10 Creative Activities To Do During Desk Warming Season (Part 1)
Last year was my first year in Korea, and my first year learning about the dreaded term “desk warming.” If you’ve not yet experienced desk warming season, then let this list be your guide during those awful bitter weeks when most expats tend to go a bit mad and lose their minds.
As I did last year with my 10 Productive Things To Do During Desk Warming Season, this year I’ve decided to fill you in on the more creative things you can do during desk warming season.
1. Make Little Pinterest DIY Creations For The Classroom
I don’t know about you, but nothing makes my soul happier than DIY projects. Pinteresters like ‘Misty Poland’ have amazingly simple and adorable boards that are chocked full of easy to do ideas. Instead of wasting hours away streaming your TV shows, why not give your filing cabinet a make over or create cute little owl themed pillows for a reading corner in your classroom?
The ideas and possibilities are endless for the projects you can do. If classroom décor doesn’t interest you, there are hundreds of thousands of boards with DIY projects that are easy enough to complete at school during desk warming time. You can make jewelry, handmade post cards, or even paint little teacups.
2. Learn A New Set Of Creative Skills On Skill Share
If there’s any one website I could spend all day browsing through, it’s Skill Share. The amazing website allows people from all over the world to share their creative skills with members through short video lessons. The classes range from photography to writing skills and further. With hundreds of free classes to choose from, it would be easy to learn a new hobby to choose from – especially since we both know you’ll have the time. Zero excuses, my friend.
3. Practice Meditation
Often during desk warming season, I found myself getting angry and bitter at the fact that I’d have to stay in a cold office all by myself while the rest of my colleagues were nice and toasty at home probably drinking hot chocolate and thinking about how lucky they are they aren’t a silly foreigner who has to desk warm. (See? There goes my anger going off into a rant, and I’m not even desk warming at the moment!)
I decided learning to meditate was in my best interest at the time, lest my co-workers come back to a completely trashed office and a crazed foreigner running through the halls screaming about how much she hates desk warming. There are a bunch of sites and even YouTube videos that are guided to help practice meditation. My advice is to meditate for a couple of minutes the moment you sit at your desk to begin your time. Nip all that anger in the bud.
4. Read, read, read
As an avid reader and writer, I’ll always advocate reading during your free time. With awesome apps like Kindle Unlimited now, which can also be downloaded onto your computer if you don’t have an e-reader, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be reading for a few hours a day at your desk.
5. Plan Your Next Adventure
When the days grow long and colder in the office and you start to second guess your reasoning for being abroad, begin to plan your next adventure. It’ll excite you and help you remember why you moved abroad in the first place. I like to make pinterest boards according to country with hotels, restaurants, and sights I’d like to visit. It helped keep my spirits high, and often it inspired posts on my personal blog.
If you’ve survived the long cold months sitting at a hard desk in a Korean school, what sort of activities did you do to keep sane? Share your answer with other expats in a comment below!
