The current pandemic has upended our lives. Many are working from home, others are experiencing job loss, and our collective anxiety is palpable as we wait to see what our new normal is. Necessary social distancing measures are causing many of us to feel disconnected and afraid. However COVID-19 is impacting your life, we are right here with you to help you find moments of connection and hope. Here are 15 ways to find joy at home while social distancing. 

Read A Book

Find a cozy corner in your house, and allow yourself to escape to a different world through literature. Books and Mortar, an indie bookstore located on Cherry St in Grand Rapids is open and available to customers and they are also offering to deliver books to doorsteps. Need idea on what to read? Check-out our Reader’s Lounge for suggestions from the pros at Kent District Library. Additionally, GRPL and KDL are offering online registration for library cards, so you can load up you e-reader with bestsellers. 

Listen To A Podcast

There are podcasts out there for everyone that include every topic imaginable. You can find podcasts that focus on interviews, nonfiction storytelling, beauty and fashion, true crime, how to improve your lifestyle, and much more. Todays top podcasts include This American Life  , Radiolab , How I Built This , 2 Dope Queens and The History Chicks.

Sweat 

Keeping your body active is still important and taking part in some physical activity might help relieve some of the stress you are feeling. Follow workout videos online — Grand Rapids YMCA is offering virtual workouts for free; From the Heart Yoga, Beer City Barre and Rhythm Fitness Studio are all live streaming classes. Go for a bike ride, take your dog for a walk or go for a run. Do something to keep your blood pumping and to keep your serotonin flowing.

Declutter/Clean The House

The environment around you can have a major impact on your mood and the way you feel. Surrounding yourself with a clean environment can help to declutter and clear your mind. Whether it be a closet full of unhung clothes, dresser drawers, the dining room table, or the bedroom you’ve been meaning to clean, you now have the time to do it, so throw on some of your favorite tunes on and start cleaning! 

Redecorate 

Rearranging or redecorating your living space can is not only fun, it can be mentally refreshing. Move things around, change out your pillows, your comforter, the pictures hanging on your wall. Come up with a new color scheme and redecorate based on that. Pinterest, anyone?

Pamper Yourself 

Make it a spa day! Light some candles and take a bubble-bath. Put on a face mask. Develop a skin-care routine. Make a DIY body scrub or hair mask. Paint your nails. 

Journal

We are undergoing an unprecedented upheaval, and many of us are experiencing emotions we may not even be able to identify. Grabbing a pen and notebook and writing down what comes to mind is shown to help manage anxiety, reduce stress and cope with depression. If writing down your thoughts doesn’t come easily, prompts can help you get started. 

Get Creative 

Whether you enjoy singing, dancing, writing, drawing, or painting, you can use this time at home to tune into your creativity. Paint a picture, write a song, start writing that short story you’ve always wanted to write, or choreograph a dance! Use this opportunity to enjoy the hobbies that you love buy may not have time for otherwise. My Modern Met has plenty of great prompts to get your creative juices flowing. Additionally, find inspiration at the 

Try A New Recipe

If you love to cook or bake, or even if you just want to try something new, experiment with some recipes you’ve never tried before. Try your hand at plant-based cooking, visit the Mediterranean from your kitchen, or become a master of Crème brûlée. Visit our recipe archives for inspiration! 

Watch a Movie with Your BFFs

Have a good ol’ fashion movie night with your besties via Netlflix Party. The Google Chrome extension allows multiple viewers in various locations to watch the same movie together, and chat about it, too! 

Catch Up On Work/Get Organized

Finishing tasks or crossing items off a to-do list can help us feel accomplished when we feel little is in our control. If you are a student with homework that you’ve been putting or if you have a job that is requiring take-home work, use some of this time to get it done and out of the way. Get organized by managing the things that you need to do: create a to-do list and cross things off as you go; maybe fill out a planner and assign times to do some of the things on your list in order to give yourself breaks to relax in between.

Learn A New Skill

Perhaps you have always wanted to learn a new language or maybe that instrument you promised yourself you would learn is collecting dust. Take advantage of free language-learning apps; find music lessons on YouTube ; or a take a seat in a virtual classroom in one of 450 free online classes being offered by Ivy League colleges. 

Get Some Fresh Air

Social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t go outside — fresh air is important, and being outdoors has been show to reduce stress and anxiety. Go for a bike ride on a West Michigan bike trail, or take your fitness outside. If you don’t feel like leaving the house, sit on the porch or on the lawn with your favorite beverage, and enjoy the weather.

Scrapbook

Take some developed photos you have lying around, or print some off if you can, and start a scrapbook! Put some pictures together and add captions about the memories or about the people in the photos. Document the positive things and people in your life; the things that make you happy and the things that make you you. Craft Outlet GR remains open and offers 50-80% retail prices. 

Game Night

If you are social distancing with others, such as family members, roommates, or a significant other, get out some board and card games and make a night of it! If your old Monopoly board isn’t cutting it, find your new favorite game at Blue Bridge Games. If you are by yourself, play games with your friends online or engage in mental exercises like crosswords or puzzles.

The current pandemic has upended our lives. Many are working from home and others experience job loss, and our collective anxiety is palpable as we wait to see what our new normal is. Necessary social distancing measures are causing many of us to feel disconnected and afraid. However COVID-19 is impacting your life, we are right here with you to help you find moments of connection and hope. Here are 15 ways to find joy at home while social distancing.