Activity Ideas to Pass Time During Quarantine
By: Caitlin Jones, Q7 UWS doctor of chiropractic and sports medicine student
With everything closed and not being able to spend time with friends in person, I’ve heard a few people talk about how bored they are. I can’t say that I have this whole quarantine thing figured out, but I can say that I have not been bored once. Sure, there are days where I’m unmotivated to do much and end up watching hours of old Boston Legal episodes or movies – haven’t tried Tiger King yet, but my Instagram is covered in memes about it – but for the most part, I have a ton of activities to do every day.
My tip for staving off boredom without becoming one with your couch is to switch up your activities. I start off my day by making a real breakfast. I love to cook, it takes time, it’s delicious and it makes me happy. After, I’ll spend a few hours reading, putting a puzzle together while listening to podcasts, crafting, calling friends and family, and going for walks. I try not to do something until I’m tired of it because then it makes my enjoyable activities unenjoyable. The trick is to find something that you enjoy doing and to switch it up every couple of hours.
I have a friend who loves to paint, but hasn’t been able to since starting the doctor of chiropractic program due to lack of time. Same with a friend who used to play the guitar and another who used to read books for fun and not just to learn about physiology and neuroanatomy. We have so much time now to go back to activities that we love to do but always had excuses to put it off – mainly because we don’t have the time or energy. Well, that’s no excuse now!
I’ve busted out all my old coloring books, my stamping craft supplies, and I joined Kindle Unlimited so I can read all of the Harry Potter books and the Wayward Pines trilogy. I’ve also called and video chatted with friends I haven’t spoken to in months. They’re all stuck at home too and it’s great to reconnect with them. I love podcasts, but it’s usually difficult to find time to listen to all the ones on my list. Now, I listen to them while crafting and going on walks. If you’re looking for some to take your mind off of COVID-19, but still want it to be relevant to chiropractic or sports medicine, I recommend “Stronger by Science.” There are two guys discussing current research and even talk about confidence intervals and metabolic enzymes so you get a bit of Dr. LeFebvre and Dr. Williams.
There are also a ton of online resources to keep you entertained. As I mentioned in my last post, the National Parks have some virtual tours and many other places have set up the same thing! You can go to France to see the remains of the Louvre’s moat and an Egyptian collection here, see the arms and armor exhibit in Manhattan’s Met Gallery here, and tons of whale vertebrae at DC’s Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History here. If you want more ideas, Smithsonian Mag lists and links 10 different museums around the world with virtual tours here.
If you want something more school related, go to Dynamed and see what current research is being done, look for scholarships, and brush up on your anatomy and palpation skills. Start compiling information for your next board exam, whenever that may be.
If you don’t want to be bored, there are plenty of options to keep you active and your brain engaged. Reconnect with old friends and hobbies, look up fun recipes to try – going to the grocery store is now a very time-consuming endeavor! Enjoy your socially distant time before the world restarts and you can go back to saying you don’t have time to do your favorite hobbies.
Hopefully that gives you some ideas to make the best of this time. The next blog will be a Q&A from our favorite professors on what to expect from them this quarter. Going remote is going to be different and they’re giving us some helpful tips on how to best succeed!