Things To Do During MCO
MCO or movement control order has been implemented to curb the spread of the pandemic in Malaysia. This has changed the lives of many as we are restricted from going out of our home.
That means the only things to do during MCO is going to be all indoors.
Here’s some things to do during MCO:
1. Pickup a musical instrument
Christmas is like a few months away. It is time to pick up new musical skills that you can perform by the end of the year.
Ukulele is one small musical instrument to try. It is also one of the easiest musical instrument to learn.
It’s lightweight and works like the little brother of a guitar with lesser cords. It’s convenient to bring it anywhere.
You can bring it during camping or trips as well when we can travel again. It will work wonderfully in hiking up the mood.
Going productive is one of the aspects that you can look at when deciding on the things to do during MCO. Don’t be shy to pick up something new!
2. Finish reading your book
If you have tons of books bought during sales in Big Bad Wolf, time to clear off the book one at a time. It’s also totally fine to buy the book that you’ve been eyeing on for a while and have it delivered to you.
I have finished House of Koi by Lilian Li recently and now going on with Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson. I’m also reading several e-books on productivity as well.
Keep them in mint condition. Wear gloves and maybe hold your breath when you’re reading them. You get the point.
Books have value. Once you’re done reading them, you can resell them online!
3. Do your own photoshoot
Sky’s the limit when it comes to creativity. Home is the best place to create your budget photo studio.
You can use simple props such as string lights, lemons, ramen cup noodles or even face masks just like how I did it. You can just work with what you have in the house without spending extra for it.
Editing doesn’t have to be technical as well. There are a lot of user-friendly apps such as PicsArt and Lightroom that make it super easy to edit your photos.
Take the opportunity to pick a new app skills. Photo editing can be a fruitful thing to do during MCO.
So, start taking some awesome shots to fill up your Instagram. While you’re at it, follow my account @valerie.seow
4. Learn to cook a dish
Don’t starve yourself. Learning how to cook a simple meal may be one of the most practical things to do during MCO.
Cooking may not be your thing. It certainly ain’t mine! But, there’s no harm in learning just one recipe. It can be as simple as a pasta dish with canned mushroom sauce.
Besides, ordering food from outside can be quite a bore. One downside is that the salad costs a bomb and the other dishes just come with 1 or 2 pieces of veggie. That’s sad.
Vegetables are important in our diet. Our intestines love it and we need to feed them more of it. I often find that it’s necessary to cook some vegie on the side to top up my ordered meal.
5. Create a mood board
Have a blank piece of wall in the living room? Put up some inspirational images or photos. It can be from your travels or just some of the best outing photos to jog the happy memories in your mind.
It’s cool to put up what you want to visualize in life as well. Be it going to the beach in Maldives or diving in the clear reefs of the ocean somewhere or even getting a goat pet.
A well decorated wall boosts your mood as well. So, get started. It’ll have you something nice to look at other than a work laptop.
Next on gorgeous things to do during MCO, it’s something that I’m working on at the moment!
6. Make a bucket list
We may be restrained from traveling at the moment but that doesn’t mean we can’t plan ahead. Make a list of things to do, places to go and food to eat.
When it’s permissible to travel again, then check the list one at a time. It’s good to have something to look forward to!
7. Start keeping indoor plants
One of the essential things to do during MCO is to make our work area as comfy as possible.
It is proven that keeping houseplants improve your mood. It also comes with other benefits like giving you better air quality and boosting productivity.
There are a lot of indoor house plants that don’t require direct sunlight. Plants such as Devil’s Ivy and snake plants are cool for beginners.
You just need to water them like once a week. Plants like Devil’s Ivy thrive in water alone. So, you don’t have to get your hands dirty with the soil.
It’s getting more important to create a conducive environment to keep on top of the game. This is true especially when most of us are working from home.
It can be tiring as working from home usually will take up more of our time. Our co-workers don’t exactly stop to drive back home now. So, the emails and WhatsApp messages just keep coming.
Keeping house plants is one of the great ways to keep your workspace happy. You can invest in a more ergonomic chair as well!
8. Do nail art
Beauty services are out of reach at the moment but hey, don’t let that stop you from having pretty nails. Tapping your ASMR keyboard will certainly look better with fresh nail designs!
Nail art is one of my indulgence. It makes me feel good. So, it may be for you as well!
Start with some simple designs. There’s a lot of inspirations that you can find online. So, start looking!
9. Start a journal if you haven’t already
Journaling is proven to help to cope with certain problems and improve the mood. You can just write about anything at all.
Just let the inner thoughts out and let it flow onto your writing. You can type it out as well. There’s no rule saying that you have to journal it on a paper.
Audio journaling is also a thing. It’s basically talking to the voice recorder in your phone. After that, you can transcribe them into words or just let it be.
Be sure to rename the audio files with date and title that reflects the content. You may even start imagining that you yourself is a survivor in a post apocalyptic world and start making audio stories.
10. Buy gifts for someone
Know someone is having a hard time? Cheer them up with unexpected gifts delivered right to their doorstep.
Making someone happy helps us feel good too! There is an infinite amount of online stores booming during this lockdown.
Although we can’t go and visit our friends or relatives, the delivery service still works. So, get them something nice. A heartfelt gift will certainly make their day!
11. Learn to Draw or Paint
Back in my school days, they taught us to use watercolor. It’s a bugger because at most I can do is with color pencils.
But, technology has come far. Now, we can sketch on tablets!
With the festive season coming around the corner, it’s time to make some simple art as an e-card for loved ones. These are quite shareable on WhatsApp especially in those family groups.
I personally have an Ipad and I’m using Procreate as well to do my own art. There’s numerous tutorials online on platforms like Youtube that I will go to learn the software itself.
I’m not exactly good yet but practice makes perfect!
12. Start working out indoors
Without access to outdoor activities, indoors is the only way. It doesn’t have to be a bore! Exercising is one of the essential things to do during MCO to keep us fit and healthy.
You can do all sorts of training such as HIIT or Tabata that get you in shape with a small fraction of your time in a day.
Youtube is your friend. There’s a lot of useful videos that can show you some exercise routines to pick up.
Dancing is cool too! It’ll be totally awesome if you have a huge mirror as well. Just pump up the music and unleash the beast within!
Don’t forget that cleaning up such as mopping the floor is also a form of workout. It is even more important to keep our home clean and sanitized now than ever.
13. Listen to new music genre
One of the nice things to do during MCO is to explore new music. Lo-fi is a new trend that most people start picking up especially when they’re looking for something to listen to while working from home.
There’s also genres like epic instrumental that basically makes you feel like you’re riding a dragon! There’s music for everything that you may be doing, be it cooking or gardening.
So, explore!
I personally use Spotify and make my own productive music list. It’s quite fun collecting music that truly suits you.
I bring music wherever I go now. When I’m working in the room, I’ll have my own list of music. When I’m winding down before bed, I have a playlist for that too.
And yes, I even have one when I am showering in the toilet!
14. Have a movie night together with loved ones
This is one of the best things to do during MCO. You don’t have to be in the same house to watch movies together. You can do it with the people you want even if they’re far away.
There’s applications like Zoom or Google Meet that will help.
One of the ways that I use it is with Google Meet. So, basically everyone joins into the virtual meeting room. Then, the one with the movie account will share their screen.
In my case, I have to max out the volume so all my attendees are able to listen to the movie audio clearly. Then, I leave my wired earphone hanging outside my ear.
I can’t exactly plug it into my ear and listen. It’s too loud. So, this is my workaround. Let me know in the comments if you know other ways!
Some nice movies that I would recommend are Luca, Vivo and Sweet Tooth. What movie is in your list? Tell me in the comments!
15. Start a blog
Share your interest with people online! You can blog about your new found interest or anything at all.
A blog is a good way to connect with like-minded people or people who share the same interest. Just as you do your research on what to blog about, you may accidentally discover other bloggers.
Don’t be shy and connect with these people that share the same passion as you are. Build a network of blogging friends online and support each other.
I started this blog during lockdown time. It was fulfilling for me. I started to look back at the photos in my phone from some time ago and blog about it.
It’s also a wonderful way to share little things that I’ve done, places I’ve been and even my skin care routine!
Setting up a website can be fun as well. You have to define a style such as the color theme and logo for it.
Let me know in the comments if you need some guidance on how to start a blog from yours truly! I may create a new post just for that!
16. Try drinking tea That you’ve never tried before
Working from home isn’t just about facing the PC and attending Zoom meetings. You gotta keep yourself well taken care of either with a cup of tea or coffee right?
Take the opportunity to try out some new tea! Okay, it doesn’t have to be tea. You can try out other types of beverages as well that don’t hamper your work performance of course.
Strongly fragrant tea isn’t my thing. It gives me a headache. So, I’m just good with green tea all these while. That is until peach tea was turned into a hype and fell into my radar.
17. Dress up your pet
This is one of the coolest things to do during MCO. Now that you’re home more often than ever, your pets are probably thrilled. They get to have every ounce of attention that you can give.
Play with them more. Dress them up! Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost much either!
I dress up my pomeranian with fabric packaging from the things we bought such as brown rice and dumplings. Check out how gorgeous she is!
Conclusion
These are just some of the ideas that I have on things to do during MCO. Hope it inspires you to pick up something new.
There’s some ideas like picking up a new language, doing some DIY crafts or attending online lessons to up-skill ourselves. These are very productive efforts.
Do remember to include some leisure activities into our lives as well. Being home most of the time can be stressful. So, let’s fill it up with some relaxing things that keep us off the edge.
Have some walk around the house and don’t sit all the time. Keep a good sitting posture while working. Get a back pillow if you have to. Take care and stay safe!
Valerie, Lifestyle Blogger
Valerie is a Malaysia blogger living in the city of KL. Join her as she shares some of her personal interests, activities and styles in this blog!
Follow her @valerie.seow on Instagram.
