Boredom Busting Activities:Finding Adventure at Home

STAY HOME! We’ve certainly heard that alot lately and for good reason, but staying home isn’t easy for our go getter society, and many of us are feeling abit unmotivated and bored. The recent weeks may have you asking yourself: What day is it? What time is it? How many days have I been off work? When can I go outside? Is it safe to go for a hike? On top of that you may be stressed and anxious about work, school and staying home with your family. It’s hard to know how to feel right now and that’s okay, I’m with you. As a freelancer, I spend a lot of time at home and I happen to have a lot of great ideas to share with you about turning your home and neighborhood into a place of adventure and discovery. If you are looking for some boredom busting activities and ways to find adventure at home here you go:

Take the Road less traveled.

Do you walk your neighborhood often but always take the same path. Now is a better time than ever to discover a new area, and look for the things you may not have noticed before. Challenge yourself to walk a new path every day, add a few extra blocks or stop to admire the flowers on the road a little longer. See if you can find street art, houses or wildlife you may never have noticed before. I recently walked a few extra blocks and found street art I had never seen before like this MADE IN LA wall art on Melrose ave. (pictured above.) 

While you may be tempted to head out on a road trip or visit your nearby hiking trails. This is unfortunately not the time to be visiting state and national parks, or setting off on a road trip. Currently most state and national parks are closed to protect all of us and our park workers from the spread of disease. This is also a great break for wildlife and nature; a rare opportunity for trails and habitat to get some much needed recovery.  If you need some travel inspiration though check out my Road trip through SLOCAL or my Summer trip to Tromsø for some beautiful photos and gorgeous hikes.

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Learn a Language

If you’re like me you’ve probably been saying for a decade that you want to get better at a foreign language, and there is no better time than right now. Set aside 10 minutes every day to try your hand at becoming more proficient at the language of your choice and use one of these language apps to master it. I love Duolingo​ which offers 94 languages in an easy app based platform available on both IOS and IPhone. You may also want to try Babbel​ or Rosetta Stone​. While you’re at it download one of your favorite short stories or novels in the language you are learning and make a goal to read one chapter or page a night.

 Master A New Skill

 There is no better time than now to sign up for an E-course. Have you always wanted to learn the piano, play the guitar, master photography, photoshop, writing or even how to build a website. Well you are in luck because there is a course for just about everything these days. To find an E-learning course you can check out Lynda.com​ or Skillshare​ that both offer thousands of courses and classes on everything from needlepoint to aerial photography. You can get 2 months free on SKillshare right now,  or head on over to Youtube for endless videos on just about everything. You may also be able to access e-courses with your local library card too.  Don’t stop with the course, challenge yourself to go out and use the skills you’ve mastered. If you are learning piano, create a goal to have a one song concert for friends and family via Facetime or around the dinner table. If you are learning needlepoint, photography or even feng shui see what you can create after completing your course. 

Become an Ecology Expert in Your Own Community

Can you name the species of every plant, tree and animal in your neighborhood? Well you may just be an ecology wizard after downloading this App and going on daily walks. It’s called Seek​ by INaturalist and it’s one of my favorite Apps on my phone. The App is presented by World Wildlife Fund and Our Planet and created as a joint partnership with INaturalist, The California Academy of Science and National Geographic. It’s basically a catalog of the world’s biodiversity in the palm of your hand. Using your phone’s camera you can take pictures of any plant, tree leaf, insect or animal, the app then searches thousands of other user and scientist added photos and information to tell you the species name and information as well as it’s nativity, range and habitat. You can also allow to share your findings with scientists who are studying biodiversity around the globe. There are even monthly challenges that make searching for new species even more fun! 

Make Believe  

Take this time to spark your imagination and find creativity. If you have kids or teenagers this is a great family exercise to do with everyone. If you live alone call a friend and see if they will join you in a fun and creative exercise of your imagination. Grab a pad of paper and head to a window in your house, or better yet head outdoors for a few minutes and take in the scenery. Really look at your surroundings and write down the first name that pops in your mind, now write down 5 objects, 1 scent, 1 emotion, 2 things you hear and something you feel whether it be the sun, a breeze, a cold chill, let your senses decide. Take it in for a few minutes and then put a timer on for 15 minutes and write a short story that includes at least 1 thing from each category. When you are finished you can read you short stories over the dinner table, via video conference or even share them on social media for a fun and imaginative way to connect. 

Have an International Dinner 

We may not be able to travel to a far away place right now, but that doesn’t mean we cannot recreate an international trip right in our own dining room. Pick a destination you’ve always wanted to visit and create a themed dinner party for you and your family to experience it’s cuisine and culture. Grab a recipe, or order takeout from an authentic restaurant and get to decorating. I love these dinner ideas from famous chefs on Food Network. Make sure everyone dresses the part, and really takes part in the global affair. You can even print out photos of famous landmarks, and task each member of your family with learning something about the place that they can share at the dinner table. So far we’ve had bavarian night which started off with fresh made pretzels and New York night with some homemade New York Style pizza. If you really want to get in the spirit try out a subscription box from GlobeIn, a monthly fair trade box of artisan kitchen and home goods that will get you inspired. You can get 50% Off your first order too with the code ALICEFORD. 

Need a few more ideas: Have your kids help recreate a scene from their favorite play or bedtime story, and perform it in the living room or backyard.

Have a wild breakfast by grabbing your tablet and having an animal viewing party over coffee and toast. You can watch these polar bears​, elephants​, or Snow Leopards​ at the kitchen table from zoos, and wildlife parks around the globe.

Get fit, strong and healthy with a friend. There are thousands of fitness classes online you can access for free. Change up your workout routine, and challenge a friend to a weekly or daily exercise video.

Start a book club with friends and schedule weekly video chats to talk about your favorite chapters. Check out my favorite books for travel and nature lovers.

I would love to hear what daily changes you are adding to your homelife to add adventure, inspiration and creativity into each and every day. Share something you love from this list or add one of your own. Stay healthy and remember to look for positivity and love in these times of hardship.