What is there to do when the clock keeps ticking, the calendar keeps advancing, and you’re still in isolation? Maybe you could use a few more suggestions for things to do! How about some ideas tailored to your personality type?
While we based the following activities on personality types, we also get that not everybody sharing a personality type has exactly the same interests. So, if the activity listed for your type isn’t your cup of tea, you might try using it for inspiration or tweaking it until it fits. And feel free to mix and match if you find an activity you like listed for another personality type.
Overall, we think the following suggestions fit your personality type pretty well.
Activities for Analyst Personality Types
Architect (INTJ) – Drawing. Find the artistic side that Architects sometimes have. Grab some tools for drawing – a pencil, pen, marker, paper, or whatever you have around. There are plenty of instructional videos online if you’re in a learning mood – and when aren’t you? Or just jump in and use your instincts. Look for the type of patterns you typically find in things. Perhaps set a quota for a number of completed drawings to appeal to your organized nature. Or create a sketch notebook using any notebook or journal you have around the house. Let out your inner da Vinci.
Logician (INTP) – Sound exploration. Here’s a chance for Logician personalities to exercise their inclination to explore and create, and this activity is just abstract enough to satisfy their broad imaginations. First, download a sound-editing app. Many of them are free. Now comes an opportunity for you to flex that creative muscle of yours. Look for a tone that sounds cool – something that resonates with you. If you find that you enjoy this search for more unique sounds, create a collection of them.
Commander (ENTJ) – Remote fitness challenge. Using your leadership skills and social acumen, set up some kind of challenge with your friends and family using videoconferencing. Fitness is always an excellent theme. Have each person who accepts the challenge commit to a specific number of hours of the exercise of their choice. Hold weekly meetings to talk about successes and failures, keeping in mind that this is voluntary, so all members should agree to be noncompetitive and nonjudgmental. Offer support and praise instead. Try to make it fun.
Debater (ENTP) – Flash fiction. Write flash fiction pieces that illustrate some of your favorite ideas. This new “genre” is a more casual way of trying out one’s fiction-writing chops without a big time commitment or a great deal of training. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t appropriately challenging. Brevity can sometimes be harder to master. It’s also a brilliant way to explore old ideas from fresh, succinct angles. If you like what you see, perhaps you can share them online. Or not. Your call.
Activities for Diplomat Personality Types
Advocate (INFJ) – Pre-recorded performances. Catch up on streaming plays or indie movies. Set time aside to immerse yourself deeply in them and get to know the characters. But don’t leave it there. Find someplace to leave a review or start a discussion – like an indie film fan-page comment section. When you write your comments, focus on what you thought about the characters. But who am I kidding? You would anyway. All plots are almost exclusively character-driven to most Advocates.
Mediator (INFP) – Expressive or meditative movement. Explore contemplative movements like yoga, tai chi, qigong, ecstatic dance, various flow workouts, or whatever else you can find on your favorite video site. Try a few of them. Decide which one resonates most with you. Who knows? You might find a practice that stays with you long after the quarantine. Namaste.
Protagonist (ENFJ) – Internet tourism. See how many online museums you can discover and visit. If there is someone in the house with you, ask if they want to join you. Make some recommendations to friends and families. (St. Peter’s Basilica Walking Tour in 4K has you walking with a crowd of people, which is weirdly refreshing right now.) Create a wish list of places you’d like to go once people are comfortable traveling again. That day will come. I promise you.
Campaigner (ENFP) – Create some music. You know that guitar gathering dust in the corner and just daring you to learn how to play it…someday? Now might be someday. Or maybe you have another available instrument you’re interested in. You can generally find lessons all over the Internet, many for free. If you don’t have an instrument around, there are still ways to make music. For example, while you won’t get quite the same sound, you can use a tabletop or a wooden serving tray to learn some fun cajón beats. Get creative.
Activities for Sentinel Personality Types
Logistician (ISTJ) – Test your logic and knowledge. Find a game of logic or knowledge that you can play with others in your household (or remotely) like chess, checkers, or a trivia game. If there are enough people with you, perhaps set up a nightly championship. While Introverted personalities may not always feel like reaching out and challenging a stranger to a game of strategy or knowledge, they may find it easier to do so online, with all the anonymity and the low chit-chat potential. Who knows? You might even make a new online friend to welcome into your inner circle… But no pressure.
Defender (ISFJ) – Jigsaw puzzles. It’s a bit retro, but bear with me. Among some people, jigsaw puzzles are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. A certain chain bookstore usually has an enormous selection of nothing but jigsaw puzzles. And they can be as inexpensive as a book if you don’t already have any sitting around the house. Some people are loaning them out to neighbors – or trading their old puzzles for someone else’s used ones during this time of isolation. (Dropping them off on the front porch or stoop helps maintain that all-too-important social distance.)
Executive (ESTJ) – Home improvement. Where others might roll their eyes at what looks like a tedious work project, such a task can make typical ESTJs’ eyes light up. This may not be the lightest or most enjoyable thing on our list, but it can be just the thing for killing time and being productive all at the same time. And, if the fix is challenging, that’s all the better for most Executive personalities. A project doesn’t have to involve expensive materials or need a lot of tools. It could be as simple as reorganizing the spice cabinet in a way that promotes keeping it orderly. If you want to add a new wing to the house, well, that’s up to you.
Consul (ESFJ) – Create a photo journal. Make a photo journal of your time during the great pandemic. What represents this time for you? You could make it a group project, either with those who are in your home or online with friends and family. Don’t be afraid to be a little artsy. Design a record for future generations to wonder at. “How did you survive all that time in the house?” our future grandchildren might ask someday. And you’ll be ready.
Activities for Explorer Personality Types
Virtuoso (ISTP) – Learn to juggle. Then learn to juggle better. Juggling is a gift that keeps on giving if it grabs your interest. There are so many juggling moves you can master, and perhaps you can even invent some yourself after you’ve spent some time throwing tennis balls, plastic bottles, and flaming torches into the air. Well, maybe not the flaming torches right away…if ever. There are enough instructional videos online to keep you tossing things into the air for a long time.
Adventurer (ISFP) – Try a new art or craft. What’s that art form or craft that you always wanted to explore? What else is all this downtime for? This may take finding a little material to work with or perhaps even ordering some online. But you might have much of it already. It depends on what art or craft you pick. Origami is doable with any available piece of paper, for example. But stretch yourself and try something new.
Entrepreneur (ESTP) – Host a video cocktail party. Have a video cocktail party once a week, or every other week if you prefer. Challenge the attendees to put effort into choosing their clothes, their food, their drinks. Try to do a virtual version of a cocktail party that you might have attended when everyone wasn’t under lockdown. Be sure that you, as the host, come with the standout stuff. If you don’t extend the effort, others likely won’t either. Have each person bring their favorite song of the week to stream a few verses of and to share with others. (Your virtual get-together doesn’t have to include actual cocktails. Your “guests” can choose for themselves.) Video charades, anyone?
Entertainer (ESFP) – Interior decorating. We’re not necessarily talking about changing out your furniture for new furniture. Instead, why not rearrange the stuff you already have in the most interesting and creative way possible? Change a room, or if you’re ambitious, do the whole house. See if you can make your rooms more functional or more aesthetically pleasing than they already are. Make your home a brand new place. When friends can finally come to visit, you can enjoy their surprise at the change. And remember, lift with your knees.
Now It’s Your Turn
So did you find something you liked? If not, what are your suggestions? Better yet, what have you been doing since you’ve been in isolation that you might not do all the time? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Further Reading
- Feeling creative? Try poetry! Check out our article on poetry writing for every personality type.
- Looking for more suggestions on how to stay occupied during isolation? We’ve got you covered with tips on surviving social isolation and being stuck at home with the people you love.
- If you’ve been feeling especially stressed or overwhelmed, see our advice on handling crisis and dealing with depression in a time of isolation.
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