We may not be in a pandemic as such anymore, which means we are allowed to go out to work and do all the things, but if you’re home alone then you still need to find ways to stay entertained. Ideally, over the course of the pandemic and the lockdown stage we were in, you learnt how to entertain yourself at home, but if you haven’t then you’re in need of some suggestions.
Whether you’re at home because you want to be, because you’re having some time off work, or you’re at home because you’re not feeling particularly great, staying entertained is important. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at how you can stay entertained if you’re at home alone.
- Play games online. Just because you’re home alone doesn’t mean you have to be alone. If you don’t want to invite anybody round because you want your own space to rot in for a little bit, you can always hop online and play online backgammon with somebody else. You can even play chess or log into your online servers and start playing Call of Duty. Whatever it is that makes you happy, whether it’s building a Sims house or getting your chess master hat on, you can still enjoy your time playing online.
- Go for a walk. Like we said, you’re not in lockdown anymore, which means that you are more than able to get out of the house and go for a walk. If you’re trying to stay entertained by yourself, popping in some headphones and sticking on a podcast or some music is a great way to keep yourself entertained. And when you go on a walk, you move your body, you get your heart rate going, and you’re getting a workout at the same time. You’re going to get some fresh air and get your blood moving, and that can remind you that there is a real and physical world out there, which is especially important if you’ve been stuck at home for a little while.
- Do a workout at home. If you can’t leave the house at the moment or you just don’t want to go out into nature, you can use YouTube and get a workout video up on screen. Don your favorite trainers and a workout outfit and start moving your body. You can enhance these YouTube workouts with tools such as resistant bands or a decent yoga mat, but you don’t have to get anything. More than you already have. If you don’t have any dumbbells, grab a couple of cans of baked beans. That should do the trick.
- Declutter your space. There’s no doubt that you’ve been disinfecting things if you’ve been home alone because that’s your time to do that. But getting your cleaning on will help to entertain you. There’s nothing quite like sitting in a house that smells of bleach, cleaning products and laundry because you’ve been going through it and getting it done!
- Get your video chat going. Do you have family members or friends across the world or even across the country? Why not call them up for a video chat? Make yourself a cup of tea and get settled at the table and you can literally have a cup of tea in a conversation. You can maintain a tether to your loved ones no matter where they are in the world, and video chat allows you to keep connected.
- Read a book. One of the best ways to make the most of time by yourself is to read. Turning off all of the electronic devices, putting on some decent lighting, grabbing a snack, a drink and a blanket, and settling down with a book is one of the biggest pleasures in life. It doesn’t matter whether you’re rereading an old favorite or you choose to crack the spite of a new book. You’re going to find a lot of entertainment in getting your reading bug going. If you have the time, you could always even read more than one.
- Do some charity work. If you have the resources, take the time to separate out some of your decluttering for charity or hop online and make a donation. Any local organization that deals with homelessness and food insecurity is always going to be a good bet, but if you’re not sure, you could decide to declutter the house and separate things into donation piles for your local charity shops.If you’re decluttering the kids stuff you can donate the toy store, local Children’s Hospital if they’ll take them. There’s so much you could get rid of, but why clog up landfill when you could donate instead?
- Cook something new. If there’s one thing that the technological revolution has taught us is that we have the power of everything at our fingertips. The Internet allows us the privilege to go online whenever we want and get the biggest answers in the world. Going on to YouTube and finding recipes or heading onto TikTok and watching somebody else cook through a recipe for bread that you absolutely love the look of is a great way to pass the time. But you have to do more than just watch ordering the ingredients or go to the shops and buy them and then go home and cook up the things that you’ve seen you’re going to need to eat anyway, so you may as well get some creativity going and find something delicious.
- Do a puzzle or two. There is a feeling of satisfaction that comes with the completion of a crossword or a word search, but Sudoku and other harder puzzles can be even more fun. If you want some instant gratification, go and do today’s Wordle on the New York Times website. If you’re trying to limit screen time, get a book of crosswords from your local newsagent and sit down. It’s about time you were able to exercise that brain of yours and you’ll improve your memory as a result. If you want to do something more long term than a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle or more can really help you to get your puzzling going.
- Clear out your inbox. This does not have to be work related, but when was the last time you went through your emails? So many people don’t bother to click on their emails as they come in, but maybe you could use your time to go through and unsubscribe to any of those emails that are spamming you. Clearing out your inbox is going to be just as cathartic as clearing out your house. And once you’ve cleaned the house, you also need to clean out your technology. If it’s something that you plan to do, now’s the time to do it.
- Do something crafty. Whether it’s learning knitting, or learning how to crochet, there is time to sit down and learn how to craft. It’s surprisingly therapeutic to put needles into thread and sew up some clothing, in the same way it’s therapeutic to watch a meal come out of a pile of ingredients that you’ve bought. Sometimes, it’s the simplest of artistic things that you could be doing that really helps you to stay entertained when you’re on your own.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your own company, you just have to find things to do that allow you to enjoy it rather than sit there feeling bored.