Now that we are a month into our virtual learning and socially distant hiatus from normal routine, you’re probably bored out of your mind. After all, you can only watch so much T.V. before you get tired of it. So in an effort to keep you sane during your self-quarantine, we have compiled a short list of entertaining ways to pass the time, enjoy.

Learn to skate

For the low price of $24.99 on Amazon, you can experience what it’s like to fall 32 times before actually getting anywhere. Skateboarding is one of the latest new trends, and while it can be a little dangerous, anyone under a shelter in place order can appreciate a little thrill to break up a monotonous routine.

A simple penny board is all it takes to soon be shooting down the hills of your neighborhood at a whopping 6 miles per hour. Don’t be fooled, however, because you’ll still feel like you’re in the X Games when you realize you don’t know how to stop and are forced to make an emergency exit (i.e. jump off the board and hope you land somewhere soft) 

Learn to play an instrument

Have you ever seen one of those public pianos in a mall or airport and wondered what it would be like if you could play it? Well now is your chance to learn! If you have access to an instrument at home, why not learn to play it while in quarantine?

There are more than enough guide videos and apps to help you along as you finally master the guitar, the drums, or the piano, just like you’ve always wanted to! If you have time to binge every episode of “Stranger Things,” you have enough time to sit down and learn some basic new chords to your instruments of choice. And if anyone tries to complain about the noise, just play even louder to make their complaints disappear, simple as that!

Write a book

Your body may be stuck in one place but your mind isn’t. Your mind is an unlimited resource of adventure and mayhem and distraction, so long as you use your imagination, and a great way to pass the long boring hours is by writing your own book or short story, the only resources you need are your mind and something to write with.

Think up the wildest fantasy you can, with the most interesting characters you can imagine and go to town. It’s your book, it’s your imagination, put as much detail and action and romance and drama as you want. With a blank piece of paper, you find you can do anything.

Try yoga

With so many people working and going to school from home, chairs are having a heyday. It can be easy to find yourself sitting in one far more than you should, especially compared to how much you would have been walking around and doing things before the quarantine. So to stay limber in the face of this sit-tastrophe, try yoga!

If you are already into yoga, great! Good job staying healthy, and for the rest of us now is a wonderful time to start. Staying cooped up inside is definitely not the healthiest thing to be doing for weeks at a time, so having a workout routine of any kind is a good idea. Yoga also does a great job of improving flexibility and posture, which can help with things caused by extended sitting like back pain and bad posture. 

Learn to write with your non-dominant hand

Interested in learning an almost useless skill that you can show your friends? Try learning to write with your opposite hand! To do this, simply pick up a handwriting book for first graders online, and soon you’ll be learning your ABCs all over again.

Be warned, this task is extremely tedious and requires more patience than you’d expect. But, while it is a frustrating undertaking, one day you could be able to write two essays at the same time. Even if you don’t become quite that advanced, being ambidextrous is a fun skill you can show to your friends after quarantine. 

While this new temporary way of life may be unbearably boring, we hope these activities will help to spice up your days and keep you from going crazy. But, whatever you do, please try to stay inside and away from others.