According to the Myers–Briggs personality test, I’m 90% extroverted. So, while 10% of me is thrilled to be trapped indefinitely inside my house, the other 90% is freaking out. 

I’m not writing this to complain—I’m at home with my family and have food to eat and movies to watch. Given the circumstances, things are okay. However, I know that when I go a long time without seeing people (like longer than a couple days), I get really sad. Much of my energy and happiness stems from interacting with people in person. How are you supposed to give someone a hug through a satellite signal? 

I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly to make the best of this situation. I know that personally, I need to either stay busy or do things that make me feel connected to others, lest I become irate and miserable. Although I haven’t found my inner introvert yet, I think I’m learning to find happiness, or at least positivity, in this period of stillness.

Without further ado, here are the 40 things that I recommend doing while quarantined.

1. Art. I have never been one for visual art, but with all this time on my hands, I’ve been trying to harness the magic of the colored pencil. After a couple days of doodling, things are starting to look okay! 
2. Rearranging your entire bedroom is a) therapeutic b) time consuming c) something that makes you feel like a bona fide interior designer worthy of a show on HGTV.
3. Have you seen the new Netflix TV sensation Love is Blind? Stop reading this article immediately and go watch it. I’ll wait.
4. Netflix parties with your friends! https://www.netflixparty.com/ 
5. If you’re not Zoomin’, what the heck are ya doin’? Weekly Zoom meetings with friends are great because they give you something to look forward to.
6. Build a fort and do all your classes there. Your professors and classmates will be so confused about where you are Zooming from. If only they knew. 
7. Blackout poetry. Take a newspaper article, a page from a book, etc, and make a poem by selecting certain words on the page, and blacking out the rest with a black marker. You can embellish the page and make it into an art piece if you wish.
8. Send snail mail. You can even send an unsuspecting friend a blackout poem you created!
9. Remember making E-Cards when you were little? Send some out! 123Greetings and JibJab are my preferred platforms.
10. Apparently movement boosts endorphins and makes you happier, so try and go for runs or walks outside. You can also do lots of at-home workouts or yoga via YouTube. Doing the tree pose alone in my room makes me feel like a fool, but I am learning to ~feel the zen~. Also, Downward Dog Yoga is offering free personalized classes for college students until JULY!
11. Increase your flexibility by stretching every day. By the time you come back to Wes, you’ll be doing splits left and right.
12. Don’t have a Wii? Fear not. Most Just Dance videos are uploaded to YouTube. Have fun.
13. Walk around the block and SMILE at people! In this time of isolation, a smile can do so much for someone. And, you’ll (hopefully) get one in return and it’ll make your day.
14. If the people you’re living with are driving you nuts, walk to the nearest street that starts with the letter “B” and back. But stay six feet away from people. 
15. Hug trees. 
16. Wake up early and listen to the birds chirping. Watch the sunrise. Then go back to bed.
17. Learn a new language on Duolingo.
18. Make collaborative playlists so that you can share songs with your loved ones.
19. Lie on the floor, close your eyes, and listen to an entire album. 
20. Make soup.
21. If you’re living with people, create a night where everyone has to show up to dinner in black tie attire. My family isn’t super into this one, but I personally think it’s a fantastic idea that people who are actually fun would enjoy.
22. Watch standup comedy! Netflix and YouTube have many hilarious options. If you haven’t seen John Mulaney’s stuff yet, do that, and then watch Taylor Tomilson.
23. Create a standup routine and perform it at the black-tie dinner event. 
24. Pick a movie series (i.e. Harry Potter, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek) and watch a movie a night for as long as the series goes on for.
25. Write a screenplay and shoot it with iMovie. 
26. Do you have a dog or cat? Have you ever tried to braid all of its hair? Just an idea.
27. If you’re a musician (or just like to sing), download the free app “Acapella”. You can make collaborative videos with friends or just make music by yourself.
28. Make a Kahoot about yourself and quiz people through Facetime.
29. Buzzfeed quizzes. Specifically, the “Are Your Quarantine Habits the Same as Everyone Else’s?” quiz
30. Having trouble keeping track of your assignments? Want an artsy bullet journal? Go on Pinterest, find your favorite bullet journal designs, and copy them—no creativity required.
31. Reflect on your year pre-Corona. What were the best parts? What did you learn? 
32. Reread a book you haven’t picked up since you were a kid.
33. Make thank-you cards for your mailman, grocery store employees, medical workers, teachers, street cleaners, phone companies, your mom, etc. 
34. Take your favorite poem or quote, and hang it up around your neighborhood or send it in a mysterious letter to a place that could use some love right now—maybe a local senior home or rehab center. 
35. Have a themed party with friends over Zoom.
36. Sing out your window and see if people join in! It worked in Italy. 
37. Start a book club. Pick a book that you and your friends/community members/family members all have access to, and then chat about it over Facetime or Zoom. 
38. Play Webkinz, Poptropica, or Club Penguin. I have not yet sunken to the depths of boredom that these games require, but I know that it won’t be long until that day arrives.
39. Do you know your neighbors? Leave messages at your neighbors’ steps with the link to a communal Google Doc where people can communicate needs, reach out if they need help, share recommendations, spread love, etc. (This worked for my friend in NYC!) 
40. Check in with your communities, and see what you can do to help. This pandemic is not easy for anyone, but it hits low-income and other already at-risk communities the hardest. Go to your local food bank’s website and see if there’s anything you can do to help, if you are able. Now is the time to support one another, and above all else we should be practicing kindness and patience. Oh, and also social distancing. 

When this is all over—when we can hug our grandparents and sit within six feet of our friends again—we will all have so many stories to tell. Even if they’re stories of unprecedented boredom, you’ll know that by staying inside and social distancing, you did what needed to be done. My dear extrovert, in the next couple weeks, you will be bored, lonely, and frustrated. But be all of these things at home. Be all of these things with the knowledge that while it’s okay and valid to be upset, there are ways to stay positive and connected in the midst of this crisis. 

Halle Newman can be reached at hnewman@wesleyan.edu.