Keeping Busy During Corona

With the new developing situation regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19), things can feel scary and out of our control. While staying home may sound like an easy task, it’s hard not to spend all of your time worrying. Whether you’re trying to avoid going to the store, missing out on the gym, or are bored and looking for ways to keep busy, here’s my list for practicing social distancing at home.

Take a class from your favorite celebrity.

Lots of celebrities are teaching courses on MasterClass. I’ve heard good things about the variety of classes and topics available (from cooking to basketball to photography) and that you're able to go at your own pace. The classes are said to be incredibly motivating and inspiring. Click here to read a review:

Work out or get some exercise (Or at least think about it).

Staying home as a precaution to avoid getting sick? Good news! You can still get great workouts anywhere you are! YouTube fitness channels are the modern-day workout DVDs. The videos are free to watch and offer a huge variety of workouts, from pilates to aerobics to boxing to boot camp… Whatever your fitness goals, you’ll be able to find something for everyone on YouTube. Here is a list of some of the Top Rated channels:

• The Fitness Marshall

• Yoga With Adriene

• Blogilates

• FitnessBlender

• Popsugar Fitness

• HASfit

• NateBowerFitness

• Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home

Take a museum tour.

Museums all around the world are letting people experience art and history in the comfort of their homes with their virtual tours. Here are just a few:

• The Louvre

• The British Museum

• Smithsonian National Museum of National History

• Guggenheim Museum, New York

• Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Go to the Zoo, virtually!

The Cincinnati Zoo is closed, but thanks to Cincinnati Zoo Home Safari, that won’t stop you from seeing your favorite animals. The zoo will be hosting daily streams on Home Safari Facebook Live. Each day they will highlight a different animal in the zoo. They’ll also be sharing fun activities that you can do at home.

https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/

Or watch later on their YouTube channel:

Take a free Yoga Class.

Try some new ways to de-stress and get some exercise in. Inner Bliss Yoga Studios is hosting free instructional yoga sessions on Facebook Live. There are tons of different classes throughout the day.

You can watch their Facebook Live feed:

Or view their entire schedule on their website:

Take a Live Cooking Class with Martha Stewart.

The new Food Network app will feature instructional videos and interactive cooking classes on IOS, Android, and Amazon devices. Your Alexa works as a hands-free assistant while you cook. The app offers hundreds of cooking classes, including 500 beginner classes, and hundreds of step-by-step videos.

When you sign up and connect your Alexa account, you can ask Alexa to bring up cooking classes, recipes, and shows. And when you're elbow-deep in raw chicken and stuffing, you can ask Alexa to repeat steps or the amount of ingredients needed.

It will cost $48 a year, or $4 per month. But you may be able to take advantage of a 90-day free trial period. With each annual subscription purchased, Discovery will donate up to 100 meals to kids as part of its Turn Up: Fight Hunger initiative.

Cooking with the random groceries left on store shelves.

Due to the developing crisis, meal prepping and planning got a lot more complicated. From random items to missing ingredients, here are a couple of ideas to solve your kitchen quandaries.

Say you’re stuck trying to come up with a recipe tonight, and you’re convinced there’s nothing you can make with two chicken drumsticks, some cheese, and a can of mushrooms, this is the website for you. Just provide a list of everything you have on hand and it will give you several recipe suggestions. Download the app or visit the website: MyFridgeFood

Another website offers this “build a recipe” feature. Start by typing three ingredients you have, and you’ll get recipe suggestions to choose from: Check it out here: MyRecipes

Watch a concert.

Lots of artists are streaming performances for free online. Here's a list of some Billboard Live At-Home performers. Tune in to Billboard's Facebook page to watch live.

April 6: Kool And The Gang.

April 8: Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli and Bob Ezrin here.

April 11: Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile and Shooter Jennings here.

April 13: Common here.

April 15: Alice Merton here.

April 18: Los Tigres del Norte here.

April 20: Richard Marx here.

April 22: Courtney Barnett here.

April 25: Ben Platt here.

April 27: Sabrina Carpenter here

April 29: Brett Young here.

I hope some of this information helps you throughout this time. Let's all try to be vigilant and stay on top of this social distancing! Wishing you and your family well.