13 Ideas To Fight Boredom During The Quarantine
Current situation with COVID-19 makes people think not only about how stay healthy, but also the question arises how to survive the quarantine and self-isolation. In fact, there are hundreds of ways to spend free time when you are stuck at home.
1. Take online-courses
Learning never gets old. Thanks to 21st century technologies, we are now able to study remotely instead of face-to-face lectures and seminars. New knowledge in programming, web design, Russian history or art is a nice addition to your portfolio and to the self-education process in general. There are dozens of sources with such useful information in the Internet, for instance:
- Our favorite Coursera with free access to 3800 various courses till July (coursera.org);
- Radio Arzamas with open access to podcasts and audio lectures using the promo code “QUARANTINE” in Russian (arzamas.academy/radio);
- GeekBrains educational portal – access to programming, design, management and marketing courses after registration till the end of March (geekbrains.ru);
- Stepik website with a wide range of free courses in various disciplines, including genetics, spelling, and programming (stepik.org/catalog);
- And many others like Open Education (openedu.ru), PostNauka (postnauka.ru), Lektorium (lektorium.tv), and some paid but interesting courses in Udemy (udemy.com) and Netology (netology.ru/).
2. Watch movies and series online
A lot of famous online movie theaters provide their subscribers, especially new ones, with either free access to the content or the price is quite low.
Free resources:
- KinoPoisk. Free access to content until the end of April;
- Premier Gazprom Media content can be viewed for free;
- Okko. Premium subscription for 14 days for 1 ruble. To get a promotional code, you need to contact the bot in a telegram or on Vkontakte;
- Ivi.tv. 30 days subscription for 1 ruble from March 16 to April 14;
- More.tv. Free access by SIDIMDOMA promo code.
3. Do sports at home
Sedentary lifestyle or lack of physical activity brings nothing good to our health. Strong and invulnerable immune system is of extreme importance in nowadays context. If there’s a chance to improve it, do it! Download one of Apps for home training; try different exercises from YouTube channels; participate in online-marathons from professional coaches; or even organize a sports competition with friends or course mates with regards to the longest standing in “plank” or the greatest number of push-ups and squats. Always remember, that the goal of these physical exercises is not to become a bodybuilder in 2 weeks, but simply to combine keeping fit process with entertainment.
Free resources:
- Peloton. Three months of free subscription to video training. You can do yoga, stretching, arrange strength and cardio workouts at home;
- Youtube;
- Nike Running, Adidas Training.
4. Read books, novels, articles which you’ve postponed “until better times”
Most probably everyone has at least one printed book which is lying somewhere on the shelf covered with dust due to the lack of time to open it and enjoy reading. Or the necessity to find relevant literature for a course paper/research grows with each day. Quarantine is a pretty good opportunity to start searching and reading.
And if you don’t have time to buy a book but you really want to read it, don’t be upset, because there is a great solution for you!
Free resources:
- "Storytel." 30 days of audiobooks for free;
- LitRes. You can read books on LitRes for free after registration.
5. Clean the house and get read of old junk
One of the most obvious ideas about what to do while staying at home for a several weeks is to do cleaning. Wash all vertical and horizontal surfaces, better with some antibacterial agents (an epidemic is going after all). Put things on the shelves and throw away all old stuff which you haven’t used at least for a year. There will appear space for new useful one. Besides, there’s a well-known expression “Order in the house – order in the head”.
6. Sleep more!
Finally, there’s an opportunity for students not to wake up 2-3 hours before the first class, get ready for going outside, then waste precious time on public transport or maybe other means. Even though the deadlines will never leave us, waking up later and falling asleep earlier is a good way of dealing with boredom and fulfilling previous lack of sleep.
7. Cook by yourself
Despite numerous food delivery services favored under current people-stay-at-home conditions, you can turn cooking process into fun or in experiment. If your culinary skills leave much to be desired, it’s the right time to improve them! Try to figure out what dishes can be cooked out of food you already have at home and don’t forget to use imagination. Thousands of YouTube channels along with recipes from food-bloggers in Instagram would be helpful.
8. Create or update your CV
Writing a perfect CV is quite complicated task which requires time and effort. Even if you are not looking for a job now, it’s always useful to have a good and relevant CV just in case. And when the time comes, making some additions and small changes is far less difficult unlike writing everything from scratch.
9. Learn foreign languages
Quarantine will not last forever, the borders will be opened, the opportunity to travel will return to us! In order to understand and be understood, one should now at least the most widespread language – English. Being an HSE student implies that our level of English is relatively high, but when it comes to foreign languages, sky’s the limit. Watch series, movies or cartoons in their original languages with subtitles, listen to podcasts such as BBC ones and chat with friends in a language you are learning.
10. Communicate with your family more
Final and probably the most important point is that you should talk to your parents, brothers and sisters, grandparent or any other close person even more than before. If you are in one house for the whole quarantine period, take this chance and watch movies together, cook together, play board games and simply enjoy the time with each other. No one can support better, not necessarily only during the epidemic, than the people who love you the most. Thanks to modern technologies, phones and programmes like Skype will help see and talk to relatives if they live far away from you.
11. Online-bars
A completely unique experience of combining pastime and the Internet familiar to many students. The online institution is called Stay the F ** k Home Bar, because people are encouraged to stay home so as not to become infected with COVID-19 or to infect others. It's free, and you can chat with friends and strangers. To invite someone, you must copy the invitation link - https://staythefuckhome.bar
P.S. There you can chat with foreigners, this is a great way to improve your language skills.
12. Online-performances
Attend a performance or opera online. Firstly, this is a unique experience that we can gain thanks to the magical possibilities of the Internet. You can also immerse yourself in culture and learn something new. We leave useful links and options for you!
Free resources:
- Metropolitan Opera. Opera in HD, each performance is available 20 hours;
- Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This is a digital concert hall where you can listen to hundreds of past concerts or watch new broadcasts. Register on the website and activate the BERLINPHIL promotional code until March 31.
13. Create a schedule for yourself.
Waking up, doing exercises, Zoom lessons, homework, work, etc. Otherwise, without a clear schedule, you will spend a long time and either lie in bed for several weeks watching an Instagram feed or go crazy.
To conclude, even in quarantine one can find possibilities. Your way of dealing with boredom depends only on your imagination and desires. Never panic, wash your hands, avoid crowded places and everything will be just fine!
Text by
Anna Bogun and Anna Filchakova