How to Avoid Going Stir-Crazy While In Quarantine

By Ashley Paskill on April 11, 2020

Due to Coronavirus, college campuses are closed and people are quarantined in their homes unless they work in essential industries or have to go out to get food or gas. This can leave you feeling stir crazy and wanting to get out and do something. However, it is crucial that we stay at home unless it is necessary to ensure that the virus ends as soon as possible.

Take online classes

Even if you are doing online classes for college credit, there are classes you can take out of interest or to develop your career. You may not have had a chance to do classes outside of major-related classes while on campus, so now that you are stuck at home, you have a chance to explore new interests. Many sites such as Udemy, Khan Academy, and Coursera have free classes that you can take. You can even use these to help learn new skills related to your field. Just be sure to do your actual schoolwork first!

Read a book

When you are on campus, you have a lot going on between classes, student organizations, and homework. Unfortunately, this leaves little time for reading books outside of what is assigned to you for class. Now that you likely do not have student clubs taking up your time and you may not be working depending on your job, you now have some extra time to read. Need some suggestions? Start with classics such as William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” or “The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury. As cliché as it sounds, books can really take you to new places without having to leave home, which is great for times such as these.

Play games

If you are lucky enough to be quarantined with your family, you are in a perfect situation to play board games. This is a great way to bond with people you may not get to spend a lot of time with, especially when you are at school. There is a wide variety of games you can depending on the ages of those you are playing with as well as the number of people playing.

For those with younger siblings, you may opt to play educational games with them so that they can continue learning and you can keep your mind active. This is especially helpful if your parents are working from home. Keeping your younger siblings occupied can help them a lot.

Video games may be more up your alley. Now that you have some more time on your hands, you can work on leveling up on games you have not completed or trying out new games that are coming out. You may also choose to play older video games.

Image: National Cancer Institute via https://unsplash.com/photos/xDSD3Vmzh70

Clean the house

Now is the perfect time to clean, especially with the Coronavirus going around. Disinfect commonly used surfaces regularly to ensure that there are no germs. It is spring now, so spring cleaning is now in season. Go through what you have and get rid of things you no longer need. You may even want to rearrange your furniture, at least in your room, for a change in scenery. Decluttering is essential, especially since you likely moved back home since colleges are closed.

Catch up on sleep

As mentioned above, you likely had a busy schedule while you were on campus, between studying and organization meetings. College students have notoriously terrible sleep patterns (looking at you, all-nighters). Now that you have extra time, you can use it to catch up on lost sleep. Now more than ever, sleep is important since it helps boost your immune system. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep each night and set up a nighttime routine.

Catch up on your favorite shows and movies

While being involved with campus activities or work, you likely had to miss out on watching episodes of your favorite TV shows or movies. Now that you have some time, use it to catch up on episodes you may have missed or binge a new TV show that you have always wanted to check out. Ask your friends and family for recommendations. You may even want to watch a movie or two with your family since you are unable to go out to the movies.

Cook or bake

There seems to be a trend on social media of people in quarantine making bread. You may not want to make bread, but there are plenty of other things you can try. Look online for ideas. Pinterest is a great source of recipe ideas. Now that you are home, you can offer to cook a meal for your family or offer to help out. This is also a great time to try out meal prepping.

Being in quarantine due to the spread of COVID-19 has been tough on those who usually have busy lives, but you are still able to do things that you have been meaning to. Use this time to learn new things and build on skills you already have.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format