couple jogs. Have some planks and curl-ups, too. Zumba is also a must-try. You can also check out lots of workout videos on social media. Or you can have your own routine. Just… stay *alive* and hydrated. Always.
5. Tidy up your room.
For how many days, you have been very best friends with your pillows and blankets. You look around and see some of your stuff not in their usual formation. Do a little bit of a wrap and get everything neat and clean. It would surely bring comfort to your eyes afterwards.
6. Be updated.
Maybe for half the day. Or more. You’re on a date with your lappy or CP.
Make use of your social media accounts to spread factual information. Engage to intellectual discourse and uplift others (especially those on the frontlines) through words of encouragement and well-wishes. And remember that not everything you see in social media is accurate. Watch out for fake news. Always check your sources. Be vigilant in the society’s truths.
7. Talk often with your household members.
For the past few months, maybe for some, there’s been less interaction amongst family members. Some at work, others in school. Now you can have the time of your life to bond with your parents or children. Tell that story you missed to share during your last gathering. You can talk about anything under the… roof.
8. Drop the cards! Play, recreate.
You can do some of the traditional or recreational games you haven’t get to play for years. From chess to sungka to playing UNO (or DOS) cards! This idea sounds fun. If you’re up for the Snake and Ladders, or maybe scrabbles, go. Umm… others can play games on their CPs too. But just limit usage.
9. Learn to cook a new dish.
Discover a new friend for your taste buds. Gather your ingredients and start cooking. (Your inner chef is happy for what you’re doing). You can try on some recipes! Maybe your parents have that secret timpla you’re really curious about. You can give that one a shot, too.
10. Pray.
While our heroes are busy battling that faceless enemy, you can offer a simple prayer. You can reflect for some time and ask Him to guide the frontliners. The medical and healthcare workers, law enforcement officers, journalists, volunteer workers, janitors, drivers, farmers and fishers among others. Pray for this government, too.
11. Move. Get involved. Initiate.
We believe that you too cannot allow yourself to be caged in the comforts of your home. For you have the idea that others don’t have one. Getting yourself informed can maybe tickle your generous and empathic heart to get involved. For you who have lots on the palms, bunches in the baskets and greener on the grounds, could be a ray of hope for the marginalized and those in the frontlines. Know their plights. You can send help.
12. What’s next? Do you have plans after ECQ?
Beach. Out-of-town. Food trips. (One friend said nakaka-miss na flavor ng milktea LOL) Back to work. Back to school. You can plan ahead. You can look ahead.
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Now this quarantine is teaching us something. The value of time. On how to look at each other beyond the eyes. Yes we’re distance apart but we’re together in this fight./PN
