COVID-19 has been a massive disturbance to everyday life. The travel industry is at a standstill, with holidays being cancelled as far as July in the future, the worst part about COVID-19 is not knowing how long we’ll have to endure isolating ourselves from the things and people we love. I’ve previously suggested documentaries and craft beer to help pass some time, but here I will include more suggestions – to try and make this time a little more bearable.

Retail therapy (within reason)

There’s nothing stopping you placing orders online to give you something to look forward to, though tread with caution or you could quickly end up spending your savings on clothes, books and, in my case, craft beer.

Improve your language skills

DuoLingo is free and it is an absolute gem for passing time. I’ve been meaning to pick up some German for a long time, and with the COVID-19 lockdown in place, now is as good of a time as any to enhance my language skills.

Pick up an old instrument/hobby

Have you lost touch with something that you once loved? Painting? Drawing? Playing the guitar? Many of us fell out of habits upon starting to work full time, well, maybe this is the perfect time to fall back into old habits.

Cook new recipes

The internet is awash with weird and wonderful recipes, and now is the time to hone your skills. Hit up google and experiment with the herbs you’ve had in your cupboard and cook up some exciting new dishes.

Become the cocktail maker of your dreams

Makemeacocktail.com is a genius idea to clear out the bottles that have been clogging up your alcohol cupboard for months (if not years). You simply enter your available ingredients and the website musters up cocktail ideas for you.

Netflix/Amazon Prime/Disney+ etc.

Society has more entertainment options available than ever before. There are wide ranges of apps available, each with their own catalogues of movies, and TV shows. There are also more niche entertainment options such as WWE network and Disney+.

Books, books, and more books

Similarly to options for TV shows above, the internet is also full of eBooks available on Kindle and other similar websites. And if you prefer the real thing, dig into your book stash and finish the books you started and forgot about/reread an old favourite.

Learn new skills

There are dozens of free courses available online with the Open University making some courses free, and other websites opening up courses on topics such as SEO, marketing and teaching English online.

Start a blog

The internet is filled with blogs, ranging from many niche. If you’ve something interesting to say, or a hobby, why not start a blog? If I can do it, anyone can.

It doesn’t have to be set up to make money, but blogs are a great way to find communities online with similar interests. I’ve found travel bloggers from Belfast and further afield and learned a lot from them.

Plan for the future

Whilst you can’t travel now, there’s nothing stopping you putting in plans for when this is all over. It may be difficult to get something booked with all the ongoing uncertainty. But why not put plans in motion for when the lockdown is lifted, somewhere not too far away that can be easily reached. I’ve made plans for a trip to Bristol with friends when all this is lifted, and it’s liberating to know there is something fun coming up at the end of this.

At the end of the day, if you come out of this lockdown knowing a new skill, haven read 6 books and more competent at a foreign language/instrument, absolute kudos to you, but don’t feel bad if you haven’t. These are weird times, and you need to do what’s best for you. Take each day as it comes and hopefully the suggestions above will help make things a little easier for you.

Feel free to reach out if you’d like me to elaborate on any of the points discussed, and if you’ve any activities yourself, drop them in the comments below!