17 Things You Can Do During The Corona Virus Lockdown

The world currently is in its crucial fourth week of the coronavirus outbreak. Practicing social distancing and staying indoors to restrict the spread of the virus is the need of the hour. It is time to slow down, recharge, spend time with your loved ones at home and do things you always wanted to but wouldn’t normally have time to do. I’m for instance working on my book that I’ve been writing on sales and intend to publish in the near future. It’s about making time to tackle some of the things that have been collecting dust in your mental backlog.     

To help you do something productive whilst you are locked indoors during such a time of the pandemic, I’ve put together a list of some ideas. Once you’ve picked your favorites, try using one or more of these awesome to-do-list tools to keep yourself engrossed and productive.   

1. Play around with new technology: There’s never a good time to learn and update your computer skills when you’ve got so many other things going on, but learning those new technologies is important to keep yourself updated with times. So why not use this time to download and play around with some of these new technologies?

2. Write thank-you notes: Take advantage of the opportunity to make someone’s day by writing them a meaningful, personal thank-you note. It’s a way to distinguish yourself in our increasingly informal, digital world.

Thank-you notes are an easy way to show your appreciation. You can send these notes to your customers, your channel partners and even your friends, family and colleagues.

3. Learn a new skill for your job: Most people have a skill they’ve always wanted to learn to advance their career but simply haven’t gotten around to. Many programs and certifications are free online and take only a few hours to complete.

4. Learn a new skill not for your job: Skills that aren’t related to your job are usually even more fun to learn. What about learning how to paint art to decorate your home? Taking a new type of online workout class?

Try to pick something that uses parts of your brain that you don’t usually tap into during the workday. It can do wonders for your happiness, creativity, and wellbeing – and hey, you may even find a new passion that makes a huge impact on your life.

5. Do any work-related tasks in the morning: Use the morning hours when everyone else is asleep to get your work-related tasks done. By the time everyone wakes up, you’ll have checked off a few key to-dos, and will be able to focus on spending time with your family.

6. Start building a habit: Some say it takes 21 days to build a habit. Others say it takes a lot longer. But exactly how long it takes doesn’t really matter. The point is, you’ve to put the work in upfront if you want a habit to stick. So why not use these days to get started? Whether you want to start gardening you always wanted to, or write in a journal before bed each night, take the time during such days to start habit-forming and set yourself up for success.

7. Get your planner or calendar organized for the future: This break is a perfect time to fill out your planner with the appointments and trips you’ve already planned. When you’re not spending time on everyday work tasks, you can experiment with new organizational formats such as the bullet journal to make sure you’re as productive as possible when you head back to work.

8. Set goals for the future: Setting goals gives you a baseline for measuring success, and the motivation to stay on course when things get crazy. Setting goals can be as simple as creating two lists: one of your accomplishments this past year and one of your goals for the next. To get more specific, you can break larger goals into smaller ones by month. Setting SMART goals that I always talk about-Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound goals.

9. Organize your inbox: Organize your inbox because a cluttered inbox distracts you from being productive and planned. Now is the right time to do so.

10. Call your long-distance friends: You know that list of friends and family members you’ve been meaning to catch up with, but never seem to find out the time? Open your phone, find a comfortable spot to sit, and give them a call with your full attention. Now’s the perfect time to connect with people you don’t see regularly but want to stay in touch with.

11. Catch up on reading: Here’s a classic but essential tip: Catch up on those books or articles you’ve been wanting to get to so badly. It’s hard to find time to read when you’re busy with work. You can cuddle up with a blanket and a book.   

12. Find a quiet space to let your mind wander: Take some time to remove yourself from your day-to-day -even from your family- to be alone and reflect. Daydream about being your own customer, or your competitor, or what it’s like to be the product you produce/sell. Analyze how you’ve been spending your time over the past few months and whether you’d like to make changes in the times to come.

13. Get exercise in: Staying active even just a little bit each day can be, easy and fun. Not an athlete? Don’t mind… physical activity doesn’t have to be intense. Find an activity like walking on the treadmill, vacuum cleaning and dusting your home, or even mopping floors. Something is always better than nothing, get your blood flowing and keep it up even when you head back to work.

14. Talk to your friends and family about what you do: Work is such an important part of our lives and takes up a huge chunk of our waking hours, so sometimes sharing that with family and friends can actually be a bonding exercise. If your friends and family aren’t familiar with what you do or are interested in learning more, now’s the time to fill them in on what you do all day, why you like or don’t like it, and what you are hoping to do in future. Who knows, you could pick up some great insights from people who are removed from your day-to-day.

15. Schedule your appointments: Think of all minor inconveniences you just can’t seem to get to when you’re on your regular schedule and check and schedule them for the future. Some of these may be scheduling your insurance premium payments, getting the oil changed in your car and so on.

16. Watch a documentary: There are documentaries on almost every subject imaginable, and you might learn about a topic or an issue that inspires you.

17. Prepare meals: In such times, its typically healthier, advisable, and more affordable to make your own meals or help your loved ones to do so than to buy them. But when you’re busy with work, it’s hard to make time to prepare wholesome meals for yourself and your family. Cooking being my passion, I’ve tried almost everything on earth during these days.

Use this time to unwind and refocus. Use this time to calm your mind, energize and relax. What you do during this forced break time could have an impact on your workplace mental health forever.

I urge you to remain indoors and protect yourself and your family.