10 Things to do at home, alone or with others - 28/03/2020

 

Global Point 

Before presenting 10 tips to make living in confinement better, I would like to come back to the important figures for these past 48 hours (03/28/2020, at 3.19 am): 

- Approximately 600,000 people are now infected worldwide in 176 countries, out of 198 recognized by the United Nations, or 89% of the countries of the world. 

- The United States and Italy have now overtaken China in terms of confirmed cases, more than 81,905 cases for each of these two countries. 

- The number of deaths rose to more than 27,333 worldwide, Italy and Spain being the two countries which register a higher number of deaths than China with respectively: 9,134 deaths and 5,138 deaths recorded.

- In UK, 14,754 confirmed cases and 759 deaths have now been recorded to date. 

- Worldwide, there are 127,768 patients considered to be cured. That means patients who tested positive but who were able to leave the hospital. 

To follow the evolution of these figures, I invite you to go to this interactive map, listing all the figures related to the Covid-19 in the world: Click here! 

Now, here is 10 things to do at home, alone or with others :

1 - Workout ! 

It’s now or never to discover this ancestral art practiced for millennia! Whether indoors, in your garden, or within 2 kilometers around your place of confinement, working out can be practiced anywhere and at any age.

Several challenges have also been shared on social medias, it's up to you to find the motivation you need!

For this, here are two applications recommended by the French Ministry of Health to perform daily the physical activity necessary for your good health: “Activity x MyCoach” and also “BeSport”!

These two applications are completely free. They present a unique system where you can create a team with your friends and train together, you are also able to compare everyone’s results.

The objective? Combine sport, pleasure and sharing !

2 - Redesign your room or apartment ! 

This may seem unnecessary; however, it has been proven that changing the atmosphere in your living area allows you to change your mindset! 

I am by no means a specialist in interior design, but I happened to change the layout of my room during my year in Scotland 4 times! 

Benefits? Getting out of the daily grind, improving the layout of your room, sorting through your belongings ... 

It is currently impossible to buy new products, however several websites offer to use objects that are no longer of use to give them a second life, this is called DIY (Do It Yourself ). Here is a link with more than 300 DIY ideas to make at home, alone or with family: Bored Panda !

I also recommend the blog of a friend who has made decorating ideas for a student room: her article !

3 - Netflix Party ! 

Did you think your series and movie nights should be cancelled because of this cursed virus? Not at all! 

Thanks to the Netflix Party extension, it is now possible to watch the same program as your friends at the same time from several different places! Please note, however, that the person with who you decide to watch you show with must also have a Netflix account for this to work! 

All you need to do is to download the extension here for Google Chrome or go directly to the Netflix Party site! Once installed, just launch Netflix on Google Chrome, launch a movie or another show, click on the NP logo and share the link with your friends! 

If you are wondering, yes you can pause for any reason, although it will also pause the film or series for others! 

(Available only on Google Chrome !)

4 - Same principle but for Youtube ! 

There is a platform, where the method of operation is much simpler in order to be able to watch Youtube videos together! 

To do this, go to Watch2Gether, create a room, launch the video of your choice and share the link with your friends!

There’s nothing simpler to be able to watch our favourite youtubers, at the same time, or to clear your head in front of humorous videos! 

You can also listen to your best "Lockdown" playlist in public

5 - Learn a new talent ! 

Well, among us, who has never dreamed of becoming the Paul Bocuse or the Picasso of modern times? 

Now that you have time for yourself, why not learn a new talent? Whether it’s cooking, drawing or learning to play an instrument, there are thousands of tutorials on the Internet to discover a new passion! 

In addition, thanks to Watch2Gether, it is possible to learn these talents with your friends and family by setting challenges between yourselves! 

For that, go to Youtube or for example, to All Recipes to learn new recipes!

6 – Everyone put down your phones! (Well, after reading the article ...) 

What if confining ourselves allowed us to get closer? 

Here’s an idea! These past few days, we have all spent an enormous amount of time on our phones or in front of screens. Whether for information research, contacting people we love or simply relaxing, it is difficult to part with technology! 

And this is not only the case among young people, more and more people are going digital, and nowadays we see our parents and grandparents creating Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat accounts! 

So, stop everything, put down your phones, and do activities together! 

Each day, and at the same time, allow yourself 3 hours without a phone to do the activities mentioned above, or to play board games, family discussions, etc ...! 

You may discover that your father was a hero in his time and that your mother was a model for Victoria Secret!

7 - Play video games !

It is time to bring out its old video games, but also the most recent ones !

We were talking about Workout on the first point of my top 10; Who has never done his best games of Tennis or Bowling on WiiSport ?

Let's take your controllers ! Take your brothers, sisters, parents et use this moment to keep this competitive spirit awake !

For the ones who are interested in video games in general, some developers decided to make some video games free during the lockdown ! 

Here are some websites who are giving you some ideas of video games to play : 
- Metro UK 
- Slate
- The Next Web


8 -  Realize a personal project !

Whether it is to travel, to organize a birthday party or even to create a company, would it not be the time to realize your dreams ?

No idea is useless and goes nowhere ! You just have to believe in it and maybe you could reach your goals and surprise yourself !

You ! Yes you, reading this blog, and having a nice idea on your head since too many time ! Take this lockdown as an opportunity to think about a project in a calm place, to develop your ideas do make it realizable !

An other thing, the lockdown should last more than 3 weeks, and unfortunately, the desire to go out and see your friends and family will be bigger days after days ! 

An idea to keep in mind would be to planify your next findings with your relatives, through a travel, a party or a full day with them !

(Warning ! I don't want you to take inconscient risks ! The return to daily life would be progressive after the end of the lockdown, so be careful !) 

9 - Learn a new language ! 

During my year in Scotland, I had the chance to meet a lot of different people from many countries of the globe ! This experience was a real enrichment because I have discovered new cultures, beliefs and ways to act, but above all, new languages !

I had a kind of ritual which was to learn some words in each language I could hear during my trip ! Result : I can count in finish, seduce in bulgarian and order a beer in italian !

I could never hold a conversation in these languages, but it allowed me to meet some new people and to interact with them and share words from our own languages !

If it is in your plans to visit a particular country, if you are interested in a specific culture or if you are just curious to learn a new language, many videos are available on Youtube, for all ages and all levels !

On the PlayStore, as well as the Apple Store, many apps propose to learn a new language, and there is my top 3 :

-  Babbel

- Duolingo

- Speekoo

10 - (And maybe the one we were all waiting for ...) Share drinks on video ! 

Next time you go shopping to buy food, take everything needed to enjoy a drink with your friends : crackers, french charcuterie, olives ... but above all, your favorite drinks ! (The abuse of alcohol being dangerous for health !)

Now you got everything, make a group with all your friends or family, and everythime you get thirsty, call them and share a drink ! It is a great opportunity to share news in a good mood !

  

Apart from the drinks, you can take the initiative to create a group chat with your family, to take care of the others while seeing everyone in video !

I am not the first one to propose this activity, however, to me it is so much important to keep the human contact with his relatives, and in this case, the phone would be the best way to reach them and to make up for the lack of loved ones !

--> You surely have heard about the app "HouseParty", I do not recommend it because of some private data issues encountered by users ! 

(Once again, I do not encourage the consumption of alcohol, this one should be moderated and done in a specific context !)