On Tuesday, Mecklenburg County issued a stay-at-home proclamation that will go in effect starting Thursday, March 26 at 8am and will run through April 16th. (UPDATE: It is now in effect until at least April 29.) By issuing the stay-at-home, officials hope to curb the spread of COVID-19 throughout Charlotte, the surrounding areas, and North Carolina.

Including in the proclamation is a list of things you CAN (go to the grocery store, exercise outside, order take-out food, etc.) and CAN’T do (go to work unless your job is deemed essential, visit friends, non-essential travel, etc.). Here is the official stay-at-home order with the full lists. And, here are some answers to 6 of the most common questions about it from City Council Member Tariq Bokhari.

This is a stressful time and a lot of people are wondering how they will pass the next 3 weeks at home… so we made our own list of creative things you should do (and a few things you shouldn’t) at home during this time. We are encouraging you to still use your #CreativityInCaptivity!

We know a lot of these ideas are silly and ridiculous but we hope they’ll spark your creativity. And, at the end of the day, you can always just dance!

They’ll never take Matt’s dancing spirit!

DO THESE THINGS:

• Subscribe to The Biscuit! We’ll keep ya entertained and informed!
• Dance, dance, dance! Just like groove-master Matt Olin above.
• Finally finish that book you started writing in undergrad.
• Draw the CLT skyline from memory.
• Take a Skillpop Anywhere virtual class.
• Make a collage of your mural pics to make one MEGA mural.
• Take a nap (it’s important for the creative process).
• Write a song about all of the restaurants you want to eat at later.
• Try a new recipe using 7 random things you found in your kitchen.
• Have a virtual Happy Hour with your friends.
• Memorize some Shakespearean soliloquies to impress your friends at parties in a few months.
• Learn a new skill on YouTube.
• Put on a suit and have a fancy dinner at your dining room table.
• Learn a country line dance. Your roommates will love hearing Cotton Eye Joe blasting from your bedroom.
• Get a pen pal.
• Reach out to your 8th-grade math teacher and ask them to re-explain the quadratic formula.
• Create a short film on your phone.
• Learn how to play the spoons (or another instrument, but spoons are pretty cool).
• Make a list of places you’ve always wanted to visit when this is over and then actually go visit them later.
• Do a book report presentation on Zoom with your friends where you talk about your favorite book.
• Learn how to use Photoshop.
• Photoshop your best friend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into your profile picture.
• Empty your voicemail! Please, please, please! We have things to say to you.
• Learn sign language.
• Figure out who/what/why/when/where/how TikTok is.
• Mix 8 types of cereal into one bowl. Eat it. Use the sugar rush to fuel your productivity until you crash 30 minutes later. (But dang! What a productive 30 minutes that was!)
• Learn the fact that Millennials are approaching 40, they aren’t 21.
• Spring clean and “Marie Kondo” your sock drawer.
• Watch all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in order. This should all be over by the time you make it through that insanely long movie marathon.
• Call an older family member and practice the long lost art of conversation.
• Watch Star Trek: Picard with a free month of CBS All-Access. (This is Tim’s favorite on the list!)

DON’T DO THESE THINGS:

• DON’T panic-cut your own bangs.
• DON’T get addicted to online shopping. (Unless you are buying presents for us.)
• DON’T walk your tiny dog’s legs off. (A mile for you is a marathon for them.)
• DON’T sit 5 feet 11 inches away from anyone.
• DON’T stop creating.
• DON’T feel like you are in this alone. We are here to help in any way possible.

WHAT CREATIVE THINGS ARE YOU DOING DURING STAY-AT-HOME? Tell us!

We want to be inspired by what you are doing. Don’t be shy! Give us the deets!