5 Ways to Spend Your Time During the Quarantine

As a result of the rest of the semester being moved online and the Illinois lockdown mandated by the Governor, some of you may have more time on your hands than you thought you would.  Here are 5 ways you can spend your time during the quarantine at home:

1. Watch movies or start a new show: Some of you may have already started doing this, but one of the best ways to make time fly to start a new show or finish a new show on Netflix. You could also watch a movie with your family or one you’ve waited to watch by yourself. For those of you who like to watch anime, head over to Crunchyroll to catch up on your favorite or start a new one. 
2. Start a good book: One of the most productive ways to spend your time is to reading. While we won’t have access to the onsite IRC, online e-books are still available. To access these books just to E-read Illinois Axis 360  and input your library number (Full ID number). If you like to read non-fiction and can’t find anything on Axis 360, the IRC Databases have a wide selection to choose from.
3. Start on your online work: For the MI classes, teachers have already given the rest of the semester’s content, so it might benefit you to start early in order to start formulating a question for when the Office Hours are set up. For papers already assigned in English and History classes, you can start or continue to gather your sources and start to write your draft. However, if you plan to do this make sure to keep in contact with your teacher in case of any changes.
4. Learn or practice a skill: If there is anything you’ve always wanted to learn, know maybe a good time to do this. This can be anything from learning drawing techniques to picking up a language from Duolingo. Also, you can sharpen skills you already know, for example learning new techniques or pieces if you play an instrument or learning more about a non-academic topic.
5. Keep in contact with friends and family: Being in quarantine and social distancing doesn’t mean you have to completely isolate yourself from your loved ones. Messaging your friends, especially senior friends, can brighten your day. There are many ways to organize groups via messenger or google hangouts. You can have these groups for anything from your normal math study session to a group call for video games or other fun activities.

It’s important to keep make sure you have something to do to prevent you from dreading your free time.  If there are any more ways you are spending your time, please leave your ideas in the comments!