5 Ways To Remain Joyful While You’re Stuck At Home

With COVID-19 spreading, attempts to limit the damage have many of us at home right now. Maybe you’re not able to make it to your job or you need to be home because your kids aren’t in school. Being confined to the house for extended periods of time is not something that most of us are excited about, but since there is not much that we can do about it, why not make the most of that time?

Although normal life is disrupted, there are still ways to benefit from your time at home, and here are five specific examples.

Most of us would love to have more time with our family than what we get in our regular daily lives. Why not take this time to enjoy being together?

There are all kinds of different things you can do together from home, it really just depends on your interests and the ages of people in your family. Some options include:

• Watching a movie together
• Playing games
• Doing puzzles
• Arts and crafts
• Cooking
• Working on DIY projects around the house.

And just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy time with your spouse or significant other. There are lots of great stay-at-home date ideas like a themed dinner and movie night, drinks on the patio, or watching a concert at home.

We’re all busy and most of us don’t take enough time to relax. Maybe this forced downtime is the perfect opportunity to rest and relax a little.

Rather than forcing yourself to stay busy and be productive, embrace the opportunity to relax.

The recent events and rollercoaster ride of the stock market has a lot of people questioning their financial choices. Now is a good time to make sure that you’re putting yourself in the right position to reach your financial goals.

You don’t want to panic and unload all of your investments just because the stock market has dropped, but you should take the time to evaluate your approach and plan for more diversification if needed.

There are a number of investing apps that you can use, and several of them are ideal for beginners. Some of them allow you to get free stock, which is a great way to get started.

If you’re looking for help with creating your investing strategy, please see this article from InvestorJunkie.

Now may be the perfect time to start a side hustle and make some extra money. You’ve got extra time on your hands and maybe you’ve lost some income from missing work, so any extra income could be very helpful.

Even if you don’t have any money to invest in a side hustle, there are plenty of ways to make money online without paying anything. Some of the best options include freelancing, starting a YouTube channel, online tutoring, working as a bookkeeper, and more.

Freelancing can be a great option because you can probably use your existing skills and experience in some way. You could write, design, do voiceovers, work as an editor, consult, etc.

Another perk of freelancing is the fact that it could be a great side hustle for extra money, or it could turn into a full-time income.

You may not be able to get to the gym right now, but you can still exercise at home. Even if you have no weights or equipment, there are plenty of exercises that you can do with just a little bit of space (maybe even in your garage or basement).

You may have some videos that you could follow, and if not, there are plenty of exercise videos on YouTube that can show you a routine to follow. Use this downtime to get in shape and improve your health.

This piece was written by Marc Andre and originally appeared on ThriveGlobal.