#isolation ideas

I know there are a lot of these lists going around at the moment, but here’s my personally curated one 

THEATRE, OPERA AND BALLET

National Theatre at Home

The Globe Theatre is offering a selection of free content from their archive

Broadway Shows - Free 7 day trial available

New York Met - Free Opera programme

Marquee - Dance, Opera and Theatre on demand Free 30 day trial (includes RSC productions such as David Tennant’s Richard II and Paapa Essiedu’s Hamlet)

The Royal Opera House - programme of free online content via their YouTube channel

Hampstead Theatre - streaming performances of previous productions with a new play weekly.

Digital Theatre - Not Free but one month subscription is available for £9.99 with no minimum contract

The Wind In The Willows play - Free Live stream for children and adults alike!

Leave a Light On and West End Acoustic: The Quarantine Sessions - West End stars performing live-streamed concerts for a small fee (directly to the artists)

The Show Must Go On - Free Classic Musical Theatre

CULTURE & EDUCATION

Missing a visit to the museum? Museum and Gallery virtual tours

Sir Patrick Stewart is reciting a ‘Sonnet A Day’ over on Instagram and Twitter

Save With Stories - Storytelling, song, dance and poetry for children while raising funds for  @savethechildren and @nokidhungry 

MyStorybook.com - Make story books online for free 

TV & STREAMING

Love horror? Shudder has extended it’s usually 7 day free trial to 30 days for free. Here’s how you can get the offer. 

HBO is making 500 hours of programming free to stream on its its HBO Now and HBO Go platforms (not available in UK - Only available in territories with access to either platform, sorry)

This Free Streaming Service Lets You Watch Over 30,000 Movies Just for Having a Library Card

COMICS

How to get Twelve Free Online Marvel Comics (also works in UK but use the international site)

HEALTHY MIND & BODY 

Oti Mabuse - Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer live streaming free dancing classes on Instagram Live and YouTube daily

Debbie Allen - Free Dance Classes on Instagram Live

The BodyCoach - Free daily P.E. classes with Joe Wicks on Instagram Live

Max Whitlock - Olympic Gymnast (plus his wife and adorable toddler Willow) are streaming ‘The Whitlock Workout’ and ‘Gymnastics with Max’ for free on YouTube and Instagram

Just Rain App - Android Store and Apple Store links

Do Nothing For Two Minutes - Exactly what it says on the tin!

Calm - A customisable meditation experience

Weave silk - Drag your mouse around the screen to create otherworldly shapes and patterns.  

Sound Drown - A selection of calming sounds to relax to from rain, birds and even coffee shops.

Jack Monroe is offering Lockdown cooking ideas to make with depleted food availability (she answers as many as possible at #JackMonroesLockdownLarder 5pm GMT daily on Twitter)

YOUR DAILY DOSE OF CUTE

(Some of my favourite animal accounts on Instagram)

Hummingbirds - need I say more?!)

STUNNING wildlife photographer - and the adventures of her gorgeous bush dog

Foster Kittens

More Foster Kittens

Even MORE foster kittens - plus the cutest little boy and their doggos

Maru & Hana - Maru the cat likes boxes. A lot.

Loki the Wolfdog - Pretty self explanatory!

Blue Clover Rabbitry - Just in time for Easter… The cutest little bunnies you will ever see.

JUST FOR GIGGLES

Love dogs? How about a dog doing Yoga?

Missing sport? This sports commentator is using his skills to commentate on everyday life, and the results are hilarious!

Richard E Grant is reciting ‘Withnail and I’ Isolation Quotes over on Instagram and Twitter (the giggles are an added bonus)

Silly Sausage Hiddles - Just a link to my especially adorable and/or silly Hiddles Content <3

CREATIVITY 

[Thanks to Mymodernmet.com for these links]

DRAWING

20+ YouTube Channels to Learn How to Draw for Free

Learn to Draw Anything with These Handy Online Resources and Books

Learn How to Draw a Horse Head From 3 Different Angles

Learn How to Draw a Magical Unicorn in 6 Simple Steps

How to Draw a Dragon With These Easy Step by Step Instructions

Learn How to Draw Any Type of Human Nose With a Few Simple Steps

Perfect Your Portraiture by Learning How to Draw a Face Step by Step

Learn How to Draw Human Hands With This “Handy” Step by Step Guide

Step-by-Step Doodle Tutorials Make Complex Subjects Easy to Draw

Learn How to Draw a Dog with This Simple Step-by-Step Sketching Guide

Follow These 4 Easy Steps to Sketch Any Landscape You See

PAINTING

50+ Painting Ideas That Will Inspire You to Pick Up a Brush Right Now

30+ Watercolor Painting Ideas for Beginning Artists and Seasoned Professionals

Learn to Paint with 403 Free Episodes of Bob Ross’ “The Joy of Painting” on YouTube

This Step-by-Step Tutorial Shows You How to “Grow” Watercolor Flowers on Paper

13 YouTube Channels to Teach You How to Paint for Free

Learn How to Paint a Colorful Sunset in Easy to Follow Steps

How to Make Your Own Stencils + Thousands of Free Ready-to-Use Downloads

PHOTOGRAPHY

18 Best Online Photography Classes Guaranteed to Improve Your Creativity

Learn Photography With 99 Hours of Free Online Lessons From School of Visual Arts

Annie Leibovitz Is Teaching Her First Ever Photography Class, and Anyone Can Attend

EMBROIDERY

10+ Most Popular Embroidery Stitches You Can Learn for Free on YouTube

15+ Hand Embroidery Patterns Ready to Download and Start Sewing

How to Make Your Own Free Embroidery Pattern (and Download Others for Free)

KNITTING AND CROCHETING

20 Free Crochet Patterns You Can Start Stitching Today

How to Crochet: Learn the Basics of This Time-Honored Handicraft

10+ Popular Knitting Stitches You Can Learn for Free on YouTube

Learn Amigurumi: The Adorable Art of Knitting and Crocheting Small Creatures

SEWING

Here’s Where to Find Thousands of Sewing Patterns for Fashion-Forward DIY

Shibori Dyeing: How a Centuries-Old Japanese Art Is Still Used to Customize Cloth

COLOURING

100+ Museums Turn Their Collections Into Free Downloadable Coloring Books

Top 5 Places to Download Thousands of Free Adult Coloring Sheets

Adults Are Filling Drawings with Calming Patterns Instead of Just Coloring Them In

Last but by no means least: this AMAZING list of creative things to try

MOST IMPORTANTLY, do things that you WANT to do, not what you feel you SHOULD be doing. In these unprecedented times your mental health comes first. Don’t feel guilty for not wanting to do anything more than binge watch Netflix (I personally recommend Tiger King), or reread your favourite books, while eating comfort food.

As most of the country literally shuts down, I’m thinking of the best ways to stay relaxed, use this time to regroup, avoid going stir crazy, and make the most of quarantine.

First, you could use the time to get a few productive things done that you may normally not find time for.

Organize your living space. Declutter, donate items that you don’t use or need anymore. Clean your kitchen or bathroom really well, something you may rush through on a weekly basis. Sometimes it feels nice to have a deep clean.

Switch out your winter and summer clothes.

Take inventory of your food stash and put together some nicer-than-normal recipes/meals that you may not have time to make normally after rushing home from work!

Channel your creative side.

Learn a new instrument. One of my goals is to pick back up my guitar and try to learn a few more chords in my extra time inside.

Paint, draw, write, journal. If these things relax you, take some time to unwind and focus at the same time. Maybe add some wine :)

Read a book. Find a new book and get lost in it! A lot of times, this is something people wish they have the time for!

Plant some seeds and take care of them/watch them grow during your time isolated. Maybe start a little herb garden for your kitchen. Then you get fresh herbs without having to go grocery shopping :)

Remember to take care of your physical self.

Practice yoga or meditation. I know I’m going to lean hard into my yoga-loving self, especially during this time of elevated apprehension and anxiety. I plan on spending time daily practicing yoga, and last night, I fell asleep listening to a meditation for sleep podcast.

At-home workouts. You don't need a gym to workout! Check out videos on YouTube, if you have at-home equipment, utilize that! Otherwise, body weight exercises work great as well.

Go for a walk or run. I’ve been going for a lot of walks and runs with my dog. You don’t need to interact with anyone or touch anything. Just enjoy the weather/fresh air in isolation. Obviously make sure this is allowed in your area!

Take a bath, have a spa night, do a hair mask, paint your nails, light candles. Make sure you're taking care of yourself.

Take care of your social self.

Have a wine night in with a few, close, healthy friends or family, or a significant other or roommate Some of my favorite memories with friends and loved ones were getting drunk, staying in and being funny :)

Call your loved ones on the phone. Especially check in with your elderly or vulnerable loved ones. Have conversations with others on the phone. If you’re lonely/miss being around people, others probably are as well - check in with them!

Have a game night. Game nights are honestly so fun. Order a board game, play cards, or play drinking games.

Have some relaxing fun.

Start a new TV show. Watch a documentary or movie. Binge-watch a reality series.

Play video games on live with your friends or significant other, or play one player games. I have an Xbox and so do other people I know/love, so I may reactivate my live and buy a new game to pass the time! Or, I’ll just play Sims or 2K one player mode and shut the rest of the world out and kill hours of time like I used to :) making me nostalgic.

Write a letter to a friend

Write chapter per night

Learn some coding

Make a container for growing spinach

Build a crate fort

Nerf gun

Flaming Nerf gun? Look into this..

Develop a new game (e.g. punchbox)

Flaming punchbox?

Set up garden archery & axe throwing

Make a rope ladder for reasons

Do science

Climb onto roof and eat beans out a tin while surveying barren surroundings

Pretend to be last person alive during zombie Apocalypse