How I Stay Sane and Entertained during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Who would have thought that a pandemic would happen in our lifetime? Nobody was really prepared for it. People of different races and walks of life were all caught by surprise. More than a year has passed since COVID-19 started, but we are still reeling from it, with the end of the pandemic not yet in sight. This sad reality has invoked feelings of worry, fear, stress and anxiety, and adapting to the new normal has not exactly been easy.

Since March 2020 lockdown, all three of us (husband, son, and me) had been holed up at home, all occupied with the daily tasks we needed to do: work from home for the man of the house, remote learning for our son, and content creation for me plus household chores). And on our downtimes, we find diversions to find our balance during the pandemic.

So how did I manage to keep sane for more than a year of just staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic? I made sure I am doing things that I find enjoyment in like watching Korean dramas, singing, and playing online games.

Watching K-Dramas
The first few months of 2020 saw me spending less time outside our home and spending more time in front of the TV screen watching popular Korean dramas (K-dramas) on Netflix. I devoured one series after another, staying up until the wee hours of the morning to get the most of what I was watching. I have watched more than 100 Korean series to date and counting. Watching K-dramas has kept me pretty much entertained during the early months of the pandemic and still does up until today.

Singing
As if the pandemic was not enough, our family suffered yet another major blow with the passing away of my beloved mom a few months ago. Because of the lockdown restrictions and for everyone’s safety, we have not visited each other since 2020. No hugs, no goodbyes. My mom was gone just like that. My grief and sadness got me back into my long lost passion – singing. I downloaded a free singing app, registered, and sang my loneliness away. I have already uploaded more than 200 songs (solo and duet) in this app. I really enjoy singing solo and collaborating with other music lovers here.

Playing Online Games
Another activity that I also take delight in is playing online games. I have actually downloaded some gaming apps on my phone that I usually play on those nights I am having a difficult time sleeping or when I’m taking breaks from housework and writing tasks. Recently, I discovered a FREE gaming website that has got me hooked.

Plays.org offers more than 150 games (that’s a lot, right?), and they keep adding more even during weekends. And take note, the games are not just for kids but for adults alike. They have escape games, puzzle games, simulation games, sport games, word games, typing games, and many more. The two games that I like the most are Waffle Word Finder Game and Type Furious.

Even at a young age, I already knew the types of games that I want to play, and they are mostly word games. It comes as no surprise then that the Waffle Word Finder Game sparked my interest. It’s a word hunt game where you need to find words in any order (horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc.) for as long as the tiles/letters of the words you’re forming are in sequence. I simply can’t stop playing this game once I start it as I’m always bent on beating my previous score.

After I quit my corporate job, my typing skills have become quite rusty. I’m glad there’s Type Furious game in plays.org that will help me practice and improve my typing speed and accuracy. Can I let you in on a secret? I’ve actually learned touch typing from a similar typing game more than 10 years ago. Seeing this typing game now relives those days when I was still learning how to type properly. And the adrenaline rush as I scramble to type every word I see on the screen before they all disappear!

I know I’ll still find more games that I’ll enjoy playing at plays.org, but for now, these two games will do. Aside from the multitude of games you’ll find at plays.org, you also won’t see ads on their website and they don’t retarget users in the web. How cool is that! Likewise, most, if not all, of their games offer cross-device gameplay, too, such that you can play them on cell phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a stressful time for all of us, and we all need to find good diversions to keep our sanity intact while the threat of the virus is still very much around. Watching K-dramas, singing, and playing online games are what keep me afloat during the pandemic. What about you? How do you keep yourself sane and entertained these days?