Haina Uddin

Given the pandemic situation, there has been an amassing growth of cases and deaths worldwide. Individuals are encouraged to exercise social distancing and work from home. For many of us, self-isolation has never been easy— it has changed our attitude towards how we communicate and our relationships to the world, and even our own homes. Since then, the amount of internet usage has gradually increased and people are learning to entertain themselves while indoors and keep in touch with their friends and family. Nowadays, people are reading online articles, using video-calls, and streaming online.

Here’s a list of how you can maximize your time during this outbreak:

1. Take online courses
There are loads of online courses you can take depending on your interests. One thing I found really useful is enrolling on Monthly learning or the Masterclass — these are online courses offering a variety of programs you may take. They have acting, public speaking, music productions, cooking, and a lot more.

2. E-books
Reading has increased online nowadays. Information is carried anywhere; you don’t have to pay an extra fee for the shipping cost. Digital books require no papers and apparently, they are eco-friendly — it has been made easy to access right at your fingertips.

3. Experiment on food
Trying different cuisines and discovering incomparable tastes can be a lot more fun than you think! Food is the best way to get to know a culture and get a glimpse of their spending habits on the type of food they consume.

4. Utilize YouTube
Search for countries you’d like to travel in the future and find out their way of living. YouTube takes you through a whole different perspective with the creativity of content creators around the world.

5. Work on a side hustle
Have you ever thought of operating an online business? Shopify is a great platform to start e-commerce. You might also consider using Amazon, Ebay and Alibaba.

6. Listen to your favorite podcasts
Most of the time, podcasts are free entertainment given that you can listen to them anywhere. You can learn almost any subject and get great education on your devices. There are plenty of podcasts out there that can teach you specific fields and career paths.

7. Workout at home
Home workouts are becoming ideal now as you can exercise comfortably at your own space and you’re less likely to catch bad germs. There will be no time limit to your workout routines and maybe end up seeing better results.

8. Virtual meetings and hang outs
Zoom and houseparty are one of the top apps you can download to make video calls. You can set up conferences anytime, anywhere and work on teams without face-to-face interaction.  

9. Change your eating habits
Incorporate healthy food choices like fruits, yogurts, broccoli, almonds in your diet plan. Not to mention — these naturally boost your immune system.

10. Find a hobby
It’s not too late. Step out of the box and try new things that sparks your interests. Finding a new hobby lowers stress and are proven to enhance work performances.

 Stay at home as much as possible and avoid the crowds that would increase your risk unintentionally carrying the virus and possibly infecting other people. You are not alone. Everyone is going through the same traumatic experience. It is now up to you to make use of this time wisely.