Quarantine Hobbies At Home

Weird times, right? Quarantine has been interesting to say the least, and its effects have rippled across our lives, infiltrating every corner. Parts of this new normal have been difficult to accept, other parts strangely grounding.

More time at home looks a little different for each of us, of course. Some are learning how to simultaneously parent and manage a workload from home, some are figuring out how to fill their schedules that once teemed with social engagements, beers with friends, group hikes, and incessant hangouts. But all of us have found ourselves with more time at home, and thus quarantine hobbies have taken root.

Consider briefly your daily commute time to and from the office. Maybe you generally spent an hour round trip driving to and from work each day? That’s 5 new hours in your week freed up in that one arena for some new purpose. So what could you spend that time doing? Maybe it’s more yoga. Maybe it’s afternoon walks with your dog. Perhaps you’ve reintroduced reading for fun into your daily schedule– a novel idea. But no matter how you break it down, the changes we’ve faced have resulted in opportunities. Opportunities to relearn appreciation for the family who shares your roof. Opportunities to challenge your body with a new workout, or mind with learning a new language. Opportunities to plan and cook your own meals instead of grabbing something quickly as you dart from appointment to appointment. Opportunities to slow down. Opportunities to remember the things you love doing, dust off the instrument you’ve neglected, or maybe even find a new passion.

Our Riverworks team has reveled in this extra time at home, using it to reacquaint ourselves with the activities that bring us joy. From baking homemade bagels from scratch to painting landscapes to workin’ on that fitness, each of us has enjoyed this chance to throw ourselves into the activities that help to make us whole.

Perhaps the takeaway from all this pandemic business is the not-so-subtle reminder to slow down, and remember to appreciate this wild life? Perhaps when the curtain drops on all this, we’ll realize that we prefer this new, slow-burn world we’ve found to the hyperdrive one we left behind?