50+ Fun activities to do at home

University Counselling Service

Having a range of activities is important to maintain our wellbeing, to buffer against "cabin fever" and isolation.

Here is a list of fun things we can still do from home!

Connect With Others

How do you normally like to connect with friends and family? How can you adapt these activities to follow physical distancing?

Do you normally meet friends for brunch? How about a virtual brunch session over video call e.g. Zoom or Skype?

Do you normally go to the gym with a friend? How about both doing an exercise class online at the same time?

Here are some other ideas for connecting:

  • Call/video call a friend or family member and ask how they are going   
  • Start group chats/regular video calls with friends and classmates
  • Spend time with your pet 
  • Play a game online (can also join remotely with friends to play e.g. UTAS eSports, Skribbl)
  • Watch a movie/ TV show (watch at the same time as a friend and chat about it or join online viewing parties e.g. Teleparty) 
  • Leave a note for a neighbour introducing yourself from a distance 
  • Start/join an online book club with friends
  • Connect with online communities via social media e.g. BeyondBlue forums
  • Connect with other UTAS students via UTASlife online events.
  • Set daily challenges with friends – check in regularly to support each other and share creative/ funny ways you are coping with physical distancing

10 sec video

Live webcam footage

Keep Learning

What interests you? Have you ever thought "when I have more time I will..."? Perhaps now is a good time to do things you have been putting off.

14 minute video: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

  • Read a book (free eBooks and eMagazines available through most libraries or buy a book via online bookshops e.g. Booko) 
  • Learn origami 
  • Do a jigsaw puzzle 
  • Do a crossword 
  • Join an interactive learning event such as Science in the Pub (now also online)

Stay Active

There are lots of ways to get our body moving at home.

  • Do at home yoga or other exercise classes (YouTube videos and many organisations now creating free online content e.g. Yoga with Adriene, FitOn app)

24 min video: Yoga for beginners

  • Rearrange or redecorate a room
  • Learn a dance routine
  • Join an online nightclub/ DJ set
  • Wash the car, service your push bike, create a budget, organise your wardrobe, clean the bathroom, Marie Kondo your house, or any other task you have been putting off for a while now
  • Work in the garden/look after your houseplants

Take notice

Often we are running on auto-pilot. Slowing things down and paying attention to the present moment can boost wellbeing.

3 min video: Becoming kinder and more compassionate

  • Sit in the sun
  • Take a bath or shower
  • Watch the clouds pass by and look for shapes in them
  • Sit in the back or front yard and watch the world. Take notice of sights, smells, physical sensations and sounds
  • Do a virtual bush walk
  • Write in a journal
  • Pick flowers from your yard and put a vase of fresh flowers in your house
  • Look up old photos and write some notes about the context of that memory
  • Do an at-home pamper session

Give

Giving back to others, even through small gestures, can give us a big boost to our wellbeing.

  • Write a letter/ email/ card and send it to someone you care about. You can recall favourite memories or tell them why you are grateful to have them in your life
  • Think of small gestures you can do for friends and family
  • Take time to sit and listen to someone else and what they are going through.
  • Think of ways you can connect and give back to the community
  • Social media initiatives can offer opportunities to connect and support others in the community

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