We are just over nine months into the age of quarantine and isolation without a true end date in sight. This time has been negative in many ways as we have all felt fear and loneliness without the ability to live our normal lives. With all the hard times, it’s important to find little things to help us get through. Finding a glimmer of excitement and happiness helps time go by a bit quicker and makes life more enjoyable. Quarantine is a perfect time to pick up a new skill or hobby to help time pass. Here’s a list of a few easy things you can learn in quarantine during COVID-19.
Photo: Priscilla Du Preez
Cooking or Baking
Quarantine started with major trends that included TikTok dances, the Tiger King documentary and whipped coffee . It also included endless pictures and videos of baked goods and new meal ideas. Learning kitchen skills has been a common theme in 2020 so you better get started! This is definitely the most practical idea on this list. When we can finally get back together with family and friends, wouldn’t it be great to surprise all your guests with some great new recipes. I’m sure they’ll be impressed. With all the time stuck inside, why not improve on something you’ll use daily, for the rest of your life, even after the pandemic is over. Plus, you’ll get a ton of tasty treats out of it.
Photo: Kevin McCutcheon (Unsplash).
Knitting or Crocheting
It’s getting colder outside. Wouldn’t it be awesome to snuggle up with a hot chocolate and a homemade blanket? Knitting or crocheting is a perfect skill to learn during this time. The supplies needed are relatively accessible online or at many local craft stores or big retailers. There are a ton of resources online that can teach you the necessary skills as a beginner as well as help you progress to become a pro. With the holidays coming up, a handmade blanket can also be an inexpensive and meaningful gift for someone important in your life. Plus, this one won’t even take you away from your Netflix binges! You can knit while watching all your favourite holiday movies.
Photo: Kelly Sikkema (Unsplash)
A New Instrument
How many times have you said, “wow, I wish I could play guitar”? Well, now is your chance to learn. There are so many great instruments that you can teach yourself to play using youtube. This one may take a bit longer to perfect so practice is key! Carve out a small chunk of time every day to play around with your instrument and see where it takes you. Music is a great way to relieve stress and put a smile on someone’s face. As long as you have access to or are willing to buy the instrument, the possibilities are endless.
Photo: Victor Barrios (Unsplash)
Meditation
There are so many things in today’s world to be stressed and anxious about. The unknown is troubling but there are certainly ways to cope with these feelings. Meditation is an easy and effective way to do this. Meditating helps you to gain perspective, reduce your negative emotions, and increase your creativity and productivity. Take a few minutes to get in touch with yourself when you wake up to help get a good start to your day. Figure out what you need in order to be the best version of yourself and focus on it. You can also use this method to break up the long hours spent doing work and staring at a computer screen. The benefits of meditation are amazing, so why not learn the basics and give it a shot? Maybe you’ll find it to be life changing!
Photo: Conscious Design (Unsplash)
Start a Blog, Podcast or Youtube Channel
If you are knowledgeable about a specific topic, have an interest you like to discuss or just have some great stories to tell, maybe this last one's for you! A blog is a great way to share your thoughts and experiences with others. It creates a lane of communication for readers to relate to you and share their stories in return. Starting your own website is becoming easier and there are so many free platforms to use. This also keeps your brain stimulated in between the Netflix binges.
Love to talk out loud or edit videos? You may be better at starting a podcast or a youtube channel. You can basically talk about anything you are passionate about, and someone else out there will probably have it in common and check your content out. It may be a bit daunting a first but once you get going, the feeling of sharing your thoughts and emotions can be so freeing. Maybe something you’ve experienced can help others who are dealing with the same thing, or even just make someone laugh for a few minutes.
Photo: LUM3N (Unsplash)
These are just a few ideas of things you can learn while in quarantine. These are all options which can be modified to fit whatever time you have available. These skills are great to learn now while you have the time and then to continue into the future once we head back to normal life. It is important to remember that quarantine is helping us get back to where we want to be and one day, this will pass! It may be scary now but learning a few new skills can be a positive way to get through the day to day stress of living through a pandemic. Wash your hands, wear a mask, be safe and learn some great new skills!