These are certainly unprecedented times. Most organizations and companies are having their workers work remotely. Over these last two weeks, we were encouraged to stay at home and minimize interaction with other people. It appears this may go on for a while. Hopefully, the majority of us will remain healthy. While you are being a good community citizen and staying home when you aren’t working, here are Five Ways on how to stay busy and fend off boredom:
1. Organize your personal life!
This could mean going through closets or going through paperwork that has piled up. Or possibly cleaning out the basement or garage. It’s a great opportunity to get your home more organized and de-cluttered. It’s a wonderful feeling that you typically can SEE the difference!
2. Read
What a great time to catch up on your reading. Rather than binge-watching TV, spend more time reading. This might mean reading the backlog of magazines you have, or a pile of books. Some recent good reads of mine:
a. You’re Not Listening, by Kate Murphy
b. The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware
c. The Alice Network, by Kate Quinn
d. The Looming Tower – Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 – a Pulitzer prize-winning book by Lawrence Wright. (I’ve heard this is also a HULU series, so binge-watching is an option)
e. Destiny and Power – the American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, another Pulitzer Prize winner by Jon Meacham
f. The Passage of Power – The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Part IV, which chronicles the years of 1958 – 1964, with a heavy focus on the 60 days after Kennedy’s assassination.
” I like to read about leaders from both parties, to understand their strengths and weaknesses as leaders, not just their political viewpoints. The book about Johnson was a fascinating study of leadership at a critical juncture in American history.”
3. Take a virtual museum tour
Here are 12 of the world’s greatest museums for your enjoyment. Take someone with you, even if you are enjoying it from different places at the same time. You can talk about what you see, and learn from each other’s different perspective.
4. Start to learn a new language
There are several apps that can help you learn Spanish, French, Japanese or another language; including Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Duolingo, Pimsleur, and Rocket.
5. Learn or re-learn playing a musical instrument
I’ve taken time over the weekend to play the piano more. I played piano in my childhood and then took a few lessons a year ago. It tends to be hard to find time to play. Now, with more free time, I’m back at the piano! Its fun, rewarding and engages the more artistic side of my brain.
This is not an exhaustive list, but one to challenge you to use this time productively. Have other ideas? Share with us!
Joni Lindquist, MBA, CFP®, a former corporate executive, is a Principal, Financial Planner and Executive Coach at Aspyre Wealth Partners. She helps people Master What’s Next®, no matter what phase of life. Aspyre partners with clients to navigate life transitions. A dog lover, Joni also golfs, exercises, travels, and watches old mystery TV shows.