How to Pass the Time During a Pandemic

Have you been wanting to learn a new language? An instrument? Now’s the time! With so may resources available to us our ability to learn is limitless! Personally, I’ve been learning French via the Coffee Break French podcast. That way whenever we can all travel again, I’m able to say more than ‘Bonjour’ and ‘Bonswa’ the next time I’m in Paris.


There have also been a ton of bakeries as of late conducting online baking classes as well. So, if you don’t mind a longer than usual wait at the grocery store pick up some supplies and make that loaf of sourdough you’ve always wanted to try but never had the time.

2. Read

During this quarantine one of my favorite things to do particularly on the days it has been a little rainy and chilly outside is to grab a good book! I will admit, finding the desire to read for fun took some time after four very long years in the Writing program at Pitt. But now that some time has passed, I’ve once again found the joy of sitting down to a well told story or reading a biography or personal development book where I can take away some skills and apply them to my own life. I have a previous post with some book suggestions but will throw one in now that I’m currently reading called Atomic Habits by James Clear. Without going into too much detail this book has really helped me create structure and develop some extremely helpful habits, not just during this Pandemic but for life.

3. Game Night

That’s right guys I’m bringing back a classic…the timeless game night! Whether it’s with your entire family or just you and your partner break out the pile of board games that have been collecting dust on the shelf and pass the time interacting (maybe not so civilly depending on how competitive you are) with your family. There are also tons of online options where you can play games with your friends and family who are different household and you can’t visit with due to the quarantine. And there’s always the option of FaceTiming with friends and family while playing the same game as well!



In closing, all we’re really being asked to do is sit at home, drink wine and possibly get some work done in between video games and binge-watching Netflix series. The real heroes are the first responders, health care workers, truck drivers delivering goods and grocery store workers that are on the front line dealing with this deadly virus. So let’s do our best to stay positive and be productive with our downtime. Not every day will be easy but hopefully this time will help us to reconnect with our family and loved ones and make us a little more grateful the next time we finally do all get to out to socialize again.