Lockdown after lockdown, no shops, museums, or cafes open to explore and spend time in, no permission to visit friends. We all have had to reconsider how we can keep busy, especially living in Coventry without having a car to take a ride with.
Now that university has resumed, there is at least one more goal to work towards, but if you still have plenty of free time and are wondering what to do. I have racked my brain long and hard for some fruitful suggestions:
1. Start an Exercise Regime.
Pick up on that new year resolution, or simply do it because you love yourself. Why not set up a weekly schedule?
· Jogging
· Walk around the neighbourhood
· Dance workouts
· Other workouts
· Yoga
2. Try a New Recipe Weekly (and a new cuisine?)
There are plenty of recipe websites out there, here are a few on that you can always have a browse through:
Dive into another country, even if not physically:
Want to be more environmentally friendly? Here are some protein packed recipes:
Love your dairy and eggs?
3. Borrow A Book From The Library and Read
The university library has lots of books that you can read either digitally or borrow a hard copy of. This is their website: https://locate.coventry.ac.uk/primo-explore/search?vid=COV_VU1
4. Volunteering
We know that you may be fed up with the emails about volunteering opportunities, but they truly are important! They can not only keep you busy, but they have many other added benefits. According to a study, people who started to volunteer became happier over time, some research suggests that people who start out with lower levels of well-being may even get a bigger boost from volunteering (Hopper 2020). Furthermore, they build a sense of community, you can learn from them and there may be positive surprises.
Here are some opportunities:
5. Browse Eventbrite
Eventbrite has a vast variety of interesting events and talks that you can attend. No matter if you do it to learn about your hobby, or something relate to your studies.
6. Start Playing Games (but ones that will keep you mentally active).
Playing games is always fun, below are a list of ideas for games that will keep your brain engaged but are equally fun!
· Codycross -->Travel across space and time as you unveil our planet's history and humanity's accomplishments through themed puzzles.
· Sudoku -->Easy to learn logic-based number placement puzzles. Can be done on paper or there are plenty of apps.
· Scrabble -->A board-and-tile game in which two to four players compete in forming words with lettered tiles. Also available as apps.
· Crosswords -->A game consisting of a diagram divided into squares in which a letter is inserted to form words fitting the clues.
· Puzzles -->The traditional puzzles that form an image.
Hopefully, this extensive list has given you some ideas and has intrigued you to start something new or pick up something you have previously done. Taking time for yourself is equally important to keeping busy, I would recommend not just to start one of these because you feel it is a must. Do them for your own enjoyment and fun and remember to also have some time to just sit there, because that can be very rewarding as well.
Disclaimer: Companies and brands mentioned are not affiliates.
Sources: Hooper, E (2020) Want to be happier? Try volunteering, study says[online] available from
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/07/29/volunteer-happy-mental-health/>
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