So you’re stuck at home. Working from home or being off work is a challenge, and yes, self-quarantine sucks. The good news is, you’ll also have a bunch of extra time to accomplish something or try something new!

Interested in using the self-quarantine to be better? Keep reading.

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Hear me out on this: Don’t spend your whole self-quarantine watching Netflix . Let’s do some quick math:

You save a lot of time working from home. If you’re working remotely while self-quarantining, this is how much extra time you’ll have each day:

• 1 hour to get ready
• 2 hours of commuting
• 1 hour lunch break stuck in/around the office

That’s 4 hours a day or 20 hours a week that you can use to be more productive at home, or choosing to be more adventurous. And let’s be honest: is anyone working from home actually working 40 hours a week?

Then, let’s say you catch two hours of Netflix per night. You now have 14 hours, plus the 20 that you saved by not going to an office. That’s 34 hours that you can use to do something you’re proud of. It also means nearly 70 hours in the next two weeks. Minimum.

What could you accomplish in 70 hours?

You no longer have an excuse that you ‘don’t have time’ to do something. Now is that time.

You could make money, finally put the time into a passion project that you’ve been meaning to, or simply get your ducks in a row. Here are my favorite ideas that I’d love to see people do during self-quarantine:

“Travel” During Quarantine

*Edit* I created this course, and it’s been SO fun to see what people come up with – plan your dream trip in just a few minutes, and take the trip when this is all over.

Take Care of Your Financial Health During Self-Quarantine

• Get your financial ducks in a row – Your financial advisor is likely taking calls rather than meeting people in their office. Call them and have a conversation about optimizing your 401(k), opening a ROTH IRA, paying off your student loans, or what you’ll do with your tax return.
• Do your taxes – Yes, just get them over with. You can access every document you need on the internet, so just do it. Boom, extra dollars.
• Declutter – Take the time to go through your closet, shed, basement, or whatever storage you have. Figure out what you can sell at Plato’s Closet, Facebook Marketplace, or otherwise. If the economy or lack of work is kicking your butt, you might be able to make some extra money this way.
• Create a travel budget – Start planning how you’ll save money for your next trip
• Cancel your subscriptions – Time to get rid of HelloFresh if you’re not eating it. Do you really need FabFitFun and Ipsy? Nope. The money you save on those two per year is enough to take a long weekend away or make an extra student loan payment!

Take Care of Your Physical & Mental Health During Self-Quarantine

• Catch up with old friends – Everyone has extra time right now, so start setting up FaceTime dates.
• Do RAKs – Random Acts of Kindness are super beneficial to your mental health as well as others’. Some ideas include: make a meal for your neighbors, clean up a local park, or donate some soap/TP/hand sanitizer/food to people who weren’t able to get to the store on time or couldn’t afford to stock up.
• Take the Minimalism Challenge – When is a better time to do a challenge than when you’re stuck at home? This one only takes a weekend!
• Create a Mighty Life List – Don’t know what it is? Even better. Check it out here!
• Exercise – Yes, you can do it at home. Follow Yoga With Adrienne on Youtube. Look up some exercises. Go out in the backyard and do something weird. Give the neighbors something to whisper about.
• Journal – This is a weird experience. Release some thoughts/energy by being creative. You could also paint something, sing something, or create in other ways.
• Pick up your instrument – I haven’t played my ukulele in months. These Italians are doing it, and they’ve created a quarantine street band phenomenon!

Expand Your Mind During Self-Quarantine

• GO OUTSIDE – The self-quarantine is about social distancing, not staying inside. Go for a walk. Check out the bike path. Fly a kite. Mow the lawn. Visit your local parks.
• Read for at least an hour before turning on the TV, and limit yourself to one hour at a time. Check out this booklist for suggestions.
• Learn a new skill like knitting infinity scarves or how to do a headstand.
• Go buy a puzzle or two.
• Go Camping – Again, you just have to maintain 6ft of distance from people. Easy to do while in the forest. Or, pitch a tent in your backyard!
• Do a virtual museum visit. These 12 museums are opening their online doors for FREE!
• Take a course online through Udemy or Teachable. There are a million courses out there. Learn about social media. Take a short course about coding. Learn how to do the Tango.

Other Ideas for Things To Do During Self-Quarantine

• FINISH a home improvement project – Key word here is finish. We all have a million projects we’ve started. Now you finally have the time. Lawn projects count, too.
• Do a photoshoot – Grab a friend and a camera phone and drive somewhere – now is the perfect time because other people won’t be in the back of your photos!
• Try a new recipe – Quiche is easier than you might think. Protein balls are super fun to make. Always wanted to learn how to make grandma’s chili? Now you have the time AND the canned goods to do it.
• Start a blog – It’s like banging your head against the wall, but it’s fun. Or start a niche Instagram. Build a Shopify store. Do something online. Start your passion project.
• Create a course – Share a skill and make money doing it.
• What’s that thing you’ve said you don’t have time for? Go do it. Now, you have time.

Here’s the Takeaway:

You no longer have the excuse of not having ‘time’ to do something. This is your time. Even if you’re working from home, you’ll suddenly have lunch breaks and no commute. You’ll be two steps away from a new hobby, income stream, or simply relaxing.

I’d venture that we are going to see some incredible things come from the self-quarantine. What will you accomplish?