The coronavirus pandemic has been really hard on us. It has confined us to our houses for the better part of the year. However, we can still find a silver lining in all of this by utilizing this freed up time and new routine to help us catch up on our hobbies and start some new ventures which earlier we would never get the time for. Here are a few things that you can do while you’re working from home that are not just productive and beneficial for your present but also a great investment for your future.
1. Learn a course
While staying at home and practicing quarantine has stripped us of our options, we still have a lot even, in fact the whole world, at our fingertips. Learning has never been easier! With computers and online educational platforms, thousands of courses are available at dirt cheap prices. Who knows maybe you’ll be a CEH expert (Certified Ethical Hacker) in a few months while you stay at home.
2. Publish a blog
We hardly get time to pen down our thoughts because of our fast paced life and hectic work schedule. However, the work from home culture has brought upon a certain liberty for us where we can enjoy the saved traveling time for doing what we always wanted to do. For example, starting a blog hardly takes an hour a day, and if you stretch your goals even further, to weekly one post in the beginning, then you just need to spare 1 hour or so a week to accomplish your blog posting. You will, however, need some time to figure out a blog hosting platform like WordPress and set up your home page and other settings for your blog. But once that is done, you can just go on and start uploading!
3. Start a podcast
Starting a podcast is easier for those who are not big on writing and find talking or having a conversation more comfortable. The podcast industry is growing every day as the number of users who prefer listening over reading are also increasing with time. Your podcast can have any theme you like, for example, educational or informational or conversational or humorous. Try apps that help you record a podcast easily. You don’t need much investment either since many of these apps are tailored to help beginners.
4. Learn a language
Learning a language can be highly beneficial for many reasons. It opens up your chances of moving abroad, and increases your cognitive activity. There are many examples and studies that have listed learning different languages as a great way to improve your thinking ability. The world is becoming a smaller place every day and knowing a language is like opening yourself up to new ideas, new information and new connections.
5. Start a youtube channel
Years ago, people who wanted to share their ideas visually with the world didn’t have a platform to do so. But today, thanks to Youtube and other such social platforms, like Instagram, and Facebook, you can share your thoughts and ideas with the entire world. You can create a channel or a page where you provide humorous or educational content to your users. If you are an ethical hacker, you could share your learnings or insights with those who are currently undergoing ethical hacking training in order to help them. There are millions of things you can choose to do with your content, you just need to start somewhere.
6. Organize your professional life
Organization is a key skill that every person should have in order to stay sorted, disciplined and calm. However we hardly get time for organizing our lives, personally or professionally, due to our disorganized and hectic schedule. Social distancing and staying at home has given us an amazing opportunity. To organize your professional life, you can update your CV, organize your work in folders, upload the essentials to the cloud, and create a portfolio so that it’s ready to send the next time you’re looking for a job. So, go ahead and organize away!