It looks like the COVID-19 pandemic is here to stay, and we might have to learn to live with it. Many countries have lifted their lockdowns, but following safety measures has been made highly important and strict. Other countries, however, are still trying to get rid of it completely before lifting their lockdowns. We all are so stuck at home that getting the necessities seems like a big task, this is why medical supplies for seniors should be made available online so that our high-risk seniors don’t have to leave their homes.
That being said, lifting the lockdown does not mean the COVID-19 outbreak has ended. The fear of COVID-19 has cemented its place in people’s hearts. Because of this, a huge percentage of the world population is choosing not to leave their houses.
Amidst the mess that COVID-19 has created, schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutes have become badly stuck. So just to be on the safe side, most of the educational institutions have canceled all their classes, rescheduled their exams, postponed their meetings, etc. Alternatively, online classes, meetings, and exams have been introduced in many places to tackle this. The offices that can afford to do it have shifted all their work online as well.
Not many of us had thought that COVID-19 would keep us in our houses for such a long time. For the large population that still has to stay at home, life can be really difficult, monotonous, and uneventful. So if you are quarantined, here are some great ideas to spend your time in a better and more productive way.
1. Take good careÂ
First and foremost, you need to take good care of yourself. When you’re at home for a long period of time, both your physical and mental health is at risk because you tend to neglect your physical and mental health in this situation. For your health, you can meditate, practice yoga, do jumping jacks, do push-ups in your living room, or do anything that is good for your body and mind.
While you’re busy taking care of yourself, don’t forget others around you. Keep an eye on your children, parents, and spouses. Encourage them to take care of themselves. Be a good family member because it will be good for the health of the people around you.
2. Spend some time on career planning
Thinking or rethinking about your career plans is not easy when you’re at work all day and come home tired every day. Therefore, the COVID-19 lockdown brings a great opportunity to spend some time learning about your career options.
To do that, you must reflect on your skills, find more skills that you need, and think about what your current job is taking you. For this, you can read a book related to career planning or use online job simulations to test out career options. You can even use a free introspection tool like myIDP.
3. Develop new skills
None of us ever have enough skills. There is always room in us for another skill. The new skill that you need to learn could be related to your career or just something that you always wanted to learn.
For instance, you can improve your graphic designing skills so that next time you can make your business card on your own. You can read books about your unfinished online courses. Or you can just learn to play a musical instrument that you have always liked.
4. Circle back to unfinished projects
We all get creative ideas when we’re young and enthusiastic. Although some of us manage to start a new project, not all of us get to finish it. It is worth completing your project if you believe it can still work in today’s world.
If you decide to finish your project, look for your unfinished manuscript or unpublished data deep in your computer’s file system, in your inbox, or in an old USB. You can go through your project and make any necessary changes to make it a publishable piece of work.
5. Utilize the internet
The internet can be really productive if used right. For example, you can use your quarantine time to update your personal website. If you feel like you’re out of touch with modern trends, such as Twitter and its hashtags, you can make a Twitter profile and learn about it. You can even use your work experience to write an educational article or make a YouTube video.
The use of the internet has grown exponentially in the COVID-19 lockdown, so it’s a great way to go online, share your work, and connect with other researchers. With social media, you’re not really socially isolated from the world. For example, you can go to #AcademicTwitter to interact and share your thoughts with many scientists.
6. Represent your data graphically
Since it makes everything easy and quick to understand, the graphical representation is one of the most popular ways of conveying scientific data. Graphs, pie charts, histograms, etc., are visual summaries of the findings of a research study. That being said, there is a downside to making graphical abstracts.
Graphical abstracts take some time to make. You can use your free time these days to create them for your office presentations, proposals, or your own research. It’s a worthwhile investment of time and energy because they are quite adaptable. You can put them up on your social media accounts, papers, presentation slides, etc. It must be mentioned that they will create a good image of you in the eyes of your higher-ups.
7. Have lots of fun
All work and no play is certainly not good for anyone of us. So, while you have time for it, you must make sure to have a lot of fun. You must do what gives you joy. This is great for not only your mind but your body as well.
Most of us have become so involved in our professional lives that we have forgotten what made us happy. In order to find what you like, close your eyes and reminisce about old times—for example, your high school days. This will help you remember what gave you true joy. Perhaps, you can pick up an old hobby. It could be playing the guitar, watching science fiction movies, or reading fantasy books. If there’s nothing like that, you can, at the very least, find something that relieves your stress.