Hi my friends, and welcome to my new post. As of yesterday, 16.12.2020, Germany entered new, even harder, lockdown. During previous “lockdown light” we had restaurants and cafes closed (except takeaway), as well as cinemas, theaters, fitness centers and swimming pools. However, those measures did not have much influence on the number of Coronavirus infections in Germany. Therefore, now, the new restrictions have to take place. And they include closing of most stores, schools and day care centers. Such things as walking outside and going to parks is still allowed, with social distancing in place of course.

In view of that, I have decided to create a list of things to do during lockdown. Myself, I have been home since March 2020 and many times I have struggled with boredom. So much boredom. I was bored as crazy, especially during first month of lockdown while I was still getting used to stay-at-home life. I have tried so many different things to keep myself busy and many of them were pretty exciting. Today I want to share those with you.

What I found most useful in times of extreme boredom is having different types of things to do in order to spend quality time. For me routine was the worst. Every day started the same. Literally. So, below you can find the list of things to keep yourself busy during lockdown and home office:

1. Read a book that has been dusting on the shelf for ages silently begging to be finally read;
2. Clean up and re-organize your apartment, it will also help you during stress as well as to clear your head and feel that you did smth useful;
3. Start your own blog – that is exactly what I did, it keeps my thoughts in place and doesn’t let me go crazy;
4. Learn new language or improves the one you know;
5. Learn/Master cooking – learn new recipes, improvise, create your own dishes – make your tummy happy;
6. Organize your wardrobe – throw away or give away all you are not wearing anymore, believe me you don’t need it dusting somewhere in the basement;
7. Binge watch series on Netflix, Prime or Sky Ticket, finally watch that movie everyone at work has been talking about;
8. Play a video game – I have already tried so many PS4 games, I can’t even remember, but they are a good break from learning and searching for job. My favorite ones are City Skylines, Shadow of War, God of War, Until Dawn;
9. Do online course – there are dozens online platforms which provide you with free resources for continued education, use your chance of staying home to learn smth new and take your career to new level. Myself I learned few courses including Fundamentals of Digital Marketing and Understanding the Web via Google Digital Garage and Openclassrooms (amazing sources for studying);
10. Learn how to play an instrument – maybe this is something you have always wanted to do – lockdown is a perfect chance for it. Learn how to play guitar or piano;
11. Start meditating – meditation is proved to help relieve stress and negative thoughts especially during coronavirus pandemic – take care of your mental health;
12. Exercise – do a 30 days fitness challenge, there are hundreds of those. Download some fitness apps to help you to keep yourself fit and healthy;
13. Walk/Hike outside – fresh air and sun are important for our immune system as well as mental health! Go to the forest, hike, enjoy the nature. Don’t forget about social distancing!;
14. Talk more to your family and friends – social media and phones are still there. Connect to your friends and family and show them your support and care. Although you cannot see them face to face, keep contact with them over Internet, it is the best what we can do now;
15. Learn knitting – a great thing to keep your hands busy and opportunity to knit smth nice for you or your friends (like sweater or hat);
16. Virtual museum visit – another amazing thing to do while you are waiting for in person visit – go on virtual tour to museums! There are multiple options for online museums visits (links to my favorite ones at the end of the post);
17. Learn about Arts and Culture with Google Arts and Culture, the website offers multitude of artworks by famous painters, virtual tourist street walks, you can try some creative experiments and fun stuff like create an Opera concert with blob or solve jigsaw puzzles (I personally loved it);
18. Visit the zoo or aquarium with a virtual tour!
19. Wanted to know more about NASA? Here is a great virtual tour around it’s facilities! Was cool to see the crash tests in action! https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/
20. Solve a puzzle! Yes, you can simply order it to be delivered to your place or try out puzzles online. They are also fun!
21. Play Board Game – have you ever played board games? I love those – Exploding Kittens or Cards Against Humanity were pretty fun.
22. Create your own recipe book with your favorite recipes ever!
23. Learn to play chess! I bet after watching The Queen’s Gambit many of you have thought about starting chess! So now is perfect time to do it! Who knows? Maybe you will become next champion?
24. Take online dance class or just YouTube tutorial – fun way to learn dancing and elevate your mood.
25. Draw a painting – try it, it helps you relax and unleash your creativity! Color some books or try online coloring too. Those are as much fun.

As promised, here are Links to Virtual Museums tours Around the Globe:

• State Hermitage Museum https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/panorama/virtual_visit/panoramas-m-1?lng=en
• Deutsches Museum https://virtualtour.deutsches-museum.de/
• Louvre Museum https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne
• Vincent van Gogh Museum https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/enjoy-the-museum-from-home#apps-and-more
• British Museum London https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5192048,-0.1274951,2a,75y,172.87h,89.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sFyBuFtvu6FeVvVVc5–uiw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
• Museum of Natural History https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/vt3/NMNH/
• Vatican Museum http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/tour-virtuali-elenco.html
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museums Online Collection https://www.guggenheim.org/collection-online
• The National Gallery of Art https://www.nga.gov/
• Smithsonian Museum of Natural History https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour
• National Women’s History Museum https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/online-exhibits
• Musée d’Orsay https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris?hl=en
• Rijksmuseum https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/rijksmuseum/iwH5aYGoPwSf7g?hl=en&sv_lng=4.885283712508563&sv_lat=52.35984312584405&sv_h=39.20967951279192&sv_p=12.03690088331929&sv_pid=fOVcUXQW2wpRf33iUmxEfg&sv_z=0.9999999999999997
• Albertina https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/albertina-vienna
• Dalí Theatre-Museum https://www.salvador-dali.org/en/museums/dali-theatre-museum-in-figueres/visita-virtual/

Hope you enjoyed the post and found out something new! And how do you survive boredom of staying at home? Share your experience! Don’t forget to subscribe to get our updates directly to your Email!