Non Travel Ideas to Motivate You

If you’re not able to travel for whatever reason, I’ve got a list of 20 non travel ideas to motivate you!

Learn Something New

I have been learning a lot so far this year with creating my new website and blog. I’ve followed different online courses, watched many YouTube videos, and tried out a new learning site called Skillshare.com.

If you are looking to learn anything new, Skillshare is a great website. I started out using the free version but later signed up for an annual subscription of approximately $60. I think it is definitely worth the money.

Skillshare has over 26,000 courses covering every topic imaginable, from watercolor painting, photography, online marketing, project management, and starting your own business.

Work on House Projects

We all hate house projects but this year may be the best time to tackle those tasks we’ve been putting off for so long. I have taken on a few projects in the last few weeks.

My most recent projects have been to clean the seriously dirty grout off my kitchen floor tiles and to clean out cabinets and closets. I have to motivate myself to get started but once I do, I’m on a rampage to get it completed.

If you make a list of to-do projects and try to complete at least one each week, you’ll be surprised how great you’ll feel in a few months when you look back at that list of accomplishments!

Enjoy your Hobbies

When you can’t go anywhere on the weekends, spend that time doing your favorite hobbies. Some of my hobbies include drawing, painting, photography, and playing the piano. If you don’t have any hobbies, try to find one!

It is too easy to sit on the sofa binging on Netflix shows. Instead, spend an hour or two each day enjoying your hobbies. You’ll feel so much better! Take a picture of what you’re doing or what you made and then share it on social media. This will encourage you to continue and will also motivate other people to share what they are doing with their hobbies.

Get Outside for Sports

If you’re like me and enjoy getting outside in nature to move your body, then make a point to do this a few times a week. I have been walking, hiking, and riding my bike every chance I get. It’s good for the mind and the body to be outside in the fresh air.

I’m thankful that it is Spring here in Switzerland. The weather has been sunny and beautiful during March and April. I am also lucky to live near beautiful scenery for local outings. Read my post about Spring in Switzerland!

No matter where you live, it is a good idea to take a short walk around your neighborhood to get some fresh air and move your legs.

If you are thinking to start a new sport like biking, you should consider buying an electric bike. I LOVE mine (it’s a Merida City bike) and highly recommend using ebikes!

Read Books

I’m not much of a reader but a lot of people are starting to read more with the extra time at home. There are many options for reading these days, including downloading books from the internet, ordering from Amazon-type sites, or taking an old book off your dusty bookshelves to read again.

Reading is good for the brain whether it is fictional or non-fictional. I find that fictional books allow you to lose yourself in another world. It’s hard to put it down once you get involved in the story plot.

When I read, I personally like to read self-help type articles and books. We can learn so much and benefit from applying what we learn.

Do Puzzles

I actually did a new puzzle earlier this year and loved it. It was a 1000-piece puzzle of a tiger (see below). I found it to be very challenging! What a great feeling of accomplishment!

There is something strangely relaxing and calming about doing a puzzle. I believe this activity is therapeutic. If you work on doing a puzzle with another family member, it can also be a time to connect and do something together.

If you don’t have stores currently open that are selling puzzles, try asking your friends if they have some you could pick up and work on. Some Facebook Groups also sell or give away items like this.

Connect with Family and Friends

I have been setting up weekly Zoom calls with our group of friends for Friday night cocktail time. Even if everyone can’t join, it’s fun for those who do. We all feel closer by seeing each other’s faces and catching up on their latest news.

I organized a surprise video call to celebrate my older daughter’s birthday earlier this month. I had arranged to have a call with only her and her sister but had secretly set up a group call with a few other family members.

Do Some Planting

Whether you have a big yard or just a tiny apartment terrace, you can have great satisfaction to do some planting! I have always had a black thumb, but I never give up trying to plant flowers every year.

I love the bright colors of flowers and the way they make me feel happy just by looking at them. A few weeks ago, I planted some seeds I happened to find in the house. It brings me such a joy to see the seedlings turn into sprouts and hopefully flowers soon.

If you like to cook with herbs, you should try setting up a herbal garden. This is still something I want to do as I love to cook with basil, coriander, and thyme. There’s nothing like rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty when planting!

Start Journaling

If you don’t keep a journal regularly, think about doing it now while you have more downtime. Research shows that journaling is a great way to improve your well-being. You can use a handwritten journal or type your thoughts in a computer document.

Expressing your inner thoughts and feelings by putting them concretely on paper or in a computer file is therapy in itself. You will feel like a burden has been lifted off your shoulders. Once the words are out, you can then choose to let them be or to analyze and deal with them.

Make a Photo Album

Do you have tons of old printed photos or masses of digital photos? Are your photos anywhere and everywhere in no special order? If so, you can use your free time to organize them into traditional photo albums or electronic albums.

One idea for printed photos is to scan and digitize them. There are many software applications that allow you to scan your photos. I have used our HP printer/scanner to do this.

You can create a photo album on your computer or make a physical book using online software. In the past, I’ve used applications such as the Swiss-based iFolor to create these books. You can check out free applications called Canva and Pixum to create these books. These applications are quite easy to use. You will receive your nicely printed book in the mail to treasure for years to come.

Two other ideas related to this one is to digitize your old VCR home movies or create a movie of all your digital photos and video clips.

I digitized over 100 of my VCR cassettes last year. It was a one-month long project but I finally finished it. As technology changes, we need to transfer and convert onto new media. This project required some hardware cables from my VCR machine to my Mac as well as software to manage the recording. It doesn’t cost much, just your time. If you want more details about how to do this, just ask me!

You can create a video of your memories by using apps like iMovie, Quik, or Final Cut Pro X. I’ve been doing this for many years and really enjoy having these videos to look back on. I upload them to my YouTube channel and sometimes share them on social media. You can see the videos I’ve embedded here on my website as well – just click here.

Start a Blog

Why not take your creativity to a new level by starting a blog? I created this website and blog using WordPress.org which is a free website platform. However, you will need to spend some money on a hosting provider. I signed up for Bluehost for three years for about $200.

Once you have your host provider and the website software installed, you can follow free videos on YouTube to learn how to use the software. There are also many Facebook groups you can join to learn and ask questions.

There are also free website services like Wix.com. For this, you don’t need to pay for your own hosting. Creating a blog within minutes is very easy using these new providers.

If you are interested in the blogging courses I did, check out my dedicated page which explains the courses (including the initial free ones). If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me by commenting below or sending an email to jan@janadventures.com.

Sign up for Remote Working

If you are not working full-time or want to take on some additional work to earn a bit more money, you should consider signing up to do remote work. There are many websites that offer this service now.

This is definitely on my to-do list since I am in early retirement. I don’t want to return to the corporate world if I don’t have to. Because I have extra time, I am planning to register for these sites to get odd jobs doing tasks that I enjoy.

I am considering to do translation work (eg, French to English), proofreading and editing, or being a virtual assistant (organizing and managing someone’s business). These tasks have nothing to do with my previous career in IT but are activities I believe I would be good at doing.

Here are some of the sites that I’m looking at using: Upwork.com, PeoplePerHour.com, and Fiverr.com.

Relax by Watching Shows or Movies

I have to put this one on the list. As much as we all know we shouldn’t be binging and staring mindlessly at that big rectangular object in our living room, this is one activity that represents total downtime. It is a way to escape your surroundings and engulf yourself in another life, time, or story.

We use mostly Netflix to watch new series or movies. It is sometimes a challenge to find one you haven’t seen or one that interests you, but this is a great way to unwind and just be a couch potato for a while.

Declutter your House

Have you seen Marie Kondo’s videos? I’ve watched many of them on YouTube. She has revolutionized the world of decluttering with her proven strategy on how to sort and throw out things you no longer need. Check out her website here.

We all have areas in our house that can benefit from removing the clutter. I started some of this activity but still have a lot more I can do. It takes discipline to tackle a room, closet, or area of your house. But once you complete it, you will feel so much better!

If you can take unwanted items somewhere to give away to people, this is a great idea. Maybe you can advertise your items to sell and make some money. There are lots of Facebook groups that allow you to sell your items or even give them away.

Another idea related to decluttering is to rearrange your furniture. This gives the place a whole new look without spending money to decorate. Even if you just move various items around without moving furniture, it helps to create a change in your living space.

Subscribe to Informational Mailing Lists

If you are not already bombarded by endless emails arriving in your inbox every day, think about signing up for some new mailing lists. On the other hand, if you ARE inundated from email overload, you should think about UNSUBSCRIBING from those mailing lists you no longer want to receive.

I have found two mailing lists that are especially interesting and insightful. I get daily emails from SELF.COM and weekly emails from Health Guide and like the writing style and easy readability. They have consistent new information that I enjoy learning about.

There are so many free mailing lists out there to choose from. Pick one that interests you and motivates you to learn while limiting the I-O (Information Overload) factor.

Get Active on Social Media

I especially like this tip because I am VERY active on different social media channels. I like to post my own and also view other posts on Facebook, Instagram, and recently Tik Tok.

If you are creative and like to tell stories, the STORY feature of Facebook and Instagram is the place to be. You basically create or upload a photo or video and can add comments, cute GIFS, filters, and your personal touch. It’s quite entertaining!

The good thing about stories compared to normal posts is that they only appear for 24 hours. You can keep them in your own archives to go back and view, but no one else sees them after they expire. Even Whatsapp has a similar story feature called ‘your status’.

If you haven’t heard of Tik Tok, it’s the latest craze and not only for youngsters. Like the other social media accounts, it allows you to create and upload photos and videos. But it is much more powerful and inventive than IG and FB.

There are so many options, you could get lost initially. I’ve been following people who do short training clips on how to use Tik Tok. I love to dance and enjoy seeing all the people doing fun dances to the trending songs.

If you want to follow me on any of my social media accounts, just click on the below links!

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Tik Tok

Improve your Cooking Skills

This idea is right up my alley. I’ve been cooking so much lately! Face it, we all have to eat, right? Cooking up new recipes is fun and fills time in your day. Each time I want to find a new recipe, I just go to Google to do a search on the food I have. There are tons of Food Blogs on the internet with endless recipes.

I enjoy making videos during the preparation of my cooking and posting them to my social media stories. In my mind, this ‘recording of the event’ somehow justifies spending the time to create food that will disappear minutes after we sit down at the table. I think it also helps others get ideas on new recipes they can try.

If you want to learn more about cooking, there are endless YouTube channels and online courses as well. Check out the Skillshare site I talked about above!

Start an Exercise Program

Some people are saying we are all getting fatter by staying home so much. The refrigerator has become our companion and best friend. If we get bored, we visit the kitchen to see which foods we can talk to (just kidding on this!) and ingest to make us feel better.

I hope this is not you, but if it is, don’t feel alone! Even if some of us (like me) think that eating is the highlight of a typical day, there are things we can do to combat the end result of eating too much. Exercise!

I have always been a disciplined exerciser. I was an aerobic instructor for ten years when I was younger. I have enjoyed going to the gym and taking classes such as Spinning, Circuit Training, Pilates, and Pump.

Since I stopped working at the end of 2018, I’ve been exercising at home. It is easier and it saves money from joining a gym. I’ve found some great online resources to get free workout routines. I started doing HIIT workouts (High-Intensity Interval Training) and like the variety of moves.

If you are looking for some ideas on how to start an exercise program or to change your existing one, check out these FREE sites that I’ve used or heard about: FitnessBlender, Boho Beautiful Yoga, YMCA Workouts, and SELF Fitness.

Stay Informed up to a Limit

This point is more about NOT doing something. Of course, we all want to know the latest news about this pandemic and when life will return to normal.

But overdosing on the news is not healthy and will only make your life miserable. I do a once-a-day check on the latest news from a trustworthy source. The two sources I’m using these days are Katie Couric’s wake-up call emails and the ABC World Nightly News.

I avoid watching t.v. news and around-the-clock updates on the situation. For me, this discipline works, and I feel better about limiting my news intake.

Practice Self-Care

Last but not least, we should ALL be practicing self-care habits. What are these? Self-care activities are endless but to name a few, this could include at-home spa treatments such as facials, massages, manicures, and pedicures.

Self-care could also include regular meditation. This is one self-care habit that I really want to become more disciplined with. I’ve heard SO MANY good things about the benefits of meditating.

Years ago, I was trained on Transcendental Meditation (called TM). I loved the way it made me feel, almost like being in a state of euphoria. Unfortunately, I never got myself into a routine of doing it.

There are many phone apps you can use to help with guided meditation, such as Headspace and Calm. Most of these applications will let you try it out for free before signing up on a subscription fee basis.

I hope this list of non travel ideas to motivate you has given you reason to do things to bring joy. I’d be curious to hear about other ways YOU are staying busy and positively focused. Please leave a comment below to share with all of us.

In the meantime, stay safe, healthy, and productive!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!