Online Ideation for Offline Activities for Creativity and Productivity

As an example, Covid-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented public health emergency on a scale not seen for a century. Its consequences are dramatic at economic, social, and political levels, requiring a global response that prioritize lives saving. In view of the exceptional situation and to preserve life, countries had no choice but to adopt extraordinary measures. Thus, extensive lockdowns adopted to slow transmission of the virus, restrict by necessity freedom of movement and, in the process, freedom to enjoy many other daily basics.

Being confined at home can be very isolating and stressful as people are separated from family members and friends. Children are also uncomfortable with their stay at home without their regular routine and activities. While being connected is a huge part of our lives, and it is extremely hard to fill the time that is usually dominated by screens, unplugging has lasting benefits on our physical and mental health. For these reasons, it is essential to schedule a dose of screen-free activities and digital detox in our daily routine.

For instance, gardening is known for its benefits for both physical and mental health. Online platforms|(How to Start a Garden, Training Manual for Organic Farming, Mobile App: From Seeds to Spoon) may be used during lockdown time to learn gardening techniques and skills. The latter would form an antidote to the time we waste online and enhance the feeling of pride after lovingly growing something beautiful on our own little patch of the earth.

Cooking would also offer a similar sense of achievement to growing something ourselves. It does provide an excellent opportunity to enjoy some “me-time” and focus on the “here and now”, instead of getting lost on screens for long hours. Enjoy some delicious recipes from Allrecipes Website and Android App.

Yoga is one of the best mindful activities going. It allows great focus on breathing, body, and “just being”. In lockdown and emergencies, yoga is considered as stress-buster. It helps to disconnect from our “always-on” culture and focus more on our “inner-us”. We need to allow a room for our minds to be creative, ponder, and feel comfortable, away from screens stimulations. Why not start your day with one of those great Yoga YouTube Classes.

Fitness is an essential fuel to our body and mind during the lockdown period. It builds and strengthens our bodies. Staying active is known to reduce the risk of depression and help clear the mind away from screens. Fitness blender, is one of the greatest YouTube workout collection that you can refer to, The great thing about it is that it’s free and No equipment required, so it can be done at home

While youth and children might want more interesting activities, they can engage in board games. These games form a simple way to get quality, screen-free time with the kids. Board games, such as Chess, Monopoly, Scrabble, Risk, and many others, also provide a tool for emotional connection to each other. It does benefit their brains, boosts their language, develops their critical, analytical, and strategical thinking, and teaches them little life lessons.

For children, learning artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics (scratch, Lego, Arduino, Appinventor are some nice tools to start with) would make it to explore new horizons. It helps them develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while going into more “doing” than just “learning” the theory. It also enhances their problem solving and teamwork skills through collective brainstorming to come up with the best solutions while applying math and science concepts in a creative way. In addition, it ignites their curiosity and makes learning fun. Thus, parents are encouraged to engage with their children in playing board games more often during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Finger painting is also a favorable activity for children to express themselves. Let your children express their creative side with this messy but fun way to paint. Put down a plastic sheet or newspapers and let them get stuck in. Sharing their special peace of arts with friends and family members, through WhatsApp, Facebook, or even Pinterest, will give them courage and a sense of challenge to ideate and draw better.

Reading stories to each other is also great fun. Try to use different voices for each character, to really make the tale come alive. Book Smart is a mobile app with a library full of free multi-language and multi-age stories and reading topics, also it’s good to enrich your knowledge with additional cyber safety information by looking into our comic series available on safespace website.

Last but not least, it is essential to keep connected with family members and friends on a daily basis, especially that many of us are missing our parents, grandparents, and family members during the lockdown. Even a quick call using your favorite teleconferencing tool (Skype, Zoom, Hangout, Facetime, WhatsApp) is sure to keep children and parents happy. Indeed, a virtual hug from mama or grandma is better than no hug at all.

By now, you have in hand many activities, which you can give a try with your family members, and benefit from being under lockdown with limited access to the external world, to tighten your bonding’s and explore your hidden personalities and different way of thinking, while at the same time staying safe and fighting the spread of COVID-19 or any crises.