Make the Most of Self-Isolation

Written by Gavin Humphreys

This is, without doubt, one of the craziest periods of history that we all will live through.

While there are many horrors and stresses, our big global challenge has been to... stay indoors.

You have likely found yourself with more time on your hands - no time lost in that commute, perhaps the workload has lessened a bit (or gone to zero), all those social gatherings and nights out are shelved. If so, then life has given you a golden opportunity.

This is the chance you have been waiting for.

Do you regret never having done something, or not seeing something through? Well, it’s not too late, and this is the time to do it!

Make the most of self-isolation. When you come out on the other side of this lockdown, have something to show for it!

Here are five things which you can do from the comfort of your home.

Pick up that musical instrument

Many of us have a guitar sitting in the corner of the room. Or maybe it’s a banjo, or a bassoon, or some bagpipes!

This is it - the chance you never had to improve. Work on your ability to read music. Download a new tune to work on. Follow YouTube tutorials. Whatever it is, get on it.

Not only can you pick it up every single evening, but even every time you hit a mind block with you work. You can pick it up when you want - that's one of the great advantages to working from home. Playing an instrument is a great way to clear the mind and hit the reset button.

Do an online course

There is a mind-boggling variety of courses online - both free and paid.

It’s never too late to learn something new, or add to your skill set to climb on up in your profession.

It could be PhotoShop, Accounting, or why not Ancient Egyptian History?

Coursera, Edx, and Udemy are online course banks with an amazing selection, some of which are free. Other organizations have put up courses for free for a limited time only, during the lockdown - for example, Harvard.

Then there are paid courses, such as MasterClass and LinkedIn learning. You can even do cookery courses online, such as with The Happy Pear.

Decide what you want to learn, and sign up to a course - or three.

Write a novel

They say ‘everybody has a book in them’ - which may or may not be true, but if you have ever come up with a plot idea, now is the time to see if you can pull it together.

It could also be a TV pilot, a theater play, or a movie script.

Heck, there could be some tremendous moody poetry written during this pandemic! Life is so strange in 2020 that you don’t have to look far for inspiration, that’s for sure.

It could even be a non-fiction best-seller about noodles.

Get yourself a nice notebook and start writing (even if you are writing on the computer it’s a good tip to keep a pad with you, to jot down the ideas that pop up).

Try to set aside an hour each day - perhaps that hour when you would have been stuck in traffic on the commute - and make it into a habit.

Start a business

If you’re anything like me, it’s very easy to come up with ideas for a business, but when it comes to sitting down, doing the research, making a business plan, contacting people... - then it all gets shoved in a drawer, or filed away in the sometime in the future folder on the computer.

This is the time to do it.

Write out a list of all the steps you need to take to get the business started. Then tick them off, one by one!

Learn a language

Language learning has never been so easy to achieve as nowadays. The instantly accessible Duolingo app is enough to get you started on many languages (it now even has my beloved Scots Gaelic, as well as indigenous American languages, Navajo and Hawaiian!).

There are many more apps and websites out there, so decide what language you want to learn and get to it.

Now you can also practice a language at any time. It is easy to contact people who speak almost any language and start an online language exchange. Start up conversations and learning from native speakers will not only improve your language, but also open windows into the culture.

And more! With the advent of global streaming services, programage and filmage from across the globe is now instantly accessible on your TV, computer, or cell phone.

So, being stuck inside in 2020, you are connected to the world - and its many colorful languages.

Make the most of it

There are many other ways you can use your time in lockdown - these are just a few suggestions, which have certainly tickled my fancy.

Pick up something and make it a habit. Don’t throw it aside afterward, let it become a part of your life. Times are changing, and you can change too.

Have you been up to something productive at home? If you have any other suggestions, or are also inspired by the ideas I mentioned, I would love to hear from you - leave a comment below!