How are you handling this new world of “Social Distancing”? Just a few short months ago, we were all living life as normal, and now we are being forced to cut ourselves off from just about everything and everyone we know.
This is definitely taking its toll on many of us, and we need to get a little bit creative in order to keep “distance” from turning into “disconnect.”
This historic time is difficult, but just because we can’t physically BE together at the moment, doesn’t mean we can’t COME together in other ways that will allow us to keep a distance.
11 Creative ways to Come Together While We’re Apart
As human beings, we thrive on connection. Here are 11 fun ways to keep connected to friends and family while you are apart from them.
1. Use a Video App To Interact
This is a pretty obvious idea, but worth mentioning. There are so many options to use here, but to name just a few, Marco Polo, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts are some popular ones. It makes such a difference to be able to see the faces of the ones we love and miss.
So reach out in a video call or send a fun message using a silly filter to get them laughing and engaging back with you.
2. Document Your Quarantine Experience
Create a YouTube Channel, or a blog and start documenting the things you are doing with your family, and reach out to your friends and family and ask them to do the same and you can share your experiences back and forth with each other.
3. Create Challenges With Friends
There are so many ideas you could do here. Maybe a weight-loss challenge. A book-reading challenge, or goal-setting challenge.
Get a few friends or family members together to try and set a goal together that you all work towards at the same time. If you really want to up the ante, then put some money up. If you miss the goal, then you have to pay the other members of the group. This will help keep you motivated to stay on track!
4. Start a Zoom Book Club
Is there a book you’ve been wanting to read? Well, why don’t you get together with a group of friends and start a zoom book club where you can all get together once a week to discuss the book and talk about ways to implement what you are learning. If you aren’t sure of a book to read, start with the G-code.
I suggest ordering the hard copy so you can have it physically in your hands and mark it up. You could either read the book together as a group or read it individually and then talk about it.
5. Do a Social Distance Walk With a Friend
As long as you are 3-6 feet apart, you can still get together with a friend and take a walk with them. If you have some wireless earbuds, or airpods you could even be on a phone call with them so you don’t have to yell at each other to chat while you are walking a few feet apart.
This is a good way to get some exercise in and still keep the social distance order in effect.
6. Have a Family Member Video Call and Read or Tell a Story to Your Kids
It would be awesome if a grandparent or family member could periodically call your kids and tell them stories from their life, or read them books via online video chat. If you could record these calls that would be a precious memory to have as well.
7. Play a Game of Pictionary with another Family Over Video
Find some games that you could play online with another family. The first idea that came to my mind was Pictionary.
You could video chat with another family and do a zoom call or other video platform that would allow you to go back and forth. This would be a fun activity for the whole family and would be a way to connect from a distance.
8. Do Some Service For an Elderly Neighbor or Friend
There are so many ways you could help an older neighbor or friend. Mow their lawn or pull weeds for them. Offer to run to the grocery store to pick up some things for them.
They are at much greater risk for infection, so it’s best for them to stay home as much as possible. If you can offer just a little help, you can do a lot of good.
9. Have a Virtual Dinner With A Friend Or Family Member
My son is living in another state right now, and one thing we try to do periodically is we’ll order food from the same place and set up the laptop and put it at the table so we can have him join us for dinner.
This is something you could do with another family or friend as well. Set them a place at the table and have them eat together with you and visit together, just like you would if you were sitting at the same table together.
10. Have a Virtual Talent Show
Do a zoom or video chat with some other family or friends and do a little talent show. You could have someone sing, play an instrument, show some artwork, do a comedy act, dance or anything you can think of.
11. Handwrite Some Good Old-Fashioned Letters and Thank You Cards
Tired of all the electronics? Well get out that pen and paper and go to town with some handwritten letters and cards and mail them to friends, family members and loved ones.
This is the way everyone used to connect back in the old days, so why not try it out?
There are a ton of other ideas out there, so let us know some of the ways you are staying connected in the comments. We’d love to hear from you.
