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COVID-19 has well and truly put a spanner in the works of our day to day activities. Whereas last month we could whittle away the hours with our daily commute, social gatherings, and other communal activities, now we’re staying at home, which many of us have found to be quite a difficult transition to make. You see for some of us, staying at home prevents us from escaping boredom, inevitably leaving us alone with the thoughts that we try so hard to suppress. So what can you do to prevent the existential dread from slipping in during these isolated few weeks – the answer is to put your mind to good use.
Putting your brain to good use
When was the last time you sat down to learn a new skill? Devoted a good chunk of time to pursue a new hobby or simply decided to let yourself fall down the rabbit hole of a subject that interested you? During our hectic pre-COVID-19 lives, most of us didn’t have time to indulge in such trivial pursuits, but now, what’s stopping you? So if the thought of sitting at home with nothing but your own thoughts for the foreseeable future fills you with dread, then here are a few things that will put your mind to good use.
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Learn a new skill
Have you ever wanted to learn an instrument, try your hand at knitting or speak another language? Guess what… Now is the time to do it. Most delivery companies are still operating and so not having the resources you need is no excuse – simply pick the thing you want to learn, buy what you need and get started. If you have a tendency to give up easily then give yourself a study schedule or follow an online tutorial.
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Become an expert on something
If you find a certain subject or topic interesting then now is the time to take your general knowledge to the next level, by trying to become an expert on something. Your previous knowledge of, say, 70’s music, may have been good, but now is the time to make it epic. Dig deep into the archives of pages such as multitrackmaster.com, listen to audiobooks, take online quizzes and become a quiz master on your chosen topic. Who knows, it may come in handy one day, and if not, then you can impress people at the first post-corona party you go to.
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Help other people
Across the globe, millions of people are still suffering from unsanitary conditions, poor access to basic resources, poverty, and disease. Bill and Melinda Gates have already set about re-designing the toilet in order to improve sanitation facilities in countries without access to clean running water. Elsewhere in the world, simple solar-powered lamps have been created and distributed to remote African communities to give them access to light after dark. Now is a great time to put your brain to use and to try and think about other simple solutions that could help to solve global issues. Who knows, you could end up changing the lives of millions of people by simply brainstorming while you were bored.
