Being in isolation can be a very boring time, especially if you’re stuck in a small apartment. While there’s always Netflix to watch and TikTok videos to make, why not make the most of this free time and focus it on bettering yourself? Of course, there’s always university assignments to do and this is a great time to get ahead, however you can also get ahead in your professional life, learn a new skill or get organised. This month we wanted to share with our readers a few activities to help you be more productive in your free time!
Take time to declutter!
If you missed our last article about setting up the ultimate study area, then be sure to check it out here! With many people working/studying from home, this is the perfect time to re-organise your desk.
Don’t just think about your desk, but also what sits on it. Are your computer files organised? Putting everything in a systematic place will reduce the amount of time you spend looking for files, which means more time working on that assignment/project.
One thing that also often gets forgotten is your phone. How often does your phone get annoyed at you for having too much on it? Take this time to go through your photos and delete ones you no longer want/need. You can also backup your photos to your computer to make more space too. With your apps, place your most used ones on the one page or organise all of your apps into folders, so that you don’t have to spend time swiping between them or trying to find them. Take time to declutter & bring out your inner Marie Kondo!
Learn something new
Yes, extra study might be the last thing you want to do, but in the future these extra courses could set you apart from other candidates when applying for a job.
If you’re a marketing student, the Google Adwords Certification is a great place to start. It’s completely free and recognised by many employers. If you’ve done the internet marketing unit at Curtin, then you’ll find it a breeze too, as it’s an extension of everything you learnt about Adwords.
If you’re not a marketing student then don’t stress, there’s plenty of courses for you too! With the government recently announcing that they’ll be funding short online courses for the unemployed, some websites where you can get free courses include Lynda and Coursera.
Did you also know that LinkedIn also offers many courses? Just type in “learning” after LinkedIn’s URL. Additionally, Free Code Camp has also released an article that outlines “450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free”, so why not attend Harvard from the comfort of your home!
Develop a new skill
Time in isolation doesn’t have to be all work work work, why not learn a new skill? One helpful new skill could be learning to code. While there are some great YouTube videos out there, Codecademy also offers 180 hours of content for free. If you’ve always wanted to build a website, why not put this coding to practice on a free WordPress.com site. Not only will you have fun, but you’ll have something to show at the end of it too.
If you’re more a creative person, then why not learn how to draw? Drawing has been proven to be a great stress relief but also increases your problem-solving skills (Moussavi 2016). Once again there are YouTube videos you can follow, depending on what type of drawing you like. One of our committee members, Amy, found these videos by Rob Biddulph who teaches children how to draw cartoons featured in his books. What do you think of her “Gregosaurus”?
Lastly, you could learn to cook or bake. Tasty.co not only posts some mouth-watering content on social media, they also provide recipes on their website. With easy to follow videos, you’ll be a pro in no time.
We hope you’ve found something productive from this article that you can do in your free time. Let us know what you’ve been up to whilst in isolation or tag us on social media so we can share it with our followers!
References
Moussavi, Hessam. 2016. “10 Great Health Benefits Of Painting And Drawing.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/10-great-health-benefits-painting-drawing-hessam-moussavi/