Lockdown can be different for everyone… some of us are still going to work, some are working from home, some are furloughed. But for those of us who are lucky enough to have some spare time, there’s no better time to start a hobby at home.
Lockdown doesn’t have to be sitting indoors watching Netflix, taking an occasional trip to the kitchen for snacks, and then changing from your daytime PJ’s into your night-time PJ’s after tea.
If that’s your perfect lockdown that’s great, but if you’re a little bored, don’t worry, we have you covered.
Lounging at home sounds fun at first, you can laze around, have a lie in, wear comfy clothes, binge on your fave TV shows and you have nowhere to be.
Sounds bliss right?
But after several weeks of this it can get a little boring. So why not use this time to learn something new?
Here are 14 ideas of hobbies you can start from home right away!
1. Knitting/Crocheting
Knitting doesn’t just have to be for your grandma! Knitting and crocheting are great pastimes and are great ways to practice mindfulness. All you need is some yarn (which you can order online to be delivered to your door). Then open up a Youtube tutorial and get started. There are so many tutorials online right now so take your pick! Who knows, you might have knitted a huge winter blanket by the time lockdown is over.
2. Painting
Whether it’s painting your house, or painting a canvas, just go for it. If you have your own paints and something to paint already then get creative! If you’re looking for inspiration for what to paint or if you want to improve your painting skills, again hop over to Youtube and pull up a tutorial. If you love to paint but don’t feel like freehand, try a paint by numbers. The result looks just as impressive and you can still hang the finished piece in your home.
3. Calligraphy
Learn calligraphy… a.k.a. the art of fancy writing. All you’ll need are a few pens and a Youtube video. This could even start as a hobby and then turn into a creative side hustle by setting up an Etsy shop to sell your pieces!
4. Yoga
Not only is yoga a great way to keep fit, increase flexibility and boost your energy, it’s also a great de-stresser. So if you’re someone who sometimes feels overwhelmed or anxious during lockdown, yoga could be a great way to help. You can pick up a yoga mat on Amazon and just like the other hobbies, there are tons of video tutorials on Youtube to follow.
5. Dance
Dancing seems to have increased in popularity during lockdown thanks to TikTok. A lot of dances you see on TikTok are for anyone from beginners to expert, they’re just a bit of fun. You can find tutorials for the dances on the app (and likely Youtube too!). If TikTok isn’t your thing, jump on a Youtube dance class… or just put some music on in your living room and have a boogie! Again you’ll be burning calories, keeping fit and lifting your mood - you can’t go wrong.
6. Gardening
Before you scroll past this one, you don’t have to have a garden to take up gardening. Crazy, I know! If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, make the most of the extra time right now, pop your gardening gloves on and get stuck in. Whether it’s planting flowers, giving growing vegetables and herbs a try, or just mowing the lawn, gardening can be therapeutic and calming. If you don’t have a garden, pick up some succulents next time you do your weekly food shop or grab some pots and seeds, or a house plant or two to take care of.
7. Start a Blog
If you love to write then this one is definitely for you. Right now is the perfect time to start a blog. It doesn’t have to be something you share with the whole world, it can just be a space online where you document your day, chat about your fave topics and make new friends in the blogging space. Or you could go full out and play with blog design, choose a niche and get on your way to monetisation. If you don’t know where to start, search ‘How To Start A Blog’ on google and you’ll find everything you need there.
8. Baking
I think 99% of us have dabbled in baking during lockdown, right? Did you enjoy it? If so why not do more of it? Pick up some different recipe books online and get creative. Plus it’s a great excuse to eat what you bake (you’re testing it of course!).
9. Exercise
Whether your chosen exercise is yoga, dance or something else, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re moving. Many of us are now spending much more time at home… which means we are no longer running to catch the tube, or jogging to the next meeting and our fitness levels can drop really quickly. Run, walk, jog or check out some simple workout videos on Youtube - pick what you enjoy and keep moving!
10. Photography
Now is the perfect time to get to know that expensive camera that’s been sitting on your shelf gathering dust, or even just learn how to use your iPhone camera to its full potential. Your phone camera is actually better than you think if you know how to use it. You can either just have a dabble and see what works for you, or check out some books or online tutorials. Then you can practice by taking pictures of the four walls you’ve been staring at for months already. Ah, the memories :).
11. Learn a Language
This is probably the longest time you’ll ever have at home and the best opportunity to learn a language. Try out an online language tutorial such as Pimsleur or Babel. They break down the languages into small modules to have you speaking the language in no time. I was learning Greek using the audio versions on my way to work, but repeating Greek words and sentences on the train hasn’t been possible, so this is definitely something I’ll be doing at home! Pimsleur is also available on Audible on a monthly subscription so it can work out much cheaper than buying the audio book separately.
12. Meditation
Meditation is a valuable skill - it’s tricky to learn at first but once you’ve cracked it, it can help reduce anxiety, increase attention span and reduce stress among many other benefits. You can download apps which guide you through different meditations for different benefits, or pick up an online meditation tutorial online.
13. Read
Do you have a bookcase full of books you’ve never read but ‘will get around to reading someday?’ Make someday today. Take a couple of hours, get comfy on the sofa or in the garden (if this gorgeous weather continues!) and get lost in a book.
14. Make a Vision Board
This isn’t as much of a continual hobby as the others above, but it’s a great way to keep your mood high and stay looking at the big picture if lockdown is sometimes making it a little blurry. Pick up a canvas, board, big piece of cardboard - anything you want to use to stick things to. Then fill the board with pictures, quotes, thoughts, plans, goals and ideas. Search for the best pictures to represent your visions and pin them to your board. Keep coming back to it and write down steps on how you’re going to achieve the things on your vision board. If you’re feeling adventurous, make it a daily task to take a small step towards each of those goals everyday and see just how far you’ve come by the time lockdown is over.
So those are 14 ideas of hobbies you can take up whilst in lockdown. Maybe I should have named this ’14 things to learn from Youtube in Lockdown!’ as most of them involve Youtube! Have you started any hobbies during lockdown?