With the pandemic changing our daily lives, many of us have found ourselves with much more free time on our hands. This is a little ironic because we cannot go and do many of the things that we would love to do with that free time.

                 Concerts, movie theaters, sporting events, and many other fun activities that we usually spend our free time doing have been canceled or are occurring with no audience or fans. Much like in the winter months, we are far more inclined to stay indoors.

               With newfound gaps in our schedule and the need to stay at home many of us have been searching for fun or educational ways to use the newfound time. Hobbies are a great way to pass the time. Below we have listed several hobbies that can be fun and educational that you may want to try.

                 Indoor workouts : With gyms being closed many of us have had a harder time staying active. This does not mean that there are not ways for you to workout. The are several easy ways that you can still work out while staying at home.

               You can use online resources. There are many workout videos posted online that give you step by step instructions on how to perform the exercises. You can watch these at your own pace. You don’t even have to leave your home.

                You can lift dumbbells. Dumbbells come in many different sizes and weights that you can choose. With the different dumbbells, there are a large variety of exercises that you can do that can work your arms, legs, chest, and stomach muscles to give you a small full-body workout. You can even get larger dumbbells as you progress.

                You can go on walks. While the weather is nice going on walks is a great way to stay active. As the weather starts to change you may want to stay indoors even more often. If this is the case, try and set up a path in your house that you can walk around. Take a few laps around your house on this path and before you know it you have your steps in for the day without even going outside!

               Doing workouts is beneficial to your physical wellbeing and can help you to reduce your stress levels. One good way to stay consistent with your indoor exercises is to set up weekly goals and then hold yourself to them. By doing this not only do you make sure you are getting your exercise in, but you also can easily track the progress that you are making.

                 Learning how to cook : We all have some favorite foods that we love to eat. With more free time why not try to learn how to cook so that you can eat your favorites whenever? If you want to become a better cook you can try new recipes or master one that you already know.

                 If you begin to master the main dishes, you can even move onto making desserts or baking. Set a minimum of one or two recipes to be mastered each month and focus on those two recipes, before you know it the dishes that you have mastered will add up!

                Learning to cook allows you to enjoy healthy and delicious homemade food whenever you want. Besides the health benefits, cooking is a great way to discover and connect with different cultures in the world as you learn their recipes. Being able to cook from home can also save you having to go out to eat and thus you may save money as well.

                 Learn how to play an instrument : If you do not already play an instrument you can teach yourself from home. There are many books and videos online that may allow you to teach yourself how to play a wide variety of musical instruments from the piano to trombone.

                If you already play an instrument, then you can always practice and play new songs. Using videos online is a great way to both improve and grow your musical repertoire. There are constantly new songs being released which means you will never run out of new music to learn.

                Reading : Reading is a great way to expand your mind. By reading a book you can find both entertainment and education in one place. There are many different genres to choose from: sports, mystery, science fiction, horror, biography, history, current events, theology, philosophy, and the list goes on. There are topics of interest for everyone.

                There are several different ways that you can read. If you are on a budget and do not want to buy a book, then you can borrow one from either a friend or your local library. If you are not much of a reader but you love to learn, then perhaps listening to an audiobook would be better for you. Audiobooks can be listened to whenever, as you work out, do chores, or even eat your breakfast.

                Any which way you choose to read a book works as long as you have fun and are learning about something that interests you.

               Learn a new language : There are now more opportunities than ever before to learn a new language. With online classes, videos for free, and many different apps to choose from you can learn a new language.

               Through social media and smart devices, the world is more connected than ever before. Learning a new language can be fun, educational, and very useful. The first step is to choose which language you want to learn and then figure out the best way for you to learn it.

               All of these are hobbies that can be performed year-round as they are all indoor hobbies. When choosing a hobby be sure to find something that interests you, so that it will be both fun and educational. If you find yourself with more free time on your hands then a hobby is a great way to keep yourself busy doing something that you enjoy.

               If you have any comments please feel free to contact us by phone at 412-678-6177 or by email at strifflers@yahoo.com.

For more information about our services, please visit  www.strifflerfuneralhomes.com