Inside The University of Melbourne

Everyone’s stuck at home. But after you’ve adjusted for the shock of the new reality, it’s a probably a wise move to try to see the benefits of this period of isolation and try to make the best of it, rather than complain.

I see so many streaming services offering discounts, people hopping on addictive computer games, or binging social media.

But instead, you could actually be useful and learn something useful, build up on relevant skills, set up good habits for the long run.

Here’s a few things I would encourage:

1. Reading books

With all the spare time and limited opportunities to leave the house, it would be a great opportunity to read. I always viewed books as a block of knowledge, captured into text and ready for the reader to absorb. I tend to stick to non-fiction, autobiographies and sometimes delve into philosophy but everyone has their own tastes.

2. Learning a skill

Sites like Coursera and Udemy are used often, but have low completion rates. This is often due to the fact most people get caught up in their day to day distractions to really follow through with the commitment.

With the downtime now, it would be a great opportunity to brush up on some new skills and when things do return to normal (and they will!) use leverage these newly acquired skills for your benefit. You could also develop skills and develop them into a side hustle if you become that good at it.

3. Health & Well-being habits

Yes, gyms are probably closed in your area, but every fitness YouTuber has videos and programs to cater for home workouts. Given there’s probably more spare time during your day, it would be a great opportunity to build a schedule where you work out and stick by it. I’ve been surprised at the creativity of the home workouts so there’s no shortage of programs to look up.

Further to this, as many restaurants and food joints are closed also, you could focus on making healthy, home cooked meals to further supplement your exercise routine and help achieve those results. This is also helped by YouTubers and fitness recipes online that could help greatly with this one.

The above is just a small start of the many things that the period of self-isolation could be used for. Although the uncertainty and negativity of Covid-19 is widespread, there’s always ways to try to get some positives out of the situation.