I’ll be honest, things have gotten pretty wack. But that doesn’t mean that you have to. If you’re anything like me quarantine has been going a lot like the first half of the Count of Monte Cristo (great movie, definitely watch it, Jim Caviezel is fantastic).

To keep you from having in-depth emotional conversations with the inanimate objects in your house here are a few fun suggestions to keep the boredom at bay:

1. Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
Guess what, the Church has a heartbeat and the heartbeats to the rhythm of the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours shapes our day around prayer and draws us more into the Mystical Body of Christ. Peep iBreviary to jump on the prayer train.

2. Pray the Rosary
Your mama wants to hear from you! Praying the rosary is one of the easiest ways to become a saint, and starting your day with it is like punching the devil right in the nose.

3. Go on a run
Step one: put your left foot in front of right. Step two: put your right foot in front of left. Step three: repeat steps one and two until you have reached your goal.

4. Read a really good book
C.S. Lewis, Tolkein, J.K. Rowling, Peter Kreeft, and St. Therese of Liseux all slap hard. But don’t let this list restrict you though, there is a big big world of good books.
 

4. Video chat show and tell
Call up some of your friends and take turns showing and telling random items in your home.

5. Write a story
Put those creativity muscles to work and write your own story. Bonus points if you put it in a google doc and collaboratively write it with friends.
 

6. Use Playing Cards to Get Swole
Take a deck of cards. Assign different workouts to different suits, then reps to each number and face card. Shuffle them up and draw as many as you want and go to town. If you need to up the challenge try to do as many reps as possible in a set amount of time. For example, Spades=burpees, Clubs=squats, Hearts=jack knives, Diamonds=push-ups.
 

7. Write a letter
Put pen to paper and write a letter to someone you miss a lot, tell them about life, swap jokes, pop in a recipe, and stick that bad boy in the mailbox to cheer up someone’s day!

8. Paint a picture
Break out the canvas and acrylic paints and go to town. Bonus points if you facetime your friends and watch Bob Ross together to make it a paint party.
 

9. Do a car parade
Get a few friends together, decorate your cars, and go drive by your granny’s house or a local retirement home. Be sure to call ahead so they know where to look. Trust me they’ll love it.

10. Go on a walk
Same formula as #3 but slower. Bonus points if you spice up your walk with a Rosary.

11. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is easily one of my favorite prayers and it is so easy to do. If you are musically inclined it is also a great one to sing.

12. Spice up your pushup game
Build a pushup workout for yourself after finding some different forms of pushups. My favorites are dive bombers, spiderman pushups, wall pushups, and diamonds. Further instructions here.

13. Work on your cooking
Find a few recipes on Bon Appetit or another recipe site and get cooking.
 

14. Bake something
Don’t limit yourself to plain jane bread or cakes. Check out Patricia Polacco’s Thunder Cake recipe, it has tomato puree in it (sounds wack but trust me) or try to make some Jalapeno cheese bread.

15. Play catch
Find a sibling, parent, or friend and toss a frisbee, a baseball, or a football around. If local laws prevent that, a wall can help you out.

16. Start your day with prayer and exercise
This one is pretty straight forward. Pray Liturgy of the Hours, Lectio, or a Rosary then workout. Darebee.com will be your best friend. Bonus points if you offer up your workout for someone.

17. Give away some of your TP stash
Guys, poop ticket rolls last a long time, go give away a few.

18. Begin to do Lectio
Lectio Divina is one of the best ways to pray with scripture. Now is the time to try it out if you never have and journal through it.

19. Make a video
Write a script, make some costumes, draft a sibling or parent to be the cameraman, and go to town. The sillier the better.
 

20. Learn a new language
Mon francais est tres mal. But that doesn’t mean yours has to be. Download Duolingo, watch some shows in another language, and get your friends to do the same then text each other in that language.
 

21. Garden
The weather is getting to be wonderful. If you have the place for it, try out your green thumb and put some plants in the ground. Herbs are always great and then you have fresh herbs to toss into your new recipes!

22. Make some care packages for first responders
Go get some snacks, drinks, and other goodies to put in little gift bags for first responders. Toss in a few thank you letters and you’re golden.

23. Stay positive
The best way to kill boredom is to stay positive. For me, boredom always sets in after complaining and becoming sedentary with work. Do what you can to stay positive and keep a bright eye on the future. This can’t last forever.

Nothing will be the same after this experience. You are going to change, I am going to change, the world is going to change. Heck, we are all changing right now without even realizing it. What we have to do is look at who and where we want to be. If our end goal is to be a saint in Heaven with God for the rest of eternity, we should be just fine. Set goals for yourself, be merciful to yourself, and strive for heroic virtue. This will all come to pass.