21 Tips to Stay Inspired During 2021

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS UNEXPECTED TIME

It’s been a minute, as they say. Most of us didn’t expect the pandemic to last this long. But here we are closing in on a year of fighting this war. I know many states have reopened at least to an extent; but there are some of us who aren’t fully open yet, and some states (and countries) are having to close up again. Numbers of cases and deaths from COVID are continually rising and many hospitals are at capacity. In the midst of the holidays, nothing was as it should be. Thanksgiving and Christmas were celebrated remotely for many families, including ours. But we were blessed to be online with many family members we don’t even usually see at Christmas, thanks to the virtual world of technology. It was very different, but it was as good as it could be, given the circumstances. We just had to adjust our expectations.

I have an idea…or 21

After so many months, have you exhausted all your ideas and need a little extra something to help you cope with the unrelenting stress of the pandemic? I’d like to suggest 21 ideas to ease our transition into 2021, as different groups receive the vaccines and, if you’re like us, you’re eagerly (if somewhat impatiently) waiting for your turn. It reminds me of an old chant that kids said when I was young and mononucleosis (“the kissing disease”) was fairly rampant: “Kissing spreads germs, and germs are hated. So kiss me, baby, I’m vaccinated!” As a doctor working with COVID patients, our daughter was in the first wave of vaccinations, thankfully. They even gave her a button to wear that said she’d been vaccinated! That was what triggered my memory of the little chant from my childhood! I am truly thankful and hopeful that as more and more people are vaccinated, we can turn the tide of this dreadful disease. Meanwhile, here are some ideas to help you use this time effectively and make positive memories.

1. Plan your days

2. Stay connected

Call friends and family you haven’t talked to in awhile—or better yet, video chat so you can see those loved faces. Have a family reunion online. On Thanksgiving and Christmas our extended family shared a Facebook messenger “room,” and we have also celebrated birthdays via Zoom. It really was the next best thing to being there, kept everyone safe, and truly it was wonderful sharing the holidays with family members across the country. It actually is something I’d like to keep doing even after we get back to “normal”—whatever the new normal will be. Now that we’ve done it, it seems like we shouldn’t wait till we are able to travel to “see” each other more often.

3. Worship online and connect with others

If you aren’t able to meet with your church in person, worship together online from wherever you are. We’ve worshipped online with people from all over, in different congregations as well as our own. Check in with friends and family who are elderly or in ill health. Send a surprise gift through Amazon. Thinking about and doing things for others helps to brighten your mood and theirs! Loneliness can be a huge problem when we are staying safe by staying home.

4. Walk the neighborhood

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Walk the dogs or just walk yourself, weather permitting! Take some sidewalk chalk with you and write messages to encourage others. Post pics on Facebook and Instagram with #chalkthewalk. My older daughter was here for the first few months of the pandemic before her residency began, and she had me and the dogs out walking early every morning, and walking about a mile more than we were used to. It was tons of fun and good for us! We all enjoyed it immensely, and met some neighbors a little farther afield from our home. I also recently read a Facebook post talking about the idea in this chalk message—that words make a big difference in how we see things. If we see “sheltering in place” as being stuck, we will be discontent every second. If instead, we see it as a great act of love, staying home to keep others safe as well as ourselves, then it gives purpose to this time of isolation.

5. Learn something new

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Take courses online in just about anything you want to learn but never had the time for. My husband is currently studying the History of Western Music online. Today he shared lectures on Handel and Bach with me (I learn so much from that man and his eclectic tastes). But don’t be like the guy who took the whole Western Music online course and then complained that the instructor didn’t even mention Hank Williams. Um, we’re not talking country-western here. Watch YouTube videos to learn skills that have suddenly become essential. Like, oh I don’t know, fixing your leaky faucet. Or how to cut your husband’s hair and groom your dog.

6. Journal it

Keep a journal to help process and remember this time. This is not your childhood diary where you wrote “didn’t do anything today” (or am I the only one with a boring diary?) Instead, use journal prompts to help you focus on what you want to do and to gather inspiration. You could also start a junk journal or bullet journal. Check out Pinterest for ideas.

I’ve created 14 Journal prompts for the pandemic that I’d be happy to send you for free. They are helpful for triggering and focusing your ideas and thoughts, and they include activities that can help you not only survive but thrive, by focusing on ways to find inspiration and to be an inspiration to others. They aren’t just for the pandemic, either—they’d be good any time. Just click here to download these free prompts and subscribe to my newsletter.

7. Write letters

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Bring back the art of letter writing and share some of your stories with friends and family. Tell them how much you miss worshipping together and eating out. Bring them into your everyday life so they feel like they’re with you. Tell them about getting cabbage instead of lettuce from the grocery pickup. And yellow watermelon instead of red. Twice. From two different stores. I confess I didn’t actually know there was such a thing as yellow watermelon. And frankly, I don’t think they were as good as the red ones, but feel free to disagree. And then there was the powdered egg white that was substituted for eggs, because yeah, they’re exactly the same (she says tongue in cheek). Encourage those you write—and yourself—that this won’t be forever. Order postage stamps online, but don’t lick the envelopes— just wet them with a sponge or q-tip to seal them. Please keep your germs to yourself!

8. Send a card

Make cards using rubber stamps if you have them, or create your own originals. Cut pictures out of magazines or catalogs, or print pictures to glue onto paper, or print out cards online. This is a fun craft to do with kids, and a good example for them, too. If you’re not feeling particularly creative, support independent artists on Etsy who sell handmade cards. Send them to people who have made a difference in your life and tell them how they inspired you. Adopt someone (or more than one someone) who lives in assisted living and send them letters and cards to brighten their days. When I think about the cards I’ve received through the years, they mean so very much. Sending cards is not my gift personally, but I am really going to make an effort to do better!

9. Try something new

Take up a new hobby, like gardening, yoga, painting, or sculpting. Learn to crochet or knit or play chess using YouTube instructional videos. Sew masks and donate them or sell them on Etsy. Or start coloring again—there are so many grownup coloring books and printables available (like mine at SpringMillArtDesigns.etsy.com—just sayin’), and coloring has become quite an art form as well as a stress-reliever. It really helps a lot of people to not only relax by focusing on the coloring, but it even helps some colorists deal with chronic pain and depression. Many adults color with colored pencils (there are some amazing sets on the market) or markers, but feel free to use crayons if you want! There are no rules in coloring! You don’t even have to stay in the lines unless you really want to.

10. Staycation, here we come!

Take a virtual vacation. Find vlogs by theme park junkies and “ride the coasters” with them. My husband doesn’t do rollercoasters— unless they’re virtual— but he loves riding along with YouTubers who video the experience. Take virtual museum or art museum tours. Visit other countries online. Look up new things to do in your own community when things open up, and make a bucket list.

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11. A puzzling idea

Put jigsaw puzzles together. 2017 was the year of the puzzles for us. We did one after another for the whole year. We’ve only done a few puzzles since then, but this is a good time to do them. Or you could put LEGO sets together. We did one with women in space a couple of months ago. We have an Anglophile friend who has done sets including London landmarks and a double-decker London bus. We have another friend who creates amazing original structures like a Ferris wheel that really works. She’s won competitions with her creative genius! (She also replaced our garbage disposal when it broke while she was visiting, because she enjoys doing things like that. Multi-talented lady!) This is another hobby, like coloring, that has grown up and is fun and challenging for everyone!

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12. Face the music

Listen to music and find new artists on YouTube. Watch Broadway shows at Broadwayhd.com on a 7-day free trial during the pandemic, or Disney+. Some Broadway producers are also showing videos of live plays and concerts on the YouTube channel, The Shows Must Go On. You can also listen to online concerts that many well-known artists are doing from their homes. Follow your favorite groups on FB. Broaden your musical horizons with the Boston Pops or any of the armed services bands. Each branch has their own band on FB, with and without singers, and they are really wonderful to listen to! Most are broadcasting from their homes. For a fun time with novelty songs, follow Ray Stevens on Facebook. He is releasing his incomparable music almost daily—his oldies and also new songs like “The Quarantine Song.” Check it out!

13. Get lost in a good book

14. Read THE Good Book

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Spend more time in the Word, where Jesus gives us the confidence and courage to be overcomers because the battle is already won. Follow online scripture reading plans if you want. There are lots of plans to read through the Bible in a year, or topical plans month by month. You might enjoy reading a chronological version of the Bible, where the scriptures are arranged in chronological order according to when the events happened. It can add new perspective to stories you know and make some connections with stories you may not have noticed when they were not in chronological order. I have met LeGard Smith, who compiled The Narrated Bible in Chronological Order, several times. The Daily Bible that he arranged contains 365 chronological daily Bible readings excerpted from that.

15. Explore online

Find new bloggers and vloggers who share your interests.  Listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos on just about any topic you can think of. Watch funny videos that make you belly laugh! That’s a lot of stress relief right there. Start a blog like I did! Just remember not to spend all your time in the virtual world—come up for air now and then to reach out to others in your real life. 

16. Hit the road

Take a weekly drive and go to new and different places in your area, or farther afield if you can. Take the road less traveled. Sometimes you just really need to get out of the house. Cabin fever is real. You’ve probably already been “eating out,” redefined as getting curbside delivery from your favorite restaurant and either taking it home, eating it in the car, or dining al fresco (wearing your mask to protect the people you interact with as well as yourself, of course).

17. What’s cooking?

Find new recipes and learn to cook gourmet meals or bake decadent desserts. Watch cooking shows online or on TV. Just look out for the Quarantine 15!*  It’s a thing! There are even commercials mentioning the phenom!
*(a reference to the freshman 15—the hypothetical weight you gain in your first year of college. All those decadent desserts can be a problem if you let them!) I already have gained my 15, thank you very much. 🥴

18. Whose turn is it?

Play board games, cards, dominoes, or dice games with your family. Drag out all those old games you have stored away and rev them up! We love word games, and my hubby is a tiger at Trivial Pursuit. He knows all the trivia. My niece said if she was ever on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” my husband would be her “phone a friend.” This could also be a good time to play one of those games that can drag on forever, like Monopoly. Or is that only in my family? Play games with loved ones you can’t visit in person by video-chatting using Skype, Facebook Messenger, FaceTime, WhatsApp, or any other such program. We play CatchPhrase, Yahtzee, Password, and Zilch, but I’m sure you can think of others you could play online with each other. Having that interaction with others is so important right now.

19. Say cheese!

Download a photo-editing app, then start taking fun pictures with your phone and playing with them. There are lots of ways to enhance and add special effects to your photos. Post them to Facebook and Instagram if you’re inspired to do so.

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20. Making memories

If you have kids, you’ve probably found lots of sites with learning games, crafts, and projects to do with them. If they’re old enough, get them started cooking, gardening, sewing, or painting with you. Pinterest! Play board games. Read a book out loud together. Go hiking and exploring in your area. Make precious memories and you’ll be able to look back on this time and find the blessings in it!

21. Get rid of stuff

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Clean out all your closets and drawers, and maybe your garage if it needs it. Toss and donate! Notice I put this last, because it may be the last thing you want to do. If it’s not, then you’ve probably already done it long ago.

If you are an essential worker, thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing what you do. I understand that you don’t have the time to do most of these activities. But maybe you can choose a couple to help you relax and unwind when you’re off work and not homeschooling your kids. Or maybe some of them can tie into your quarantine curriculum! You are a blessing to us all!

Let me know in the comments which of these you’re inspired to try, or share additional ideas! And don’t forget to sign up for my free journal prompts if you‘d like to write and keep a record of this extraordinary historical time.

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Don’t let this time just pass while waiting for it to pass! Make the most of the unexpected time together and make special memories!

With love and hope for the future,