Social Distancing Is the New Black; 10 Amazing Things to Do From Home
With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the nation has been asked to practice social distancing to stop the spread of the virus. While there are many that know the art of working and spending large amounts of time at home, many are not ready for the journey ahead and skilled at how to stay happy and productive while creating a new normal of life at home 24/7. We have compiled a list of 10 ways to stay emotionally and physically healthy while social distancing. Take a look below and make sure to read up on ways to protect yourself at the CDC’s website.
1. Love on Your Pet
Nothing brings joy like snuggling with your fur babies at home. They may be looking at you like you’re crazy but now is the time to spoil them with some extra attention. Whether you pamper your pooch with an extra bath or belly rub, or by dusting off that fishing pole for your cat that you’ve been meaning to break out, we are sure your pets will thank you and return the love.
2. Organize Your Home or Apartment
Dig deep into those drawers and closets and throw on your favorite playlist and get organized. Toss those expired beauty products and wash your brushes.
Now more than ever there will be people that need assistance and clothing, so why not become more zen and shed the extra clothing and also donate them to a charity. Many charities have drop-off locations so you can maybe do small drop-offs on your days that you get groceries or medications which allows you to still practice social distancing. Remember to wash your hands as soon as you can, do not touch your face when you are out and take a shower when you return home. If your state is asking you to stay home, hold your items and set a future drop off date when things are safe.
3. Set Goals and Journal
Just because you are home for an unknown period of time, doesn’t mean you can’t set goals, dive into gratitude and prepare for your next level of greatness. We created the My Self-Love Daily Journal + Workbook to give you a jump start on 30 days of self-love. When our editors went around the globe interviewing celebrities and real people on what self-love meant to them, we decided that it was important to not only talk about self-love but to put it into action!
Our journals help you visualize your journey, set goals and achieve them by speaking and writing them into existence. It takes 30 days to break or make a habit, so with our journal you are on the road to a new and healthier version of you.
With this activity-driven journal you can participate in daily activities including processing and recording your daily thoughts, making and breaking habits, answering your daily self-love question of the day, setting and achieving goals, acknowledging what self-love and self-care practices you already implement and visualizing new ways to grow.
4. Cook Instead of Ordering Take Out
With many restaurants closing and only allowing take out or delivery, you should try and make home-cooked meals. They are not only healthier than delivery but you can also prepare larger dishes that can last the next day or even freeze your leftovers for a future date.
If you are social distancing with family or friends at home, try making a new snack from scratch. There are a ton of recipes on Pinterest and various other websites and apps.
5. Get Your Fitness On
Let’s face it, you do not need a gym to get in your daily 20-60 minutes. There are so many options including various apps and streaming options for working out and staying fit. You can also make sure to plan nature walks, runs or hikes as long as you stay within 6 feet or more of others. The more remote the location the better.
If you have weights or any fitness items at home, make sure you have a space dedicated to your daily workout. 
Corepower Yoga is offering free streams of some of their yoga classes available online here. Soul Cycle has made its new At-Home Bike available for preorder online and companies like Peloton offer a convenient payment plan for their bike.
6. Help Others
Even if it’s a small donation, now is the time to give back. There are many fundraisers popping up directly aiding the COVID-19 crisis. Try searching on Facebook for charities that may assist friends or family in immediate need. Some people are volunteering their time to shopping for the elderly that cannot get out. You can still maintain social distancing while helping others. For instance, you can text an elderly neighbor and ask them if they are in need. Plan to shop at non-peak times or assist them in shopping online to get them what they need. You can also find charities that assist animals such as Danny and Ron’s Rescue as they need even more assistance during national emergencies. We can’t forget our fur baby friends across the nation are in need as well.
7. Keep up with Culture
If you are a fan of opera or have always wanting to explore it, Met Opera has launched “Nightly Met Opera Streams” which begins at 7:30 p.m. and is available on its homepage, metopera.org for 20 hours. “We’d like to provide some grand opera solace to opera lovers in these extraordinarily difficult times,” said Met General Manager Peter Gelb. “Every night, we’ll be offering a different complete operatic gem from our collection of HD presentations from the past 14 years.”
Museums around the world have virtual tours, so be sure to google your favs to see if they offer the service. World-renowned museums such as the Louvre offer virtual tours here where you can get a 360-degree view as well as zooming in on artifacts to get more information.
8. Check-in with Your Friends + Family
Whether you are an expert introvert or a newbie extrovert learning to social distance, keeping connected is super important for our mental health. Don’t just text, pick up the phone and call or facetime if you can. Friends and family need support at this time. You can even check in with your neighbor to let them know you are there for them. It’s a great way to calm nerves and to create and support your network while isolated at home. Sharing tips and resources can also be beneficial. As new facts roll out daily, it’s hard for everyone to keep up. Keeping your virtual social circle can benefit everyone.
9. Self-Care
You have 24 hours just like Beyonce. While social distancing has limited your ability to get your grind on and we are all finding a new normal, it doesn’t mean we should neglect our self-care rituals. Some may not even have them, so staying at home is the perfect time to create new self-care habits. Take a warm bath and schedule it, so that it becomes part of your day or week. Make an all-natural face or eye mask or set time aside to mediate with apps such as Breathe or Calm.
10. Plan for the Future
Social distancing will pass at some point and no matter how many months ahead it seems, there is nothing wrong with planning for the future. Set your goals for your work and leisure. Work on plans for your life. This isn’t a time to give up on anything, so keep things positive and work on being the best version of you.
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