Stay Home, Stay Alive: How to stay busy during quarantine

I got bored about 20 minutes into quarantine. Two hours in, I’d already loaded up $1000 worth of random junk into my Amazon shopping cart, from a crochet kit to dinosaur grow capsules  — yes, the ones from first grade — even though I knew I wouldn’t buy them. And we hadn’t even hit day two.

After that, I realized it was about time to find some other (aka free) options to cure my boredom. Yes, the coronavirus has left a lot of us stuck in our houses with no one but our immediate family — the horror. But lucky for you, the widespread social isolation has forced companies to find alternatives to what they normally offer consumers, allowing them to still meet our fitness, social and entertainment needs.

Fitness:

With almost every workout studio closed and schools’ spring sports ending abruptly, I got a little antsy. You can always go for a run to let out the energy you’ve built up from trying not to yell at your siblings all day, but now there are several new, at-home workout options at your disposal.

You may not be able to go to a Core Power Yoga class at their studio, but their website offers 16 free video yoga classes that range from 30 minutes to an hour, as well as four free five-minute guided meditations.

At first I was skeptical of attempting the online class, but each video shares the same soothing music and voice of an instructor — and there’s even a few participants on the screen going through the class with you. It can’t replace a real class, but being able to break a sweat at home is so much better than aimlessly walking laps around your family room. As long as you have enough space and can dig up the yoga mat, or even a towel, from your basement, you’ve got all the equipment you need.

Netflix Party:

Social distancing doesn’t exactly allow for going over to a friend’s house to watch your favorite episode of “The Office” together during quarantine, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still chat about the funniest Michael Scott jokes. Netflix’s newest addition, Netflix Party, lets you share a link with friends to connect your Netflix accounts so you can all watch a show or movie at the same time.

The pause, fast forward and rewind controls are connected between anyone using the same link so no one gets behind when someone needs to pee again or run and grab another snack. There’s even a chat bar on the side to talk to friends while you watch so you won’t miss out on hearing each others’ guesses at who the murderer is in “Murder Mystery” or whether Hotch and the team are on the right track to finding the serial arsonist in “Criminal Minds.”

Though it’s extra convenient now, I have a feeling my use of this feature will last longer than quarantine — I’ve already made a pact to use it with my sister once she goes back to college.

Virtual Tours:

Despite being quarantined to my bedroom, so far I’ve been to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Modern Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul all from the comfort of my bed.

Many museums are offering free virtual tours so you can walk through museums and see famous artists’ work — all while you’re still in your pajamas. So no need to worry if you’re missing out on your regular dose of the Nelson-Atkins, you can still get your art fix. 

Even if you were the kid who incessantly complained when your parents would drag you through art or history museums, the virtual aspect means you get full control of where you go, what you see and how much time you spend there. Not to mention it’s free, so no need to feel bad or get yelled at by your mom if you only spend five minutes looking around.

The virtual tours aren’t just for museums either. Colleges are adding more tours and features to their preexisting virtual tours, which are perfect for students who are missing out on college visits and still have a decision to make by May.

Online Concerts:

With hundreds of concerts and music events from Coachella to Billie Eilish’s tour cancelled or postponed — apparently it’s kind of difficult to practice social distancing with thousands of people in a mosh pit — music artists have found a new way to perform. On social media platforms like Instagram Live, you can watch artists like Hozier, Shawn Mendes and Miley Cyrus give mini-concerts from their homes for their followers.

No, sitting hunchback on your bed may not be the same atmosphere as the Sprint Center packed with screaming fans and the glow of flashing lights, but you don’t have to spend over $50 on a ticket and the music feels a little more personal from the comfort of your own home.

Billboard has released schedules of times different artists plan to hold the mini-concerts, meaning you can plan your favorite artist’s live performance around your regularly-scheduled sitting around — even if it’s via phone.