18 Productive Things To Do At Home Today

Is it just me or does the beginning of 2020 feel like it was written and directed by Quinten Tarintino? The last three months have felt like a decade and I’m almost certain that the rest of this year is going to be just as unusual. Cabin fever can get the best of us and if that’s how you feel right now here are 18 productive things to do at home.

I empathize with you if the weight of uncertainty might be overwhelming at this time, I feel it too. Hopefully… the storm will pass and we will go back to our “normal” lives. In the meantime, prioritizing personal safety and protecting your mental health should be priority number one. Speaking of mental health, pay attention to your state of mind right now.

What are you feeling? Share in the comments below.

Are you feeling fear? While experiencing fear is normal, excessive fear causes prolonged stress to the body that lowers your immune system. A small step towards maintaining your sanity should be to stop watching the news all day long.

Listen to people that know how to reframe the conversation from a panic-driven state to a calm and stillness-orientated space of opportunity.

Remember, staying in a home with food, water, electricity & people you love, is a blessing. Don’t let panic prevent your attitude of gratitude

Stick to a routine. It’s never been more important to have a routine than right now. Decide on a time to wake up every day, when to sleep, eat, and make sure to schedule in an early morning exercise daily. I’ve been working from home for the past year and sticking to a strict schedule is the ONE thing that has helped me stay productive.

If you’re healthy and your loved ones are safe, then this quarantine can be an opportunity to start something new. To pick up a new book, make money online, learn a new skill, and nurture bonds with loved ones.

Here are productive things to do at home, some side hustle ideas, or skills you can learn that will make this time a period of exponential growth and transformation.

Some of the links below are affiliate links, so I may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Check my disclosure for more info.

Here are a couple of productive things to do at home & that even money

Millions of Americans already have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and the worst of the damage is yet to come, according to a Federal Reserve report that estimates job losses in 2020 could total 47 million & unemployment may hit 32%. Yikes.

🙁

Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can earn money right now without a 9-5 job. I’m sure that a little extra money in the bank account can alleviate A LOT of stress in this messy and confusing time. You can turn some of these ideas into a 6-figure business.

1. Start a side hustle

Now is a great time to start a new passion project & side hustle. Nowadays, the average entrepreneur has at least 5 different streams of income. One stream of income could be a Shopify store or Amazon FBA business. Another could be a Youtube channel or Podcast.

Unsure of what to start?

I listen to these three (free) Podcasts for inspiration:

• Side Hustle School with Chris Guillebeau (If your head is not drowning in business ideas after listening to a couple of episodes, there’s something wrong with you.)
• The Side Hustle Project with Ryan Robinson
• Side Hustle Nation

If podcasts are your thing, read about some of my favorite podcasters here: 8 Podcasts For Ambitious Millennials

2. Start a blog

If you’ve ever had even the slightest desire to start a blog, right now is the time to do it. They said blogging was dead years ago, but I made $350+ in my second-month blogging in January. Currently, this blog you’re reading now generates over $5,500 per month passively and gets over 300k page views per month (100% of traffic comes from Pinterest).

I stopped publishing income reports because my method of earning income hasn’t changed much since my last report. By reading income reports, I learned how other bloggers were making money from their blogs. Through trial & error, I was able to create a simple system for blogging that works. Read this income report to read learn how I monetize this blog.

Pros of starting a blog:

• You get to meet people that are interested in the same things as you & form a community around these interests
• Forces you to learn new skills that are in-demand right now (copywriting, graphic design, SEO, affiliate & online marketing.)
• No income ceiling – You can scale what’s working on your blog and easily turn it into a 6-figure business.

Click here to read an easy step-by-step guide on how to start a PROFITABLE blog in 20 minutes.

3. Participate in research studies
(Up to $150 an hour)

Last year, I came across a post where a woman made $45 dollars for just an hour of her time on a website called Respondent.io. I honestly didn’t believe it at first, so I signed up and immediately found out that I was eligible for a survey that paid $150. The survey took exactly one hour to complete and by the end of it, I earned $150 that I deposited directly into my Paypal account the same day.

On Respondent, you can share your opinion in focus groups or market research studies, and the great thing is that anyone aged 18 or older can join. After doing a bit of research I found out that some people making $200-$500 a week just by completing simple surveys on Respondent. It’s super easy to use and new surveys are being submitted daily.

All you need to join is PayPal + Facebook or LinkedIn account to sign up.

Click here to sign up to Respondent for free

For more ideas on how to make some extra money online read my recent post

15 Creative Ways To Make $100 Everyday In 2024

4. Learn a new skill

What if you used this time learn something new?!

By 2027, over 50% of the job force will be freelancers. I love being a freelancer – I get to create my own schedule that allows me to capitalize on the times I feel most energized/creative, and rest when I feel burnt out. Here are some in-demand skills that you can turn into a profitable side-hustle later on.

Skillshare is the website to turn to when I want to learn something new. Skillshare has over 20,000 classes available, taught by respected industry leaders in every field possible.

5. Organize Your Finances

Not all of us are born to be organizational wizards, but if you want to get ahead with your money, you’ve got to get it under your control. It’s the only way you’ll get any of the big stuff done, such as paying off debt, taking a real vacation, buying a house or saving for retirement.

An important part of keeping your personal finances in good shape and getting yourself out of debt is by organizing your finances.

Step 1: ORGANIZE: Set up a filing system for your bills & start an Excel sheet to keep track of expenses
Step 2: Create a budget with the help of a Budget Calculator.
Step 3: Automate bill payments. Never miss a deadline again!
Step 4: Balance your payments with your paydays – Monthly debt payments are the biggest obstacle to saving money.
Step 5: Evaluate and Pay Off Your Debt – The fastest way to pay off debt is with the debt snowball method by Dave Ramsey. Do you know what your credit score is? When it comes to your credit score, it’s important to stay organized and keep tabs on it. After all, it’ll play an essential role in any big purchase you want to make — whether that’s a home or a car. 
Step 6: Start Saving Money!!!

6. Take Surveys

All that you need to start completing surveys is wifi & be at least 18 years old. Survey Junkey is free to join, easy to use, and has a 4.5/5 rating on both Trustpilot and Better Business Bureau websites.

On Survey Junkie, you can take easy surveys for points that can be exchanged for gift cards or money that gets deposited directly into your PayPal account (with no transfer fees).

You can earn $5 just for creating an account and filling out your info. After you create your account there should be a bunch of new surveys available for you to start completing. You can earn anywhere from $5 to $150 per survey.

Click here to sign up with Survey Junkie for free (and get your $5 bonus!)

7. Read a book

The world’s most renowned and successful people try and set aside at least an hour a day for learning something new, and credit this time spent as a key factor to their success. Oprah Winfrey, for example, has mentioned that “Books were my path to personal freedom,” & leaders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are prolific readers (upwards of 50 books per year.)

Now I’m not saying you should go ahead and get yourself an entire library on Amazon, focus on reading the right books first.

Here are some self-help and Entrepreneurial books that impacted me the most:

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere by Timothy Ferris (See it on Amazon)
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki (See it on Amazon)
You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero (See it on Amazon)
The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck by Mark Manson (See it on Amazon)

For more book ideas, read: 15 Books That Changed My Life

8.  Declutter, Clean, And Organize Your Home

Think about all of the things that you have collected over the years and ask yourself if you really need them or not. I bet there are a lot of things you just don’t need anymore.

Declutter your phones/emails.

Organize your jewelry collection

ORGANIZE THE KITCHEN!!!

Organize your closet (throw out the things you haven’t worn in the past year)

Also, consider how your household is contributing to or affecting our planet’s future

Did you know: You can actually SAVE money by switching to plastic-free alternatives???

Plastic pollution is hazardous to our planet, so now might be a good time to assess your plastic consumption. For some easy ways to reduce your plastic waste, I recently shared how I no longer consume plastic in this article: 11 EASY WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR PLASTIC WASTE TODAY.

9. Go On A Social Media Detox

There is a lot of news and information spurring around the internet that can be overwhelming and scary at the same time. Limit your time on Instagram or Facebook by setting up a 30 min limit.

You can set time limits for applications on Iphone by going to settings -> screen time -> App Limits.

Use this time to detox your social media and get rid of all people, pages, and videos that trigger panic and fear within you. If anything online doesn’t soothe you or add value in your life, get rid of it immediately. This includes influencers that promote unhealthy diets & unrealistic body ideals.

10. Home Workout

If you’re anything like me, being so close to the kitchen every single day is making it difficult to stick to a diet. Because I’m an impulsive eater, I figured it’s time to be real with myself sooner than later and start working out again. The last thing I want to do is come out of Coronacation looking like a beached whale.

My favorite online coach is Melissa Wood. She has a ton of videos and at-home workouts that combines yoga with pilates in order to tone muscles and create long lean lines. No gym equipment necessary.

11. Learn How To Invest

Gone are the days where you needed to put aside a large sum of money just to open an investment account in order to trade stocks.

I’ve recently taken up stock trading again, and I was surprised to find out about Robinhood. It’s a trading app that allows you to trade any stock on iPhone/Android phones & they don’t charge commissions on trades.

Recent market volatility makes the next couple of months (April – June 2020) an interesting time to be involved in the stock market. Arguably the most interesting time in the past decade.

Learn how to trade gold, options, crypto, and stocks + get a free stock (worth up to $250) with Robinhood.

Click here to claim your free stock from Robinhood

12. Start A New Art Project

I don’t mean pick up a paintbrush and go all Picasso on me, but painting and drawing is quite meditative and soothing. Here are some cool art project ideas you can do by yourself or with a loved one.

13. Start a Bullet Journal

Bullet Journaling changed my life overnight.

I was never the person to stick to a calendar or even a schedule because I have really bad Adhd. I forget things all the time unless I keep a list somewhere. Bullet Journals come with empty pages so you’re free to design a system that works for you.

Now’s a great time to start Bullet Journaling!

Head over to my guide on the best cheap bullet journal supplies if you’re an absolute beginner. Read: 20 Bullet Journal Ideas and Layouts and 10 Bullet Journal Hacks You’ll want to steal for some Bujo inspo!

14. Make A Game Plan To Change Your Life & Set Goals

This is an opportune time to re-evaluate what you want from life.

What are some of your goals? Use your free time to reflect and create a game plan for the next year.

Here are some things you can do:

Make a travel bucket list.

Make or update your dream board.

I put together a little list of powerful questions that I think will help you in visualizing the type of life that you would want to create for yourself. Know that time spent in self-reflection is never wasted – it is like an intimate date with yourself.

Read: 70 journal prompts for self-discovery

15. Develop Deeper Relationships with loved ones

I think that when the dust settles, we will realize how little we need, how much we actually have, and understand the true value of human connection.

Luckily I’m with my family during this time. I know a ton of people who aren’t, and for them “quarantining” been a really lonely and difficult time.

Here’s a couple of ideas to reconnect with loved ones:

Family game night
Group video chats
Check on a friend
Check on an elderly neighbor
Start a memory book or box of your life (a great opportunity to go through pictures and recall good times with your loved ones.)

16. Try some new recipes

Now’s as good a time as ever to try a new diet. Fancy an experiment in veganism? Check out Pickuplimes on youtube for some inspirational and healthy meal ideas or Avantegarde vegan (he’s really fun to look at and makes bomb vegan dishes that your bf/hb will drool over)

Some great food blogs to check out are Half Baked Harvest and Pinch of Yum

17. Journal

Journaling will keep your mind fit. It’s important that you look after your mental health, the thoughts you are consuming, and how you’re reacting to these thoughts, I have been journaling a lot for the past few weeks, releasing some confusing vibes, anxiety, & addressing my fears.

If you haven’t been journaling, I encourage you to do so. While you are stuck at home, you can attempt to answer various journaling prompts that can guide your wellness and answer some deep life-changing questions to keep your mind occupied.

18. Meditate

Meditation is the process of training your mind to focus and redirecting your thoughts, and it can improve your quality of life. It’s about taking your attention off of extrinsic distractions and focus it on your breath. If you haven’t been meditating, you should!

It is scientifically proven that changing your breathing pattern to 6-10 deep breaths per minute restores balance to our stress-response system. Slowing your breath reduces anxiety and depression, increases energy and strengthens the immune system. It will improve your mental concentration. Here’s my favorite meditation by Louise Hay.

Know of any other productive things to do at home? Sound off in the comments below, I’d love to hear of how you’re staying productive.