Looking for new hobbies to pass time when I probably really need it.

[BasilABST]

Hey hey, this is admittedly a bit of a weird request but life happens, and due to some circumstances outside of my control I've found myself at my home, in a situation where leaving it would be a little dangerous due to outside conditions and would be for at least a week or so more. Don't worry though, I'm okay! 

Anyways, the reason I'm posting this here is because I kind of ran out of stuff to do. Motivation to play video games is spotty at best, miniature painting and general art/writing motivation is a bit worse than usual, and other than that there are no deliveries that can be done to my place other than food and essential stuff. So I figured to ask you a question.

So... you got any specific hobbies that you think I could try out? Preferably something that I could start fairly easily using household objects or free/cheap computer programs.

I again apologize if this is a weird post. But hey, may as well also be an excuse to share some niche and fun hobbies, no?

[Dequake]

Learn to juggle! It might seem daunting, but the basic throws in ball juggling really aren't that complicated, if you find a good guide. And there's plenty of good guides online. Just grab a couple oranges or apples, or other similarly round and weighty objects that aren't fragile, and start throwing. You can have a show on in the background or whatever else. It's surprisingly hypnotizing, at least it was for me. And trust me, I'm really not a juggling expert, far from it, but it's so much fun either way once it starts to make sense in your head.

[queerbadger]

I’ve just started out in pixel art a couples of days ago. It’s so fun and relaxing. The entry level is relatively low so you can start creating something right away. Also, there are free programs or affordable one-time payment ones. So I’d say, if you didn’t try it before, definitely give pixel art a go

[Beaspoon]

Coding is always a good skill a good skill to learn (coming from a non-coder) every major coding program/language is free and you can find tutorials for anything you might have a problem with. Another one I will always recommend to everyone is learning a language, bit hard to get started without being able to see or call a tutor, or buy a book, but there are still cheap or free resources, ik most free language learning apps suck on their own, but I'm sure you can find something to teach you if you do enough digging, and when you get to a more intermediate stage you can join discord servers or online chatrooms meant for practicing your chosen language :)

[fairyrune]

hope everything's okay!

as someone who doesn't often go out, i've had to amuse myself at home quite a lot, but i'm fortunate enough that i could get supplies for something like crafting. recently i've been doing a lot of crochet, and i find that's a lot of fun, if you're in any way able to get yarn somewhere (maybe if someone else can get you some?). i'd recommend cotton yarn because it's biodegradable, but cheap.

recently i found this lovely website that could serve as a great browser homepage, but it has a couple links within it for internet exploration - here it is! there's a bunch of stuff in here like online games in case any new ones take your fancy, forums (hi, melonland!), but the very bottom is what i'm thinking about.

there's also a lot of stuff you can learn online for free! maybe pick up a new programming language. you can also learn other languages - in particular i know there's a bunch of sign language resources around! you could research an animal you like and make a little presentation like in school. maybe there's another subject you've always wondered about and want to learn more, like geography or art history.

i'd also recommend you browse museum catalogues that are hosted online, and see if any zoos have open cam streams! it's a nice way to get some of the experience of being at these places without having to leave home.

[RNotteLovesOwls]

try writing a journal or blog. you could write about anything that strikes your fancy: nature photos, the artistic process, weird dreams, culinary experiments, pet escapades, how you’re feeling right now, anything! the world is your oyster

one popular blogging service is dreamwidth studios, which is completely free to use and has no ads. give it a try, and see where it leads

[BasilABST]

Firstly, thank you all!! These are some really fun suggestions, so I'll reply here in bulk.
I've never even thought about trying to Juggle or something like that, but I think I could try lol. Maybe I can pick up coding again, I didn't really do any outside of my site since high school :P it's about time lol.

Not sure if I have decent supplies to try crocheting out but I am kind of tempted to ask around now. It seems therapeutic. (Also definitely saving that site )

This also reminded me I wanted to update my blog. I have a few ideas, so maybe this is nigh time to get on it... 

[TheFrugalGamer]

This probably doesn't sound super interesting, but I usually take opportunities like these to do deep cleans of the spots that I've been ignoring for a while. I also like to go through and re-organize my craft and art supplies, re-label everything, and generally see if there's stuff I can throw out/donate or consolidate.

If your body is up to it, there are a lot of online exercise videos via Youtube and similar. That may not be an option given that going outside might be dangerous, and you may have immune problems, but I mention it just in case. Both this and the cleaning are often thought of as chores, but usually they make you feel way better after they're done!

Here are a few other ideas:

• Go through your closet and try to put together some new outfits based on what you already have
• Get rid of expired foods in the pantry/refrigerator (I know you have some! We all do!)
• If possible, reach out and have a conversation with a loved one, via phone or internet. We often forget to until it's too late
• Start a new book series (ebook if necessary. A lot of public libraries have ebook apps that let you check out books from home for free)
• Check out Itch.io for solo journaling games (and games in general, but the solo ones are a break from the usual). I recommend Iron Valley if you're into things like cozy gaming and Animal Crossing
• This is my favorite online MIDI editor. Make some music!
• If you have playing cards and/or dice, there are a lot of solitaire games you can play. I know you can do these online too, but sometimes it's more fun to play with the physical cards, plus you can put on a video/podcast/album in the background while you play on your floor or table.
• If you have cats, make blanket forts for them. One of my cats LOVES blanket forts, and then you can sit in it together and it's SO COOL and SNEAKY.
• Meditate. Honestly sometimes I like to put on a good song or album and just kind of sit and focus on nothing but the music for a bit. It's something we don't do very often anymore, and it can be restorative.

[Cele]

I recommend watching movies and documentaries, reading non-fiction books and playing Solitaire and online Mahjong.

[IndigoGolem]

Learning a language has already been mentioned. Making a language has not. There are a bunch of resources and tools online for constructed languages (conlangs) and linguistics more generally, including:

• https://www.zompist.com/
• https://conlang.org/
• https://draquet.github.io/PolyGlot/
• https://mander.xyz/c/conlangs
• https://old.reddit.com/r/conlangs/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA
• https://wals.info/

It's a fun hobby for people who are into that sort of thing.

Making card houses is hard, but if you have an excess of free time and a deck of playing cards you could learn.

Reading is an obvious answer, but here it is anyway. Your local public library might let you digitally borrow ebooks and audiobooks, and there are also other resources like Project Gutenberg.

Origami isn't hard to start doing if you have paper on hand, and probably also scissors to cut it into a square.

You could knit, crochet, sew, embroider, do macramé, or other textile arts i don't know the names of, assuming you can get materials.

And cleaning is a good use of time. It may not be the most fun thing, but it does feel good to be productive.

[ValyceNegative]

You can birdwatch from your own house, too! There's a phone app (for the life of me I can't remember the name but I know there is) that listens to the surrounding birdsongs and gives out name, picture and information... and adds it to your encyclopedia! Like a Pokedex! When you'll be able to go out and enjoy walks and trips, you can even continue your collection with more birds :)

At home, reading is great as past time because it's not as eye straining as videogaming and doesn't feel as passive as series/movie watching. You surely have some literature classics at home you know of but never explored entirely, now's the time!

Alternatively you can try baking. If you have your own OCs it's cool to imagine and try to reproduce their signature plates, cookies, cocktails. Despite what you might think a lot of this past time can be spent far from the kitchen researching recipes and understanding how flavors and ingredients mix together before trying your experiments in practice.

I also second @TheFrugalGamer on taking the occasion to do deep cleans, wardrobe/cabinet/drawer reorganizing, going through old stuff, and even some repair where needed. Your house will thank you for it!

Knitting is a very cool hobby along with crocheting, I used to do it as a kid and I'm thinking of getting back into it soon. I know you mentioned shipping isn't a thing for you at the moment so I'm not sure how useful this particular suggestion can be if you can't get ahold of the supplies, but if you ever do I'd try to look out for a specific type of yarn that's so big and thick that it can be knitted with your fingers instead of using needles. It helps developing manuality and sleight of hand.

And finally... workout routines! There's plenty of stretching and aerobic exercises of various intensity on YouTube that you can follow daily to keep yourself active and healthy even if stuck at home. If you have dumbells or other props, you can look out for sets that also include those items. I did plenty of it during lockdown years xP

[BasilABST]

Oh wow :o so many really good replies, thank you all so so much <3 I'll be addressing the various replies:

You all can bet I was cleaning up basically everything except my studies stuff, so everything easy lmao. Guess I should get on that

The language stuff seems really cool @IndigoGolem , I've never even thought of trying to create my own language. I actually may have a fun use for one, I have a little setting filled with post-human raccoon people I'm passively working on and I think it would be a fun way to really ham it up and make it feel unique and fun. It may be raccoon language time. racconlang?

As for birdwatching, is the app you are referring to Merlin, @ValyceNegative ? I've used that one in a few trips, and I'm already very familiar with the local birds lol. That does remind me of that one time in the dead of night that an owl had visited my place though, they're quite rare here. I think it was a Barn Owl?

Aaaand as for workout routines, I've been trying! It helps a lot in making this time feel more genuinely productive. Cooking as well, I've been making so much bread lol

And also, solo games. It's actually smth I've been fairly passionate about! I've mostly been playing them with miniatures, though, stuff such as Five Parsecs from Home. It's a solo sci-fi wargame with a lot of fun little procedurally dice-generated events and such. There's also Cyberpunk Red that has its own solo expansion with a lot of random event generation and I've actually done a full small campaign in it! It just had an expansion release a bit ago, so I should maybe return to it. love Cyberpunk.

(Also, as for reading... I got a copy of House of Leaves a fair bit ago, I think now may be time to tackle that behemoth again LOL wish me luck )

[ValyceNegative]

@BasilABST I went and checked and it is, yeah! I actually first heard about it in a video but I'm thinking of trying it out myself when spring rolls out.