Make quarantine work for you: 6 productive things to do

Whether you are working from home or a college student on summer vacation, we’re currently in a time where most people have more time than average. We aren’t commuting to our offices or summer classes or spending as much time getting dressed and ready for the day. Overall, we have much larger windows of time than usual, so why not take advantage of this situation by working on self-improvement?

One upside to this era that we’re in is that we have so much access to information! Almost anything that you want to know is right at your fingertips. If you’re curious about how to spend your time productively during quarantine, keep reading!

1. Take online courses

E-learning is taking the world by storm. At this point, it’s rare to see someone with an online platform NOT monetizing their knowledge. It has become so easy for the everyday person to share their expertise online!

There are online courses for everything under the sun from painting and knitting, to coding and starting an online business. People who are professionals in a specific field or industry break down the concrete steps of your topic of interest, helping you, their audience to gain mastery!

While places like YouTube can offer you a similar benefit, creators often post videos as precursors for an online course and simply scratch the surface. Or, they may piecemeal content, leaving you to decide which videos you should watch next to fully understand the topic. You’ll be going down a rabbit hole of videos by different creators without really knowing if you covered all of the topics needed in totality.

On the other hand, online courses really dive into one specific subject and ensure that you understand all of the steps from start to finish.

some places to look

• Skillshare: get 2 free months by signing up today!
• Coursera
• Codeacademy
• Mindvalley
• Teachable

2. read

Anyone else read religiously during childhood and drop off in early adulthood? We get so busy that taking time for ourselves to get lost in a book feels trivial! Now that we have more time, we can rid ourselves of this excuse!

The truth is that books are some of the easiest ways to get access to our favorite thought leaders’ minds! By thumbing through the pages of a book, you can learn some of their most significant life lessons and the stories that shaped their identity!

We also have so many options for reading now. If you want to save paper, you can use a kindle or any other e-reader like an iPad or tablet. If you’re going to consume this information on the go, you can listen to audiobooks. If you value traditional reading, you can order books online!

I enjoy Goodreads as a way to create long book lists and keep track of my reading!

In times like these, reading is a great way to escape our reality. You can do fiction reading to step into the shoes of another person or read self-help books if you’d like to address areas of improvement and get your life on course. The choice is entirely yours!

3. challenge your body with exercise

Now that we’re at home, it’s easy to go into couch potato mode and lay in bed or on the couch, binge-watching TV shows. Watching your favorite show makes you feel good and forget about the troubles of the outside world. However, being sedentary is linked to a host of health risks!

Exercise can be a great way to clear your mind in times of stress. You don’t have to jump straight into an intense program!. Start small with a daily walk or run. If you’re like me and “not a runner” there are apps that can take you from your couch to running a 5K in gradual steps.

Additionally, many apps like Nike Training Club and Down Dog have offered free training for all (or for students). This is a great time to get free training plans straight from your phone!

Another option is to find a fitness influencer that you love. Some of my favorite are Madfit and Vicky Justiz. They create follow along workout videos that are great if you need a workout buddy!

You can also create a challenge or goal for yourself!

For example, if you’d like to reach a healthy weight or body measurement or if you want to change your diet, this is a great time to experiment and see what works for you! You have the time to see how your body reacts to certain foods and training styles, so just give it a go!

Start by adjusting your daily routine to accommodate exercise and wellness and see how it makes you feel.

4. feed your mind with brain games

We’re in stressful, unprecedented times. It’s easy to let our brain go to mush as we dive into comfort activities like binge-watching shows, eating, or watching YT videos.

It’s a great idea to break this cycle with simple brain games like sudoku, crossword puzzles, or even meditating with apps like Headspace. These activities may feel “nerdy,” but it’s incredible what they can do for your mental ability by dedicating a bit of time each day!

You can also try teaching yourself an academic subject. Purchasing a textbook or watching a crash course series on things like psychology or philosophy can give you an entirely new perspective on the world around you. This can also change the way that you relate to others and improve your interpersonal relationships!

Adding any of these things into your routine will help you to stay sharp, and you will quickly see that just a little bit of learning each day goes a long way.

5. pick up some new hobbies

When was the last time you did something purely for pleasure? Working from home means that we spend a lot of time each day doing tasks for others in our place of relaxation.

Taking a class online might help you to discover the activity that puts you at ease. You can try activities such as learning a new language on apps like Busuu or Babbel.

You can spend time writing! Whether it’s a daily journal entry, starting a blog, or writing fictional short stories, all of these things are a great way to spend time with yourself and learn how you think (Who knows? you might even shock yourself and write a book)!

You can also try your hand at artistic activities like knitting, drawing, or painting.

It doesn’t matter what hobby you pick up, all that matters is that you give yourself uninterrupted time each day to pour into yourself and your growth.

6. Watch some inspirational TED talks or podcasts.

There is so much information to be consumed online. Watching TEDTalks or listening to podcasts are some of the best ways to absorb new information quickly.

You can dive into a topic that you’re interested in! It could be anything from anthropology, psychology, dating & relationships, finance, news & culture, or biology! There are thousands upon thousands of episodes available online.

If you can work with background noise, even better! Try listening to these to gain new and exciting insights.

We have a lot of inspirational TED talks posted on Pinterest if you need a place to start.