Australians are being urged to stay at home by the Australian government to stop the spread of the coronavirus. And if you haven’t seen it already, this post post from Hamish BLake and Zoe Foster Blake’s daughter, 2-year-old Rudy, is a stern warning about how serious this really is.
Being confined to the four walls of your home doesn’t mean you have to sit and binge watch shows. However you spend your time while self isolating is up to you. Watching shows on repeat or uplifting films is one way. Or spending the day catching up on sleep and exercise is another.
But you can also flex a different muscle, and use this time to reset and learn (or re-learn) a new skill. But again, we want to make it clear that no one should feel unnecessary pressure to be ‘productive’. These times are unprecedented. You do you.
To help with some ideas (if you’re looking for a new skill to learn and pass the time), we’ve put together a list of all the skills you can learn from the comfort of your home — and the best thing of all? They’re free.
Become a Master of the Kitchen
By now, you may be looking for new ways to cook in the kitchen — and if you have kids, using it as a time-filler.
Regardless of your situation, The Kitchn is the perfect way to upskill with a 20-day, 20-lesson program which sees students tackle an essential cooking topic each day. Heck, there’s even homework! It’s free to join and you’ll become a master chef in no time.
Become a Fitness Guru
He may have played a God in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Chris Hemsworth has become the people’s God in real life after he made his Centr Fitness App free for all.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures,” the Thor star said in a post via the apps official Instagram page, announcing the news.
You can sign up through Instagram below or download the app.
Become a Dancing Machine
While we highly recommend these retro workouts which are a mix of dance and aerobics, upskilling your ballet toes, dusting off your old tap shoes or just wearing your most hip baseball cap backwards to learn hip-hop, there are free online schools all over the internet.
Cosmo Learning will teach you how to plié:
Masters of American Tap teach has instructional tap dance lessons taught by various masters:
Studio TTV and Cypher Styles will teach you how to pop, lock and jam:
Become Fluent in a Language
¿Hablas español? Me neither but I want to learn!
One of the most popular apps available is DuoLingo, and with its: “Learn a language for free. Forever,” you’ll be speaking Spanish or German or Italian in no time.
According to its Instagram, it’s seeing big increases in areas affected by COVD-19.
Become an Artiste
You can interpret the form of art in so many different ways. From drawing to sketching, watercolour to portraits, becoming an artist in your own home is an easiest skill to attempt to master. Because only you can decide what constitutes art.
But, if you’re interested in getting some assistance, you might want to give Brit and Co a try. Classes are free until March 31 and there are so many courses on here, you will seriously never turn on your TV again!
Become a Mindful Meditator
Meditation is an incredibly important tool to use, especially when it comes to coping with stress and fear of the unknown.
And with so many different and free alternatives on the web, it’s hard to know where to start.
- Insight Timer is the number one app and website for sleep, anxiety and stress.
- Smiling Mind is the perfect program to learn how to be mindful and use meditation as a tool, to combat an active mind. Smiling Mind is now considered to be one of the world’s leaders in the pre-emptive mental health space and Australia’s go-to expert for youth-based mindfulness programs.
Become a Singing Superstar or a Prodigy Musician
While I bought a second-hand guitar (sorry, neighbours), you may already have an old instrument in your home that you haven’t used in years.
There are a myriad of apps online that are perfect for self-teaching, and if you’re just picking up the guitar like I am, The Simply Guitar app is a winner — it even listens to you as you bumble your way through Smoke on the Water…
But if you don’t have an instrument, you can always use the one that was given to you at birth. Your voice.
The Yousician website and app will help you unleash your inner musician, with lessons on everything music and 30 Day Singer is currently giving you a 14-day trial to learn how to sing in tune.
That, mixed with a myriad of free workshops on YouTube, you’ll be harmonising with the people in your life like *NSYNC in no time.