What to do in times of lockdown: 10 activities to do while you have time
For someone who is currently residing in the Philippines, we are experiencing the 3rd season of lockdown due to the new variant of COVID-19. It is much more transmissible and I understand the need for lockdown in order to control the virus but this would mean that people would be required to stay at their own house for preventive measures. There would be a lot of time for people to do things that they are sometimes would not have the privilege of due to various reasons such as work, their academics and etc. Lucky for me, I am someone who can entertain himself and do a lot of random things in order to not get bored. In this blog post, I will share some of the things that I am currently doing/did to spend my time and would not be bored while staying inside of our house.
1.) Watching Youtube Videos of any genre's
- Ever since I discovered the world of Youtube and the creators who are constantly uploading content, I never looked back at the time of my life where Youtube doesn't exist. I was there when the rise of "British Youtubers" is at its peak and I have seen the growth of this platform since I like the idea of consuming different videos that can entertain and at the same time be helpful and gaining knowledge. There are a plethora of content creators for everyone and you have to look at your certain niche to enjoy the platform at its finest. You have the freedom to choose whether you use the platform solely for education or entertainment or both. If I were to choose between keeping Youtube or Netflix, I would definitely choose the former since I can live without Netflix. You have to explore Youtube to enjoy the platform and since being on the lockdown can give you the time, you can use it to its limits and search for something that can be interesting to you.
2.) Watching Netflix Series/Movies
- This is the perfect time to binge-watch Series/Movies and there are a plethora of choices that are accessible if you have a Netflix account. There are also other platforms that offer free-to-watch movies but you have to search it on web search to find it. You also have to be careful on using sites that are not well-known because it can be a scam or malware site that can damage your site, so use it at your own risk. I recently started watching the RuPaul Drag Race Series and I am on season 3 right now. Here are some of my Series/Movies recommendation:
3.) Read Digital Books
- Reading books are now much easier in our time since there are a lot of resources available to us right now and much more convenient compared to the past. You can search for free books in the web search and you are now exposed to a variety of books that you can just read without even the hassle of paying and going to a bookstore. You can bring it anywhere if you have a smartphone, tablet, or dedicated e-readers. I am thinking about whether to ask my parents to get me an e-reader, particularly a Kindle E-Reader because it would help me read without affecting my eyesight. Last year, I did get my eyes checked because there would be times that I cannot read something when it is far away from me and I finally got my mom to get me to go to an optometrist and she is shocked that I am stating the truth on the current state of my eyes. After that I got my glasses from the same shop she got hers and I really think it is worth investing in a kindle due to its e-ink technology. It helps reading without the strain of something like the iPad or Smartphone that I have. This doesn't mean that you cannot read through your devices, but it would help if you are a bookworm because spending a lot of time reading on your iPad can hurt your eyes. There are also sites where you can get a free version of paid books but I would not encourage it because you are not supporting the authors when you decide to use those copies.
4.) Read Physical/Tangible Books
- There is just a different feeling that you get when you buy a book from the bookstore and it is incomparable. In the past year, I did get "addicted" to buying books from secondhand stores in malls because I wanted something that can be entertaining without using my gadgets. Using my devices can get pretty boring and can also be distracting when you are reading so having a tangible book will fix that problem. There are just some minor problems that I have when reading through a physical book. I am someone who likes to read while laying down in my bed because it is comfortable and I was already used to doing it since I had a phase in my teenage years where I would read Wattpad books through my smartphone in my bed. It is hard reading while laying in your bed because you need to be mindful of the lighting and there would be a specific position in order to read comfortably. Other than these reasons, it is nice to have a collection of books, especially secondhand books that are cheap but serves their purpose. You don't need to buy brand new to enjoy a book and it would be an advantage to keep this mindset as early as you started reading since when I was a teenager, I really wanted to buy brand-new books and would not look further to secondhand stores. Choose your particular genres of books to enjoy the experience and learn something new. It would be also nice for you to try and get out of your comfort zone and go to a genre you wouldn't read to experience a new perspective and "life."
5.) Play with my dogs
- I love my dogs so much and in the time of lockdowns, my love for them would grow so much further because they kept us company. I really think I would not survive the lockdowns that we already experienced if not for my dogs. We have three female "aspin" or Asong Pinoy dogs and they pretty much entertain us all the time and I really think that these times would be the best one to hang out with your dogs because we can sometimes forget to spend time with them when we are pre-occupied with our priorities. If you decide to get a dog yourself, please do not buy dogs because it would be better to adopt from puppy mills and I suggest not be "choosy" on getting a dog with the breed because they are all the same. We had a "husky" in the past and that dog died because of complications that he already got before we bought him from a shop in Bulacan. After that, we just stick to aspins because they are the same and uncomplicated.
6.) Clean Room
- We spend so much time in our room (assuming you have your own) and it would be nice for it to be clean and organize to lessen your stress level. I can be somehow a messy guy and there would be times where I just don't care to clean my room so if I have somehow the motivation to be productive, cleaning my room would be the first thing I would do.
7.) Fix my digital Space
- I have a few devices that I am using and it can get a bit cluttered due to having a lot of documents and pictures. It would be a productive time to fix these files to avoid confusion and become organize while doing your work. This can also be a way to make a space on your device and at the end of your fixing, you can have extra storage left for new documents in the future.
8.) Online Shop
- The way pandemic becomes a way for the online shops to thrive since people cannot go to stores physically and to avoid contracting the virus. I ordered a lot of products since the start of the pandemic and it is one of the things that made me happy despite the circumstances that we are in right now.
9.) Journalling (Digital and Physical)
- Click this button for the blog post that I did for journaling.
10.) Experiment with Baking/Cooking
- When my aunt gave us a brownie box mix from Canada, I got to use my non-existent baking skills. We didn't have an oven but fortunately, we have an oven toaster. I didn't think it would work but in the end, I got to bake my first brownie and it really tasted good so I was happy. You can try to experiment in your home if you have enough money to buy ingredients or even use what you already have and make something out of it.
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