10 Things To Do Alone While Social Distancing

1. Craft - Watch a couple YouTube videos and you'll get the hang of basic knitting or crocheting in no time. Seriously, there are SO MANY awesome videos for complete beginners. Michaels has been having a lot of sales online so you can get all the supplies without spending a fortune.

Blankets, hats, scarves, mittens, bags...so many possibilities.

If you're already experienced or you're in the mood to spend a little more, invest in some quality hand dyed yarn. I've been looking at these on Etsy for weeks and there are so many beautiful options!!! Like this one by NeedleNSpoon:

[so dreamy!!!!]

Also Fiber for the People:

and Dancing Skies Fiber Arts from Alaska:

Creating with your hands gives you a sense of satisfaction on completing a project, keeps your mind active, promotes dexterity. Check out this article from The New York Times: The Health Benefits of Knitting. 

I'm so ready to do a virtual knitting circle/crochet group, glass of wine on hand.

2. Read! I know books aren't as entertaining for everyone as they are for me, but for the skeptics I guarantee there are some good reads out there that you would enjoy. If fiction isn't your thing look into autobiographies. I'm in the middle of Acid for the Children by Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers). You can also get magazines on the Kindle app. Find a new blog or website - I've been really into Money Diaries and Travel Diaries on Refinery29.

3. Shop for Free - Browse for your dream wardrobe or house or whatever you would buy if you had infinite money. Add to cart everything you would buy...and then just leave it there. It's super cathartic and almost every time you leave items in a cart you'll get an email the next day with a coupon because they want you to hit that purchase button. Score.

4. Clean & Sell - Marie Kondo your space (aka if it doesn't spark joy it's OUT) and list clothes on Poshmark, other items on Ebay. Don't worry if what you haven't isn't designer or expensive. I've sold a ton of clothes from Express on Poshmark because I'm putting together a new style. If I have them up for a couple months with no interest they get moved to my donate pile. List books, video games, anything on Ebay. It's super easy, just take a couple of well-lit photos and upload, Ebay helps you set the price based on what similar items have sold for. On Poshmark the buyer pays for shipping and on Ebay you choose. You can get free shipping boxes by stopping into your local post office!! I just learned that recently, game changing.

5. Update your resume - When was the last time you even looked at your resume? Update your job history and experiences, your contact information, your talents. Why not throw it on Indeed or another website and see who reaches out to you? That's how I was hired at my current job that I've had for 5 years now. I never would have found them myself.

6. Put together a financial tracker - Take the fear out of finance by getting it all out there and knowing what you make, what you spend, where you'll be headed. And you can make it cute while you're at it. There are tons of free downloads, like this one from Money Under 30. For printable budget sheets there's Pinterest and Etsy.

7. Write a book - Scrivener is an amazingly organized, detailed program for putting together writing projects and they have a free trial that will actually give you enough time to play around on it and see if you like it (you will). These days all you need is a typed out story and you can put it for sale on Amazon. Don't go all Jack Nicholson in the Shining on us though.

8. Binge watch - Tiger King on Netflix...if you haven't heard about it already, it's about to blow your mind. Also Love is Blind and 90 Day Fiance are so bad, they're good. Hot Ones on YouTube is a series of interviews with celebrities done while the celeb eats hotter and hotter chicken wings. They have a trivia game show on TV now too with regular people.

9. Plan out a trip...for someday - Trip Advisor is fun to browse even if you know you won't be able to actually travel for a while. Read reviews and check out lists of the best restaurants, beaches, shops, historical sites. Map it out on a free website like triphappy. Find weird, hidden gems of the world on Atlas Obscura.

10. Pamper yourself - face masks, candles, serums, hot towels...Sephora and Ulta are having daily sales right now - stock up! Relax and don't let anxiety get the best of you in these strange times.