How I'll Be Keeping Busy

What a weird week it's been.

This Coronavirus is really doing a number on the world right now. It feels like we're living in a movie plot, or an episode of Black Mirror. It's affecting everyone in many ways. For myself it has meant that, from Monday, my university made the decision to stop face-to-face teaching as well as cancelling a group presentation I was due to have at the end of the month. My second placement for third year has also been cancelled. I have a part time job at a children's soft play which is now closed for twelve weeks so I'm now left with a lot more free time on my hands. 

I know that many people have been affected far worse than I have and I really am grateful for all the silver linings thrown my way. It's important to try and stay positive throughout everything that's happening (even if it gets hard at times to do so). 

I've been social distancing as I don't want to become a risk to the elderly or vulnerable. This has inevitably led to spending pretty much all day at home and, at the moment, I have currently lost the motivation to do much of anything. However, life may be odd and things may be uncertain right now, but I can't let this virus stop me from living. My plans for the coming months have completely gone out the window and I've spent this past week doing pretty much nothing productive. This needs to change though. Which is why I've decided to create a blog post on the ways in which I plan on keeping busy in these coming months.

Continue with any uni work

I've still got one more assignment due for next month (if it's still going ahead) plus a dissertation proposal due for the start of June so I'll begin to spend time on both of these which will give me some sense of work to be focused on.

Read

I've still got a good amount of books to work my way through on my reading list and now I'll have plenty of time to work my way through the pile. I recently finished 'A Series of Unfortunate Events book 4' by Lemony Snicket and am now onto 'Noughts & Crosses' by Malorie Blackman (which I'm loving so far!).

Continue with hobbies

Following on from my previous post, I would like to continue to invest time into the things I enjoy doing. I've made a Pinterest board with some drawing ideas and I've got a list of songs I'd like to try and learn on guitar. Hobbies are good to fill in any time gaps.

Spend time with pets

My guinea pig is loving all of the attention she is now receiving now that I'm home a lot more😄 I actually think it's more likely that she's probably starting to get sick of me now and wishes I were away more often so she can just chill on her own😄

Exercise

I've never been a gym goer. However, for over a year now I have been doing regular kettlebell home workout (shoutout to 'BodyFit By Amy' for all her various kettlebell videos that I genuinely enjoy doing). I've felt that taking up Kettlebelling has really helped me to tone up and get into much better shape than I had previously been in. 

Go for walks and take pictures

It's so easy to forget that despite all that is currently happening in the world, it is okay to go outside and get some fresh air. I'm fortunate to live pretty much in the countryside and all my usual walk lanes never really have anyone else on them. I love going on walks and taking my camera to capture any moments along the way.

Play games 

I've actually gotten back into playing the Wii😄 I think it's an outdated console now but I still love to play Mario Kart and Bowling - which will forever be my favourite Wii game (I recently played against my dad and I got six strikes in a row which I was proud of considering how rubbish I am at bowling in real life😄). Speaking of outdated games consoles, I also dug out my old Nintendo Ds which I've had since I was seven and have had some fun reminiscing and playing old games. Myself and my brother also got a bunch of card/board-type games at Christmas which we'll now be able to play.

Relax and watch Netflix/Amazon Prime/Movies

With all these month ahead, now is a good time to catch up on any shows. I've recently been enjoying Riverdale (Netflix), A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix) and One Tree Hill (Amazon Prime). Any other recommendations are welcome.

Chat to friends 

I feel that it's still important to keep in contact with friends even if it is just through a screen. Social distancing or self-isolation doesn't have to mean that you're completely alone.

Write

English was one of my favourite subjects in school and I've always loved to write. I've recently had the idea to create a little book on short stories all set during World War 2 (for those who have read my blog for a while, this must sound really random - it was for me too😄). I've written one story so far so we'll see how this goes.

Blog

Blogging is something I enjoy doing. I like writing out all my little thoughts and taking pictures to go with the content I create. I have many drafts and ideas and now I'll have more time to finish them.

This is a few of the things that I'll be trying to do in order to keep busy in these coming months during these uncertain times.

What will you be doing?

Bye for now, xo