I created the concept of Vibrant Badass to add adventure into my everyday life and to help others do the same. This came my love of creating lists with goals/dreams/things to do/random fun and making personal challenges. I started the Instagram account to hold myself accountable to the lists and challenges I was making for myself. These were mostly monthly challenges. Sometimes there is a theme for the month and sometimes it is just a list of random things I am wanting to do. One year I did a full year challenge with 365 items.

In the pandemic, Vibrant Badass felt different. It was hard to plan anything let alone think of the luxury of adventure when times were so crazy. In an attempt to most of the *unprecedented* times while staying close to home, I made a series of challenges. This blog contains a list of fun adventures as well as boring adulting things you can get out of the way while stay at and close to home.

Before COVID hit, I felt busy a lot of the time and wanted to be able to slow down. One big positive of the pandemic was the chance to do that. Without a busy schedule, I can relax and let myself calm down. It is definitely weird because there is the overarching anxiety of what the future looks like but I try not to get overwhelmed. I allow myself days to not do anything and just chill. On the flip side, I have tried to use this time to do things that I normally would have said I was too busy to do. Thus, the creation of Vibrant Badass At Home.

There are seven different themes comprising over 100 things to do. These themes include self, explore, organization, money, social, food + drinks, and miscellaneous. Read through the list, pick which ones want to do, and ignore the ones that don’t speak to you.

This series is meant to inspire growth and spark ideas for other fun things you want to do in your life. I’m excited to see what you think! You have the power within yourself to make every day a little more vibrant and a little more badass.

Food + Drink

Eating and drinking are my two favorite hobbies. Although my taste might not be the same as yours, use this list as inspiration to go towards the things you love the most. 

Make pizza at home. There is so much you can do with this. For the dough you could get a dough ball from the grocery store bakery, or a pre-made crust like Boboli. If you are feeling really adventurous, you could do make dough from scratch. After you figure out the base, add the sauces, cheeses and toppings that you want. These are some of my favorites –

• Sauces: marinara, alfredo, cream cheese, ranch, and pesto
• Cheeses: mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, parmesan, and gorgonzola 
• Toppings: pepperoni, bacon, sausage, steak, chicken, mushrooms, peppers, red onions, banana peppers, jalapeños, and tomatoes

Learn to make your favorite cocktail. You can master a French 75, Manhattan, a mojito, or the best Bloody Mary. Check out google or youtube to find the recipe or tutorials on what to do.

Learn to make the perfect margarita. My favorite recipe is the bartaco margarita recipe. You mix 1.5 oz. of libelula tequila, 1.5 oz. of lime juice, 1 oz. of combier, and .25 oz. of agave simple syrup.  

Cook a fun brunch recipe. Some ideas include eggs benedict, chicken and waffles, breakfast sandwiches, frittata, or interesting toast. Eggs benny is my favorite dish to get when I go out for brunch! Poached eggs and hollandaise are def tricky to make at home but so satisfying when they turn out well.

Order delivery food from a local restaurant. Support small businesses that are trying to stay afloat in these crazy times. You can pickup from a lot of places or there are delivery options like EatStreet and GrubHub to get the food straight to your doorstep.

Celebrate Taco Tuesday. Corn tortillas or flour tortillas. Any proteins and toppings you want! Don’t forget the hot sauce. You can go with the classic ground beef, hard shells, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. Or you could make some street taco style carnitas tacos with onions and cilantro. Throw some eggs and potatoes in for breakfast tacos. Try to imitate bartaco’s famous pork belly taco. Last suggestion is shrimp tacos with mango salsa.

Find a recipe on Pinterest to attempt. Go outside of your comfort zone to cook something you have never eaten before. It will be a fun experience even if it doesn’t turn out well. 

Drink wine from a country you want to visit. Imagine walking under the Tuscan sun while drinking a nice super Tuscan or smelling the lavender in the air while drinking a rosé from Provence or looking out into mountains of Argentina while drinking some Malbec. In April of 202, we were supposed to go on a trip to Spain, France and Italy. Since our trip was cancelled we drank wine from those countries from the comfort of our apartment.

Download the Tasty app and make some of the recipes. These dishes are pretty beginner friendly and have instructional videos. One that I tried that was really good was for queso lava cakes. It was very cheese heavy even for me but super fun to make. Brian made the chicken and waffle nachos for us which was really fun!

Follow interesting food and drink related accounts on social media. Get some inspiration for foods you would like to cook. Look up dishes you like on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest and save the recipes you want to try. I love scrolling Pinterest searching for healthy or easy recipes using the machines I have at home. Which brings me to the next tip.

Use some of the cooking tools you have in your house. If you have an air fryer, sous vide, InstantPot, grill, or Kitchenaid, bust it out and make something fun. Pick the type of food you want to cook and find a recipe online. I am not very good at cooking at all but there are so many recipes on the internet that are easy to execute and taste impressively amazing. Some good starter foods are meatloaf, lasagna, chili, chicken wings, ribs, and nachos. Brian found the idea for the queso pictured below on a TikTok account.

Try a food you have never tried before. It can be a new food item or new type of cuisine. Get a vegetable you have never had at the grocery store and figure out how to cook it or find a dish that highlights that specific veggie. If you are feeling really adventurous, you could look up a random country and make their signature dish. 

Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. The rule of thumb I have heard is half your body weight in ounces. If not that, at least shoot for 8 glasses/64 ounces. If drinking water is hard for you, try infusing some fruit into it to make the flavor more interesting.

Learn how to properly use a wine tool. My restaurant industry friends will laugh at this one. It is a good skill to have, especially if you are in a situation where most of the other people struggle with the opener part but love the wine part of things. You will look impressive.

Pick your top 5 favorite foods. Eat them. This is a good list to have handy as an icebreaker when you meet new people. People love to bond over shared tastes. Mine are nachos, tacos, pizza, steak and oysters. I had this on my bumble profile when Brian and I matched and the rest is history. I didn’t know he worked at bartaco but he knew his taco game would impress me. Whenever I make a custom Vibrant Badass list for anyone I always have “eat your favorite food” as one of the challenges because it makes people happy!

What other food + drink related items would you add to you list? Six more categories to go.

Self

Here you will find goals that are based on reflection and growth that are all related to you. One of the biggest lessons that we all learned in the pandemic was the importance of taking care of yourself. You are the only person you will always have to be with for the rest of your life. I love self improvement so am really stoked about this list. Please reach out if you want a customized Vibrant Badass list! I love making them specifically for someone! Here is a generic one for everyone.

Read a self-help book. Pick a topic that connects with you. There are general books in this genre as well as books targeted towards specific personal areas like fear of failure, anxiety, disorganization and self-esteem.

Some favorites of mine:

• You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
• Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
• The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Eat Cake, Be Brave by Melissa Radke
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Write a list of 100 gratitudes. This helps your brain to focus on the awesome things in your life. It is impossible to focus on the negative and the positive at the same time. As much as possible, it is great to try to go with the positive. The list can go from intensely specific to vaguely general things in your life. Start with the people you love, the objects in your house that bring you joy, and daily moments that make you smile. 

Do something relaxing. In our pretty high stress society, it is very beneficial to do the things that bring some zen into your life. My favorite way to do this is taking a candlelit bubble bath while reading a good book with a glass of wine and cheese board. You could also do a face mask, curl up on the couch with a good book, cuddle with your pet, or something random like watching soap cutting videos on Youtube. 

Watch an inspiring TED talk. TED talks are awesome to hear from experts in their fields and you can find them based on you interests. If you want to get inspired for a few hours I have made a playlist with some of my faves on youtube that you can find here. You can also just search “Ted talk + something you find interesting” and find a ton of options. Go down the rabbit hole and expand your mind.

Write out a list of your best accomplishments to date. Think about past successes that made you proud. It’s a great list to come back to whenever you have a bad day or get nervous about the future. We tend to minimize things as they get farther into the past. Don’t forget about all the awesome things you have done that brought you to your present self.

Make a list of goals for the future. Write out a list of things you hope to accomplish in the future – like a bucket list. Include places you want to go, goals you want to achieve, and aspirations around what you want to legacy to include. These can be big crazy things or more realistic accomplishments you want to have under your belt. Be as specific or general as you want. I did one last year and it was a really fun exercise to get it all in writing! As you get older, you will cross things off, delete goals that no longer matter to you, and add more items to your list.

Buy yourself a present. This could be a new outfit from your favorite company, a bouquet of flowers, a book you have been wanting to read or just something fun and random on Amazon. You deserve to treat yourself every once in a while.

Spend a whole day in your pajamas. If you didn’t do this in the past two years then I am slightly disappointed. Get cozy and have a lazy day. Don’t let yourself feel guilty for not being productive. Just soak up the time spent feeling comfy and relaxed.

Try a new workout program. There are so many resources online for any kind of workout you can imagine. You can start with Youtube to dip your toes into the water. Once you figure out what you like best, there are lots of apps or programs that you can join. I love to hate HIIT workouts that get the heart rate up but are pretty quick workouts. Yoga is great for flexibility and relaxation. Variety is great to mix things up instead of getting stuck in a workout rut. In quarantine, I started with a six week trial period of Chris Hemsworth’s workout app Centr and then signed on for a full year. I did 2 six week workout programs back to back which is the most consistently I have worked out in my adult life. My clothes in quarantine have basically just been pajamas and workout clothes. Later into Covid, when gyms opened back up I joined Burn Boot Camp in my neighborhood in Madison. After moving to Raleigh, I transferred my membership to North Raleigh.

Get creative. Print out some pictures and cut up some magazines to make a vision board. Draw, paint, or color a coloring book. Check out Pinterest for art project inspiration. Re-do or paint a piece of furniture in your house. Think back to when you were young and what kind of creative activities you enjoyed. Everyone has creativity inside of them but some people have shut it down for so long that they can’t find it easily. Learn how to get back in tune with that side of yourself by trying some random activities outside of your comfort zone. 

Make a nostalgic playlist. Music is such a huge thing in our lives. Listening to a song can take you back to a certain time in your life and bring back so many memories. Add in songs from high school, songs you love to scream on road trips, songs from the best concerts you ever attended, and songs that remind you of good times with friends. 

Make an empowerment playlist. These are songs that always make you feel better no matter the outside situation. Add songs that are anthem’s for living your best life and songs that make you smile when you hear them. Play the playlist in the car while loudly singing along or in your living room to have a dance party.

Watch your favorite movie. Movies help you escape reality for a couple of hours and just relax. Unplug from your phone and laptop, pop some popcorn and pretend like you are in a movie theater. 

Buy a new notebook. Find a cute inspiring cover and write down your thoughts. You can set a timer and just write down everything that comes to mind. There is something therapeutic about getting all the random things in your brain on paper. Things can seem much bigger and intense while bouncing around in that beautiful brain of yours. The act of physically writing all of it down can help put things into perspective. A lot of times when I can’t sleep, I will make a list of all the things making me feel stressed so that my mind will calm down.

Feel all of your feelings. We spend a lot of time in our lives avoiding and numbing our feelings but they all serve a purpose. You can never really feel the positive emotions unless you have the uncomfortable ones to contrast. Life is crazy right now for everyone. There is a lot going on that we have never had to deal with before which is hard. Cry if you want. It’s okay to feel stressed or overwhelmed. It’s also okay to feel hopeful and happy. You can even feel all of those things within one day or even one hour. But you have to feel them or all the feelings will bottle up and eventually explode.

What are your favorite ways to connect with yourself? Let me know some of the things on your gratitude list, your favorite movies and what you do to relax!

This is end of the second section of the Vibrant Badass At Home . Five more topics to go!

Explore

Here you will find goals related to expanding your horizons while staying close to home. 

Go on a walk around your neighborhood. See parts of your town that you have never seen before. Leave the house with no destination in mind or play the coin game where you flip at intersections to decide if you want to go left or right. 

Find a park near you. Whether you have been where you live for a long time or have moved recently, there are always fun hidden gems around you that you can find. Go down a street you have never seen before or look up a cool lake/river/beach if those are near you. 

Watch the sunrise. Find a great spot, set a blanket and relax while seeing the sun come up in the morning. Bring your morning coffee with you and just be. 

Watch the sunset. Same steps as the sunrise but facing west this time and maybe a glass of wine instead of coffee. 

Book a trip for the future. Set some Google flight alerts for cities you want to visit and then book it when it is at a good rate. Think of fun weekend trips you want to take and places you have never been. Daydream about traveling again.

Take an online class. Think of something in which you are interested or want to know more about and find a class related to it. Start with the millions of videos on Youtube. There are tons of resources available from colleges and specialized companies. Masterclass is a fun way to jump into a lot of different subjects at once like business, fashion, cooking, writing and sports. 

Play on Google Earth. Look at places all over the world that you hope to visit one day in the future. Check out some beaches in the Caribbean, waterfalls in Iceland and fjords in Norway. 

Try meditating. Sit still and connect with your breath. You can use an app or listen to something from Youtube. Let your thoughts slow down and just be. 

Visit a museum virtually. Google Arts and Culture allows you to see art from all over the world with 360 views, videos and photos. There is so much to see that you could go down rabbit holes for hours. Learn what your favorite art style is by looking at different eras in art history. 

Learn more about your city and state. Research the history of how it started and major events that happened there. Look up your local politicians and where they stand on causes that you support. Find out what exists in your area that is unique. Share your newfound knowledge with friends that will appreciate the fun facts. 

Support small businesses. Bonus points if it is local to you. Shop online from boutiques with fun products. Find a local maker and commission a piece from them. Every time you shop small, you are supporting a dream. If you have a friend trying to start a side hustle, be one of their first customers! If there is a Farmer’s Market by you, shop from local vendors to get some of your food.

Watch a new movie from every decade. Start with the 1950’s or 1960’s and move to more modern times. There are hidden gems to be found in our film history. You can look up the top movies from the decade or just go in blind and pick randomly. Ask for suggestions from your parents or older friends on movies that they loved growing up. 

Read an inspiring person’s memoir. Think about people who are doing things that you are passionate about and read their stories. Take lessons from their past on what you can add into your future. 

Look at the stars. Remember that there is so much out there. Everything in your life is small in the scheme of the universe, in a good way. 

Look through old pictures. You can look on your phone or social media or in that old box of printed ones you have in your closet. Relive memories from the past and be thankful for those people and moments.

Watch a virtual concert. Some bands are getting innovative with new content and doing virtual shows since they can’t tour. If your fave bands aren’t doing that you can watch old concert videos on YouTube.

Pick your favorite color. Go to the Pantone website and pick from the hundreds of options. Buy something in that color.

Watch a youtube tutorial. Pick a topic you want to understand and learn something new.

What are other things you do to explore the world around you?

This is the end of the third section of the Vibrant Badass At Home. Four more topics coming up. Cheers.

Money

Money is an ongoing issue that you will have to deal with in life. There will always be unexpected expenses, things you want to splurge on and more money to be made in the future. I definitely don’t have it all figured out but here is a list of small steps you can take towards feeling more financially comfortable.

Write down the balances for all of your bank accounts and debts in one place. Look at everything you have and owe all together. This can be overwhelming but it is a great reference tool. You can use an app like Mint to track this if you prefer digital to old school pen and paper.

Set a monthly budget. One school of thought is the 50/30/20 ratio of spending. It is 50% towards needs, 30% towards wants and 20% towards savings. Try your best to stick to the budget. Check in throughout the month to make sure you are staying on track.

Track everything you spend. Do whatever works best for you for this. It could be an excel spreadsheet, a note on your phone, an app or writing it all down in a physical notebook. You will be surprised how much it adds up to when you aren’t paying attention to your spending.

Plan for big expenses within the next three to five years. Think about goals that will require planning ahead like buying a car or a house, planning a wedding, going on a sabbatical, moving to a new place or starting a company that will require capital. 

Make a $1000 emergency fund. This is for the random things that life throws at you like needing new tires, medical bills, dropping your phone in water or replacing a broken appliance.

Make a larger emergency savings fund that is 3-6 months worth of living expenses. This can seem overwhelming if you are just starting out with savings but this is a good goal in case something happens that causes you to lose your income. Like, I don’t know, a pandemic.

Go through your subscriptions and cancel any unwanted ones. There may be some services you are paying for that you no longer use. You might have forgotten about a free trial that you never cancelled.

Start an extra savings account outside of your bank for special occasions. One of my favorites is Qapital. I have goals set for different places that I want to visit as well as some random other goals. You can set rules for money to flow into this account like a specific amount each week or the 52 week rule that starts with $1 the first week then $2 the second week and keeps going for a year.

Invest in some stocks. Some companies require a large initial investment but there are some services where you can “micro” invest in smaller increments. I like Stash because you can automate savings and pick causes that you want to support. You can invest in specific companies and well as mixes that Stash puts together with varying risk levels. 

Invest in your retirement fund. If your company offers a 401k matching plan, make sure you are utilizing that option. Otherwise, start a Roth IRA and contribute to it monthly. If possible, try to max out your contribution each year which is $5,500. Make your contribution automatic like other bills you have to pay so you keep it a priority.

Refinance loans you have or transfer high interest credit card balances to a balance interest card/personal loan. Hopefully if you have credit cards, you pay them off every month. Sometimes life happens and the credit cards get a little out of control. Credit card debt does not feel good if you are paying the normal rate of 18-25% interest. If you do feel like you are drowning or just want to pay off the debt quicker, balance transfer cards can give you time to pay it down with low or no interest for a specific amount of time. I’ll say it again though, if you do get credit cards, try your absolute best to pay the balances down every month. Don’t let the credit limit increase your spending over your income.

Look for habits you could cut out of your lifestyle. Think about things you can cut out of your habits like coffee, junk food, fast food, etc. At the beginning of quarantine, we were ordering delivery food often and although we still do like Domino’s every couple weeks, we try to cook more than we order out. Think about your spending habits and where you can slim a bit. Put that extra money in one of your fun savings accounts. 

Hit pause on an impulse purchase. Sleep on it for a few days and assess if you still want it before completing your purchase. I have been on my phone and computer so much more in quarantine and am constantly being targeted to buy things. I definitely have fallen into the marketing that was directed right at me but have tried to stop from buying straight away. Instead, I’ll save the items or put it in the cart and then if I still care about it in a few days, I will buy it. Most of the time I forget because I didn’t actually need it.

Set a shopping ban for yourself. Pick a specific window of time and make a personal promise to not buy anything unnecessary. If you can’t trust yourself, engage a friend to hold you accountable. Text them anytime you want to buy something to ask for permission. This will help you see how much you buy that you don’t really need. 

Donate money to a good cause. Support a charity you love or give to someone in need. The universe has your back and will see your good deed. It also feels good to help people.

What are other ways you manage your financial health? I really want to get to the point where I don’t stress about money but I know it will take time and budgeting and saving to get to that point. Cheers!

This concludes the fourth section of the Vibrant Badass At Home! We are over half way through the series. Three more days to go! Cheers y’all.

Organization

Here are some challenges related to reining in the chaos in your physical, virtual and mental spaces. 

Go through your clothes and get rid of anything that you no longer like or that does not fit. After you have completed this, your closet will only have inspiring clothes and it will be much easier to pick your outfits. Many people will save clothes that they have outgrown in the hope of losing weight and fitting back into them. I have found that this is usually more discouraging than the intended goal. Instead, I have told myself that if my weight changes again, I can get new clothes instead of going back to the old ones. My style will have probably changed by then anyways. It feels really nice to have your closet full of clothing that you like wearing.

Clean out your email inbox. While you do this, unsubscribe from lists that you no longer want to be on and companies you do not care about anymore. Your opinion and priorities change and that is okay. It will feel amazing to get that inbox number down to zero. Most emails can probably deleted but for everything else you can organize into folders so you can find them easily later. 

Clean out your social media accounts. Unfollow accounts that affect you negatively or people with whom you have lost touch. You can stop following old friends that you have not talked to in years. If someone’s posts generally annoy you, unfriend them. They most likely won’t notice or be offended if they do happen to notice. 

Organize your junk closet and junk drawers. There are probably some things in those places that you haven’t seen in years. Rule to go by – if you have not used it in a long time and forgot about it, you can get rid of it. Examples include charging cords for electronics you no longer use, art supplies from old projects, or extra pieces from furniture you put together.

Get rid of anything that is broken around the house. You say you will fix it, but if it has been sitting for more than a week (or if I’m being generous, a month), it should leave your space. 

Look through your cabinets and get rid of anything you forgot was in there or haven’t used in a while. The sneaky ones are under the sinks in the bathroom and kitchen as well as the pantry and spice cabinets. 

Clear off your countertops. Find a better place for everything that is sitting around. The clear space will help build a sense of calm in your home. Also make a dedicated spot for your keys so you don’t set them down randomly and have to search around for them the next time you leave your house.

Look through your books and donate any of them that you do not want to read in the future. If you have already read it, it has served its purpose. If not, it’s okay to acknowledge that you don’t really want to read it. Find some Free Little Libraries in your neighborhood and stock them up. 

Delete unused apps on your phone. Free up space for the apps you use and love. Organize the remaining apps in a way that make sense for you. 

Delete old numbers on your phone. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable calling someone up or texting them randomly, then you probably do not still need their number. There’s always LinkedIn or Facebook if you need to reconnect in the future. 

Clear up piles of paper. Mail and magazines are sneaky little clutter bombs. If you have let them pile up, go through the pile and recycle everything that you no longer need. 

Organize your shelves to be aesthetically pleasing. This could be your bookshelf, bar cart, or closet shelves. Put them in whatever order works best for you. Color coordinated bookshelves are trendy and pretty. You could also organize your hanging clothes in color order. 

Power Hour. This is one of my favorite concepts that I learned from Gretchen Rubin. It is the idea of doing all the small annoying tasks all at once. You set a timer for an hour (or however long you have) and power through the list. You feel amazingly productive. You also do it much faster because you are not distracted and there is a timer running that you are trying to beat.

Get rid of things that don’t spark joy. If you really want to dive deep you can read Marie Kondo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and do everything she says in the book. A baby step to take would be to go around your space and see if there is anything that stresses you out or no longer serves a purpose.

Clean as you go. This is a lesson that Brian is constantly teaching me as I learn more about cooking. It is much easier and less stressful to have most of the dishes by the time you are eating your meal than to have a full sink. Do your best to keep the dishwasher loaded after it is run so you can easily toss dirty dishes in it as they get dirty.

Quick pickup. Don’t put off quick tasks that are inconvenient. Walk to the closet and hang up your coat when you get home instead of throwing it on a chair. Put recycling in the recycling bin instead of giving it a temporary home on the counter. Put items back into their place after using them.

What other tasks that you do to keep your living space organized and tidy? I’m definitely not perfect at it and it is a constant goal to keep things clean after I organize them in the first place. I do love the feeling of having an organized space with everything in its place. Two more topics to go!

Social

These goals are all about staying connected with people around you.

Send 5 cards in the mail. Everyone loves snail mail. Becoming pen pals is also a cheaper way to get more mail in your mailbox than excessively online shopping. You can buy some fun cards or just send old school letters on regular paper.

Send someone a surprise present. If you find something that you know your friend will like, go ahead and send it to them instead of waiting for their birthday or Christmas. Random presents that you send just because are the best. 

Plan a virtual happy hour. See your friends on your phone or computer screen and talk about life like you normally would in person. Even though there are usually specials on drinks during happy hour times, it is still generally cheaper to drink at home. You save money but still get to hang with friends!

FaceTime someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Or just FaceTime your closest friends that you can’t see right now. Technology is such a blessing. Remember when you had to pay a lot of money for long distance calls? No more. We can see our loved ones’ faces on a screen for free. You can see them smile and laugh. 

Play some virtual games. Jackbox is a great one for this! You can share a screen on google hangouts and watch on your laptop then you play the game on your phones. You can play this with friends in the same room as well as streaming with friends in another place (the socially distant way). You can also play Facebook game like Words With Friends or Golf Battle. 

Join a Facebook group. Find something interesting and connect with other people who have that thing in common. You can search for things you like and find so many options of groups. I was in a few wedding planning groups as well as the Centr app fitness community. After moving to Raleigh, I joined some groups to meet new people.  

Do a social fitness challenge. You could do a workout program or a specific exercise challenge like squats, planks or pushups. Team up with a friend or group of friends and hold each other accountable. Text your friends everyday when you finish the activity. 

Celebrate a virtual birthday. Call/text/FaceTime your friends on their birthday. Let them know they are loved and that you are glad they are alive. It’s definitely a weird time for birthdays when we can’t throw parties like we normally would. Go out of your way to help your friends feel special.

Read a book with a friend. Pick a book and then schedule a Facetime date to chat about it.

Print out a picture book. There are a lot of website options for this. Pick one and throw in a lot of pictures with fun memories. Go through your phone and social media to choose pictures from really fun times in the past that you want to remember.

Support a friend’s passion. You probably have a handful or more of friends who are launching or growing side hustles to make extra money or are trying to make up for the money they aren’t making since Covid hit. Some of your friends are selling homemade goods or band merch that they would normally be selling on tour. My friend has started cross-stitching more in quarantine and has started to sell some of her work. I also bought sweatpants and a sweatshirt from my friend’s band Freethrow. I got that outfit in June and am sad I didn’t have the comfy clothes back in March!

Go golfing or frisbee golfing. These are great outdoor hobbies. You can play both games by yourself or with friends. Brian hadn’t played frisbee golf in years but he picked it back up and has been having so much fun. He gets lots of steps in and vitamin D. I also learned how to golf earlier this year and played with Brian for the first time on his birthday in May. We have played a handful of times and have had a blast. I’m definitely still a beginner but it has been great to be able to share the game that he has loved his whole life.

Social distant picnic. You can bring your own food or get takeout from a fun restaurant. The weather is so nice and hot this summer. It’s much easier to stay safe and not spread germs if you are outside in the open air. Remember to bring hand sanitizer.

Binge watch a show together. Text each other with reactions to things as they are happening. It might work better if you watch a show after your friend has already seen it so you don’t spoil anything.

Virtual book club. I was in a few book clubs back in Nashville but obviously haven’t been able to attend since I moved. They went virtual after we went into lockdown so I could join in on the fun! It was so awesome to see old friends that I at least saw once a month, especially my book club that was all retired people except for me.

Find a workout accountability partner. Text each other sweaty selfies when you finish your workouts. Cheer each other on as you work towards your separate fitness goals!

Call friends on walks. Take long walks around your neighborhood and call to catch up with your loved ones. It is more entertaining and fun than just listening to music.

What are other social things you have been doing to stay in touch with family and friends when we can’t see each other as often in person?! It is a definitely weird time in life. Make sure you are taking steps to stay connected so you don’t feel lonely. We are all in this together. Only one more section to go.

Miscellaneous

Here are some more challenges that are a bit random and don’t fit into a larger theme.

Imagine the best, most vibrant life you could have. Think about what is different between that life and the one you are currently living. Take baby steps to close that gap. Imagine where you want to be in 5-10 years or 20 years and contemplate what kind of choices you make today that will affect your path towards the future.

Niksen. The art of doing nothing. I saw this word as a future trend for the next few years and got obsessed. In a world of constantly doing, this is the counter action of that. Quarantine times have definitely helped me get more comfortable with this concept.

Practice the Hygge lifestyle. This is all about making your space cozy. Cuddle up with a blanket on the couch. Light a candle. Leave your phone in a separate room for a few hours. Read a book on your patio. Anything that feels cozy to you!

Pay it forward. Do something nice for someone else with no expectation for anything in return. This can be at a fast food place or coffee shop or you could just send an anonymous present to someone. 

Forgive someone. We all have terrible moments from our past that replay in our heads at inconvenient times. Most of these are connected to other people and how they acted or what they said. Let that sh*t go. That other person probably doesn’t even remember it at all. This is all about clearing your headspace and reframing that memory. You are a better, stronger person today and everything in your life brought you here. Be thankful but do not dwell. I come from a family of Irish grudgeholders and have made a conscious effort to build a contrasting mindset. It is really hard to forget about some things in life but do you best to move on from past incidences and think about the future.

Less screen time, more real life. This is harder than ever when we have to use technology for social connection. Don’t forget to put down the phone and get some air. Read a book or play a board game. Our eyes could all use a little break from the constant blue light. Maybe even take a social media break.

Register to vote. Sign up for a mail in voting ballot if you don’t feel comfortable going to the polls on election day but make sure you voice is heard.

Research your candidates. Make sure you know who you are voting for and what they believe. Think about the priority of your values and vote with your heart.

Take a nap. A lot of us have been struggling with stress based insomnia and haven’t been sleeping as well as normal. Let yourself take a nap if you feel sleepy during the day.

Take a break from social media. Give yourself a set amount of time and stop looking at your apps. You can even do a partial break where you still check it but don’t post anything. I took a break in June from posting on any of my accounts because I wanted stop checking everything so often. There is a lot of noise on Instagram and Facebook and it is hard to silence it.

Get your steps in. Move your body. I recently got a fitbit and have been trying to hit my 10,000 steps in every day. It is not that easy, especially staying at home. I have done thousands of laps around my kitchen island. It does feel really good for my body to be in motion which is in contrast to the hours and hours I spend on the couch.

Get inspired. Write down your goals and put them around the house. Put up positive quotes on your mirror to see when you brush your teeth. Always push yourself to grow in all aspects of your life.

Make your own Vibrant Badass list. If you want assistance with this, I can definitely help you!

This is the end of the Vibrant Badass At Home series! I hope this has been helpful to inspire you to make the best of this extra time spent at home. Let me know what you think! Hit me up if you are interested in a customized personal Vibrant Badass challenge.