Living through a pandemic in 2020 has been everything but simple. No one expected or planned to spend a quarter of the year social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces, but we’re here and we’re surviving. Although that, for many, is a win in itself, for others the pandemic has been a period of rest, reimagination of possibilities and a resurgence of energy to be reallocated to projects that continued to get pushed down growing to-do lists, hobbies we’ve always wanted to pursue or never thought we would, opportunities we couldn’t imagine and much more. 

For me working remotely was a dream come true and something I’ve desired for a long time, but I definitely hopped on the struggle bus in a few avenues during the first several weeks. I love working from home, and I am hoping that our return to the office for the day-to-day responsibilities will be limited, but the social components of my role and life are my favorite. I’m definitely looking forward to Hugs and Handshakes among other things again. 

Outside of Work Life, I too have picked up some new hobbies and added some boxes to my personal to-do list. Keep reading to learn more. 

New Hobbies 

Cooking and Baking 

Since we entered a period of social distancing in mid-March, I’ve rediscovered my love for baking. I enjoyed it often in high school and college, but because I live alone I opt for convenience and avoid frequent cooking and baking. I’ve tried several meals that are staples in my family kitchen as well as new meals, dishes and pastries such as sugar cookie decorating. I prefer baking to cooking and it makes me happy. I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit watching “cookiers” decorate the sweet treats. 

My first loaf of “scratch” banana bread didn’t turn out as I’d hoped and was too much for one person to eat alone, but I was proud of myself for trying it. I ate it for breakfast for a week, which probably wasn’t the healthiest choice, but it was convenient and satisfying. On my second try, pictured left, I think I added too much flour. As I work to master the recipe I’m enjoying every bite along the way.

Tik Tok-ing 

I’ve definitely got musical tones and dancing bones in my body and Tik Tok takes it to a new level. Although many may not see “Tik-Toking” as a hobby, it takes time and skill to create content for the platform and I’d argue much more than posting photos and captions on Instagram and even editing videos for YouTube. Most of my time on the app has been used for watching others, but I’ve had a good time learning routines and remixing a couple songs of my own. 

Online shopping 

Online Shopping was rare for me prior to the pandemic, but I’ve definitely benefited from its convenience more this year. From haircare products to baking supplies and more, the Amazon packages arriving at my door have been exciting. While I still make bi-weekly trips to the grocery store to shop my own fresh produce, I’m sure I’ll continue to shop online when the pandemic is long over. 

I didn’t want to spend too much on a cookie decorating hobby without knowing if I liked it or would stick to it so I started with this cookie kit, cooling rack and rolling pin.

Turns out I enjoy the baking more than the decorating, but I’m not quite done with it yet. More on my cookier journey to come.

Since salon visits weren’t an option, I also invested in some of the products regularly used by my stylist including a hot comb, Mizani hair cream and a ceramic dryer brush.

Although my new hobbies have likely prevented me from checking boxes on my personal to-do list, below, they have also brought me happiness and more reasons to smile. Both are something we can all use and never have too much of. 

To Do List: Clean and Organize

Digital photo albums 

From my Iphone camera roll to my thumb drives and google drive, I have plans to get them all in good shape to find photos quickly when I need them and get rid of those that I have no use for or wouldn’t want to see the light of day. 

Garage 

Although moving across the country helped me see how many unnecessary belongings I had and led me to “minimalize” my life a bit, things have still accumulated over the years. My garage is the one area of my personal spaces that doesn’t look like it belongs to me. I’ve already started getting it in order, but there’s still more work to be done. Stay tuned for “the after”.

Mail drawer

Snail mail is one of my favorites except when it comes in the form of bills and other important documents. Although I take advantage of paperless options when possible, I haven’t been able to escape envelopes in my mail drawer. As it fills I know I need to get it under control before it’s too much to handle. I listened to an episode of Lauren Conrad’s Asking For A Friend Podcast featuring the founders of The Home Edit and loved their tip to scan and shred to avoid the pile-up. I’ve been researching scanners and shredders to help with the process. 

What are your new hobbies or tasks on your to-do list? Please share any recommendations to help with my remaining tasks or new hobbies that have brought you happiness during the pandemic. I’d love to learn about it/them. 

(Virtual) Hugs & Handshakes, 

Jasmine C. Tate