As uncertainty and monotonous days lay ahead of us, fun time shouldn’t be put off. While the feeling of ambiguity hovers over us all, this leisure time should be engaging and plain sailing to ward off lockdown-induced stress. All hail the Internet! Both essentials and entertainment are served to us on our fingertips. This lockdown period might have replaced a plethora of adventures on our minds, but the quality time spent with family and yourself is something we’re happy to catch up on. Isn’t it? To breathe a little life and keep you in the know of surroundings as you stay-in, here’s a lowdown of recommendations that will swing you through. 

News For Now

Given how sensitive the situation is for the entire world, being in the know of new developments and important updates have become cardinal. As responsible citizens, we also need to be careful that the sources of news are trust-worthy to share with your close ones. Amidst distressing time, the onslaught of fake Whatsapp forwards has only added up to all the anxiety.

The Coronavirus(COVID-19) tab on your Google app is streaming all necessary updates, statistics and case overviews. Reach out to MyGov on Whatsapp at + +91-9013151515 to get reliable news from an automated news service led by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. You can also subscribe to updates from WHO on Whatsapp at +41-798931892.to get verified updates about the pandemic from across the world.

Virtual Health Genie

Health and wellness have become the topmost priority as we stay cooped up in our homes to combat the spread of a vicious virus. With very little and limited access to health professionals like dieticians and our family doctors, self-care has become the new normal and significantly so. Restricted movements shouldn’t come in the way of your other routine concerns or diet consultations. Meanwhile, may we not forget to honour and thank the solidarity of health professionals who are standing on the frontline to battle this rampant spread.

Online health luminary, Practo is making telemedicine accessible by online chats with doctors to get prescriptions as well as ordering medicines. Besides, if you’re someone who worships the diet chart or needs to keep a tab on the extra weight caused by skipping your workouts, Healthify Me is one handy mobile app to keep you on track. From personalized yoga sessions to diet plans, you can easily find your own health coach within a few clicks.

Learn & Leap

There’s no rocket science as to how to evoke magic from quotidian life and create something influential or inspiring. Since we got on with our work lives, our routine took over that little skill we wished to ace and there’s undoubtedly at least one short course we gave a miss. There’s no better antidote to a humdrum phase than hustle. Use this downtime to hone the skill you always wanted to.

You could practise and get an exceptional command over an exotic language or polish your style sense with a professional course. FYI, Havard university is offering 67 short-term courses for FREE during this pandemic. Now is your time to learn. Sign-up online or download fun learning apps on your tablet or mobile. As you get to time to reinvent yourself, you can also learn your favourite tunes on a virtual guitar to impress your date by digital means now or when you get to catch up later!

Social Media 2.0

We’ve now got the most of the three social media forces- Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Besides these crusaders, creative people of all ages across the world are making artsy short videos of everything ranging from quick make-up tutorials to dance-offs and even recreating movie scenes on the spotlight-worthy sensation called TikTok. Amusing videos like the ‘hand emoji challenge’ or the ‘pass the brush makeup challenge’ are trending this quarantine season.

Jumping on the bandwagon, you can ante up your social media streak and get to feature in a video with your clan while you stay away. While others flock on IG and FB, hit refresh to meet and date new people and connect with influential personalities on Bumble. With this surge of screen time in your life, you can make the most of it with these creative and conversational platforms.

Being Idle

As much as we plan to thrive in this phase by being more productive and on top of things, there shouldn’t be any guilt in slowing down. Looking at the silver lining of this pause on routine life, you’ve been given the time to be idle! But, this does not translate to procrastination!  So what can you do with nothing but fun on your mind? Decompress after your day-long work from home routine with virtual games that let you connect with your distant loved ones.

Put your vocabulary to test and fire great words at your friends on Scrabble or clash with 99 players across the world on PUBG Mobile, or gather your sibling squad and toss several sixes on an online Ludo game if you’re feeling homesick. If you aren’t a fan of multiplayer games, how about taking up good old virtual farming with Hay Day or bringing your teenage days back as you spend hours on dressing up games. 

Use this downtime to give yourself that much needed TLC. Stay safe and positive and together we can get through this.