50 Social Distancing Tips for Covid-19

Whether you’re working from home for an extended period, quarantined due to exposure, or self-isolating/ social distancing preemptively, spending extended periods of time alone or cooped up in the house can make anyone feel a bit restless, bored, and stressed. Stay on top of your mental and physical wellness by limiting screen time, scheduling your day, and planning activities and tasks to keep you engaged, productive, and connected with people close to you from a safe and healthy distance!

To help, we created this Covid-19 social distancing toolkit with 50 ideas for you:

Support Local Businesses While Staying In! 

  1. You might not be able to eat at your favorite restaurant right now, but you can still support it by ordering takeout or a giftcard!

2. If you’re online shopping, consider sticking to local and small businesses who could really use your sales right now.

Image Source: Think Local First DC

Stay Connected with Friends, Family & Coworkers (From a Distance!)

3. Get your friends together digitally with virtual “happy hours;” not necessarily based around alcohol, just times during the week to hang out and check in with one other. 

4. For your work colleagues, plan “hallway chats” over video conference to have the kind of social interaction you usually would. 

5. Call your mom, dad, grandparents, and siblings to say hi!

6. Ditto for your aunts, uncles, and cousins

7. Send a postcard, song, or piece of art you’ve made to a nursing home

8. FaceTime with someone you haven’t seen in a while

9. Go through old photos on your phone and send some out to get developed 

10. Make them into a photo book to give as gifts, or give out individual prints

11. Write someone a handwritten letter or thank you-note; everyone loves getting special things in the mail!

Cut Down on Screen Time with Offline Entertainment

12.You’re never too old to build a pillow fort! It’s the best place to self-isolate in 🙂

13.Coloring books, puzzles, and journaling are all great ways to calm yourself.

14.Pass the time with a 1000-piece puzzle

15.Do a crossword, word search, or sudoku

16.Cook a new dish or meal

17.Get creative by trying a new craft! Here are just a few ideas: 

• Painting or Drawing
  • Sewing, Knitting, or Crocheting
  • Other DIY/ Upcycling/Artistic projects

Put All Those Empty Journals and Notebooks to Use!

18. Make to-do lists to organize your thoughts and schedule

19. Practice daily gratitude; write down a list of 1-3 things you’re grateful for every day

20. Try your hand at creative writing with these fun writing prompts from Reedsy!

21. Plan out bucket list with goals for the future when this all settles down

22. Review your expenses and plan a budget

Develop New Skills and Interests to Distract from Stress

23. Watch a training video to upskill yourself, such as:

• Any of MIT’s classes at MITOPENCOURSEWARE
• EdX‘s Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs)
• Classes from 190+ universities via Coursera

24. Learn a couple phrases in a different language

25. Go down a rabbit hole on a topic you’ve always wanted to learn more about

Get Cultured Online During the Coronavirus Quarantine

26. Check out a new podcast series

27. Take a virtual tour of museums from around the world!

28. Listen to a nightly stream from the Metropolitan Opera

Enjoy Nature (Away from Densely Populated Areas!)

29. Go out somewhere away from the city for a hike

30. Go for a walk and find a flower

De-Stress During Social Distancing by Pampering Yourself!

31. Indulge in some self-care with a face mask

32. Paint your nails

33. Give your hair a break by not styling it with heat for a while

34. Clear up your skin by taking a break from wearing makeup

35. Rewatch your favorite sappy classic movies

36. Listen to a new album or an NPR Tiny Desk concert online!

37. Run a fancy and relaxing bubble bath!

Boost Your Spirits by Getting Your Body in Motion

38. Improve your flexibility with daily 20-minute stretch sessions

39. Practice yoga and meditation in your living room to ease the anxiety. Stream classes online by Yoga District to support local fitness instructors!

40. Watch a dance class video on YouTube or just dance around your room! DC-based Salsa with Silvia has $5 online classes right now.

41. Try the 100 Push-Up Program to get strong fast, it is very empowering.

42. The FitOn app has short workouts to do at home

Escape into Another World by Reading a Good Book

43. This is a great time to read that book you’ve never gotten around to!

44. If you’re looking for something new, why not try reading something outside your go-to genre?

45. Start a virtual book club! Suggest a book your friends can all read, then schedule a conference FaceTime, Zoom, or Skype call to discuss it

46. Support a local bookstore while you’re at it! Politics and Prose and Capitol Hill Books have free delivery through online ordering. Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle is delivering books through Postmates. Loyalty Books and East City Bookshop both have curbside pickup and $2 delivery!

Clear Your Thoughts by Cleaning Your Home

47. Clean, declutter, and reorganize your living space

48. Go through your closet and get rid of anything that doesn’t fit you anymore, or that you haven’t worn since it was last seasonally appropriate. We recommend consigning or donating to a womens’ shelter or charity like Martha’s Table!

49. Re-pot any plant friends that might need new living spaces! 🌱

50. Fix up things around the house that you’ve been putting off

Have any ideas to add? Let us know in the comments on social media, and we will update this list! Thanks so much for reading. We hope you find this social distancing toolkit helpful. Stay safe and healthy!