As we are all navigating the scary, lonely, stressful, and uncertain new normal that has been abruptly thrown upon us, college students face some of the most difficult hardships as many of us have lost our stability, school resources, and sadly, our homes. In this dark time of the COVID-19 pandemic, we all need to come together, be there for each other, and help our peers through this transition. While many of us have been experiencing extreme anxiety, sadness, and stress, we are all searching for outlets of distraction to improve our mental and physical health. Keep reading and check out these activities to make your days go by easier!

Try Out New Cooking and Baking Recipes 

In this pandemic, many of us have taken on the challenge to become master chefs and bakers… I know I certainly have! By using this time to learn how to meal prep, learn new recipes, and trying to eat healthy, I have expanded my cooking expertise and been even engaging in recipe swaps with my friends and family to try new things!

Arts & Crafts

Arts and crafts is one of the best outlets to get creative, relax your mind, and use your hands. Wether you find inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram, or through friends ideas, there are so many ways to get busy with arts and crafts. You can make yourself a calendar to plan out your upcoming weeks, tie die some old clothing, free hand draw and paint, or use coloring books, the opportunities are endless. As art has always been one of my passions, I love seeing powerful and influential artists like Pop Artist Ashley Longshore making free coloring book pages that are easily accessible and so much fun to use. If you are looking for some new coloring ideas, check out ashleylongshoreart.myshopify.com for some great pages!

Workouts From Home 

Working out is a great way to start your day off on a high note by releasing endorphins and increasing your mental and physical health. As someone who has always struggled with finding the motivation to work out, I have found so many ways to find live and free work outs through social media, have created work outs with peers, and have learned even a quick 15 minute work out can do the trick! If you check out our recent blog post, What To Do When the Gym Is Closed, you can find creative ways to use weights through household items like stairs or laundry detergent. Another great tool is Instagram Lives that can be found on various different accounts that share top trainers giving quick but difficult exercises to keep your heart rate up! A personal favorite of mine has been @Alo as they have a weekly schedule and you know exactly when to tune in! A final resource I have found very helpful is through apps that you can download from the app store such as OpenFit, Playbook, Fitplan: Gym & At Home Workouts, and Glo- Yoga and Meditation.

Meditation 

Meditation is a crucial part of increasing your mental health right now by focusing on time for yourself to relax and process your thoughts. Meditation can come in a variety of forms and focuses on the now rather than getting caught up in every scary thought. Beautiful ways to practice meditation can come in breathing exercises, daily walks, yoga, sitting in silence, or even writing down a list of things you are grateful for or your positive thoughts. By practicing mediation daily, you have a chance to clear your mind, slow down your thoughts, and have some time for just you.

Virtual Book Clubs 

As we transition to communication almost fully online, it’s a great time to start reading that long list of books you’ve told yourself time and again you would read, or reach out to people for book club suggestions or new books to read! Creating  or joining a virtual book club is a fantastic way to dive into a story and discuss it over calls with friends and strangers to get the human interactions that we need! Pick a book, call some friends, and start a weekly book club to discuss and dive into a new and fun topic! *Pro tip, if everyone makes a charcuterie board and has a glass of wine, its almost like you’re all actually together!

Zoom and Group FaceTime Calls with Friends and Family

Last but not least, use this time to connect with friends and family. While it is very difficult to follow Social Distancing and to not be able to see your friends or family, take this time to schedule group Zoom or FaceTime calls. By scheduling a weekly or daily call, you have something to look forward to, relax, have some laughs, and see all of the faces you miss. This is a very easy time to get into a spot where we remove ourselves from our friends and family, but use it as a time to build stronger relationships and have some excitement to look forward to once we can all be present and together again!

 

Remember to stay strong, sane, and healthy in this difficult transition. By trying out these means of distraction it gives us all opportunities to improve our overall mental health and try new things we never expected to have the time to do. We are all in this together and all looking for new ways to stay busy!