Games, Gizmos and Other Stress Relievers
Sometimes, you might spend the whole weekend at home. Maybe you need a break from going out, maybe you need rest after a long week at work or perhaps the world feels like it’s ending. Who knows, could be any of those.
Whatever the case, watching movies or playing games can get old after a while. You might need something unique to keep yourself (or maybe children) busy. Here are some projects that you can use when you’re feeling bored or anxious and need a distraction.
⚾️ New Favorite Pastimes ⏰ #
First up is Too Many DVDs from Neal Agarwal, which I imagine would be perfect for occupying your kids while you take a power nap. Neal also made The Deep Sea which is a web app that explores and explains the strange things in the deepest parts of the ocean—super educational and enticing.
Next up is Magic Sketchpad, from the master of distraction, Monica Dinculescu. Just choose an item from the list and just draw the beginning of it, then with the pure magic of machine learning with magenta.js, Magic Sketchpad will finish the drawing for you. This one can keep you occupied forever.
More of a music person? Monica has also made Coconet, which uses machine learning to harmonize notes that you input. I personally love apps that try to make my messes look or sound better so it’s a big 10/10.
If you want something to play with friends, either in person or online, Chess But Harder is a clever game from Byron Hulcher. Like the name implies, it’s basically a normal of Chess, but with the key difference that you can’t see the entire board. A simple change, but one that makes it feel like a whole new game.
🧘♀️ Finding Your Calm 🧘♂️ #
During any stressful time, especially one when you’re stuck at home, there’s bound to be a period of adjustment. Maybe days one and two were really bad, but day five might be pretty good. Go easy on yourself, it’s a weird time to be alive.
I don’t remember the first time I saw the Your Moment of Zen from Minerva Archer, but I remember thinking it was really sweet, though not an app I would use a lot. But after the last week or so, I could easily see myself using it daily. I didn’t know deep breaths actually worked so well.
Another thing that’s helped me over the last week was rearranging the furniture of my room. Every time I’ve rearranged furniture or done a deep cleaning of my room, I’m more eager to spend time in it. The simple act of moving one shelf and getting rid of another has made me genuinely enjoy my room, which is great, because it could be a while.
Luckily I used to be a freelancer so I’m very used to working from home. If it’s your first time, the best tip anyone can give you is to set a routine for yourself. Doesn’t matter what it is or for how long, consistency is the key. Plus, if you’re having a lot of video calls with your work, add some levity to the meetings with Conference Call Bingo from Glitch’s own CEO, Anil Dash. It randomly generates some extremely accurate quotes or scenarios from most video meetings, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone got Bingo in the first call.
_To save any of these projects for later, check out the collection here and create an account to add them to your My Stuff.