The COVID-19 Challenge! (Fun & Frugal Stay-at-Home Activities!)
The COVID-19 Challenge!
We’re living in strange times, friends.
I don’t know what policies are currently in place where you live, but chances are, there’s some level of social distancing happening.
And the longer we live in this odd reality, the more we suffer emotionally, relationally, and mentally.
Yes, we can message our friends. Yes, we can hold meetings on Zoom or Google Hangout.
I’m as grateful for technology as the next person (it’s how you’re receiving these words from me, after all!), but it’s definitely not the same.
We were made for connection. So what does that look like?
And for many of us, work looks different right now. So not only are we confined to our homes in the evenings and on weekends when we would have otherwise been going out into our communities, but many of us are working from home or furloughed, meaning we’re virtually at home all the time these days.
The question I found myself asking was how to make this time meaningful instead of just twiddling my thumbs or watching endless hours of shows on Netflix. While that’s all fine and good for a while, I can only sit on my couch for so long, and it doesn’t do much to make the days pass quickly.
I’m a doer by nature, so I started coming up with a list of things I could get done. But my list was all over the place. It needed some sort of organization or framework.
And then my college roommates started messaging the group asking for book recommendations and ideas of what to watch next since they were starting to get restless, too.
In my search for ideas to share with them, I came across several long lists of activities to do at home. Some were full of ideas I loved while others didn’t fit as well. None of them would have fit all of us (a mix of single, dating, married, married with a kid; living with roommates, living with parents, living with spouse/kid; working from home, working outside of the home, furloughed). There were just too many variables to co-opt someone else’s list.
My solution? I sent out a message to see if any of them would be interested in doing some sort of a challenge where we could focus on different areas each week to keep the goals manageable and directed toward specific goals. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
I got my creative juices flowing and came up with a list of categories and suggested activities. I thought about what’s most important for us all right now— mental health, physical health, connection with others— along with what kinds of activities could keep us busy and allow us to be productive in our homes.
I shared it with them, making sure to note it was all optional— there are no requirements, no scoring, no punishments or rewards other than the satisfaction of knowing you’re being active and getting things done.
Now I’m sharing it with you (plus bonus suggestions for each week!) so you can adapt it to fit your situation, stage of life, and goals. Feel free to put the weeks in different orders or change the activities suggested. You can add and remove weeks and activities to your heart’s content!
Week One: Reading Week
read a book you’ve had for a while
re-read an old favorite (one of my favorites is L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, and there’s a whole series if you’re looking to fill a lot of time!)
read something outside of your comfort zone or in a genre you don’t usually go for (for me, this was Sylvain Neuvel’s Sleeping Giants, which I really enjoyed!)
BONUS: check out an ebook or audiobook from your local library using OverDrive or Libby
Week Two: Home Week
declutter a drawer or closet
clean off your counter or table
shop your house: refresh your space, redecorate, and mix things up (books, plants, pillows, blankets, picture frames, chairs…) by moving an item (or two or three) from one space to another
BONUS: clean something that usually gets overlooked, like ceiling fan blades, your oven, or your baseboards
Week Three: Hobby Week
try a new recipe
take up a new hobby (handlettering for a few of us; here’s the book I have and am loving!)
make some kind of art (playing music, drawing, painting, dancing, singing…)
BONUS: share your hobby on social (photo, video) or invite a friend to join you digitally with a video chat!
Week Four: Connection Week
call a family member
call a college roommate
mail a letter or card
BONUS: schedule a virtual coffee, lunch, or dinner date with a friend (I did that this week, and it was the best!)
Week Five: Physical Health Week
go for a 20-minute walk
drink 64 oz of water each day
try a new type of workout (yoga, Pilates, barre, resistance bands, HIIT, CrossFit, biking…)
BONUS: get 7-9 hours of sleep each night
Week Six: Mental and Spiritual Health Week
listen to worship music for 20 minutes (this is my favorite worship playlist currently)
watch an educational video on YouTube (documentary clip, learning a new skill, TED talk…)
journal or write out a prayer
BONUS: start a reading plan, either with a physical book like this one I love or with a Bible reading plan on an app like the YouVersion Bible app
Are you getting excited? Did that list get your wheels turning? I hope it gave you some helpful ideas for how to use your time and truly make the most of this bizarre season and situation we’re finding ourselves in. The good news is that these things can also be done in more normal seasons of life, too!
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