Distancing season: Making the most of it

Reasons to start a journal

“What better time than now to start writing a journal?” asked Glenn Kramon in The New York Times. Besides creating a record of a remarkable historic period, journaling is psychotherapy on the cheap: “It helps you deal with stress and even some depression. It lets you vent. It makes you more self-aware.” Research shows that it’s especially useful during tough moments, because jotting down your feelings helps you move forward. But a journal also helps you capture and remember the happiest events. And there’s another perk: You will be practicing the art of storytelling, learning as you go to bring a scene to life with vivid description. You’ll become a more entertaining raconteur, and “if you’re hoping to improve your writing, there is no better way.”

Five exercises to do while seated

“Hours spent glued to a desk chair shouldn’t come at the cost of your fitness,” said Hannah Seo in PopSci.com. Even while staring at a computer screen, you can stay limber and ward off spine trouble and muscle degeneration by punctuating your workdays with such simple exercises as overhead presses (the “raise the roof” move) and glute squeezes (clenching your butt cheeks and holding the position). To strengthen your neck, sit up straight, look over your shoulder with your chin up, and hold for five seconds. Arm circles strengthen the shoulders and upper back: Extend your arms parallel to the floor, circle them forward 10 times, then reverse the movement. To exercise your legs and core, sit upright in your chair, raise a leg, flex your foot, and hold for 10 seconds to stretch your calf. Repeat 10 times for each leg.

The case for becoming a juggler

“Everyone should learn a quirky skill, if not several,” said Jordan Calhoun in Lifehacker .com. Years ago, I taught myself to juggle while living abroad and often alone, and not to impress anyone. There’s special satisfaction in acquiring any new competency, whether it’s solving a Rubik’s Cube, shuffling a deck of cards, or communicating via Morse code. For starters, “learning a new skill is to remember how you learn—a skill set often forgotten as we grow older.” Learning through concentration and persistence is fun in itself, and mastery offers the chance to enjoy the activity as well as its arbitrariness and the feeling that you’ve made yourself a slightly more interesting person. Even today, “I still pick up oranges from time to time and keep them afloat for nothing but the sheer pleasure of it.”