With the pandemic Covid-19 forcing everyone to stay indoors and the 21 days lockdown staring ahead, you are like to feel lost, and anxious. But fear not! Every cloud has a silver lining. You can use this free time to learn how to manage time effectively in addition to a host of other useful things. If nothing else, if you use this free time wisely, you might learn how to develop a hobby and profit from it. I am listing down a few pointers, which will help you survive the lockdown.
World markets may be down due to corona anxiety, but you can still gain rich returns. Invest your time and energy in subscribing to free online courses. Coursera, edX and other such online course websites are offering a variety of free online courses in wake of the pandemic. There are courses on Management to Literature, Data Science to Machine Learning, Digital Marketing to Photography. More importantly, a lot of these courses are certifiable, i.e. for a small fee, you can get a certificate from the host institutes like MIT, Harvard or Oxford that offer these courses. Moreover, with the world reeling under a lockdown, many platforms are offering even paid courses for free, and have introduced several new courses. All you need is a decent internet connection and some me-time.
In all the anxiety generated by the pandemic of Covid-19, it is easy to get distracted and waste your time scrolling websites and social media. Don’t! Develop a hobby instead. Why not dust off the books, you have been meaning to read for a long time? Look for simple recipes online, and indulge yourself by cooking tasty dishes, or maybe tend to the indoor garden? Maintain a blog or a diary, or learn a new language online or start writing the book you always wanted to, but never got the time for. To keep anxiety at bay, and not obsess about how to survive a lockdown, to develop a hobby is one of the best remedies.
As Covid-19 rages through the world and our vulnerabilities stare us in the face, it is time to re-evaluate your life. In the rat race, we hardly get time to notice and understand ourselves. Does that goal of going to that fancy college still appeal, or buying that really expensive phone? Is it still important that you take that trip abroad and splash it across your social media? Do you find meaning in what you are studying, or did you opt for it just to please parents or peers? Now that you have quite a lot of time, reconsider your goals. Think of what will add value to your life and what not? What will enrich your personality and what not? Since you are the future of the world, how will you contribute to the world better? Take some time and think more deeply about how you can strengthen your strengths and work on your weaknesses.
Learn how to take care of your mental health as you are locked down in your house, trying to keep Covid-19 at bay. You need to strengthen your resilience and mental health to survive a lockdown. Simple tip: Cut down on social media, and stay away from the news. Yes, you should be well informed, but reading news and articles on the virus will only add to your stress, and make you hysterical. Meditation, prayer, and breathing exercises are also very handy to calm a disturbed mind, and help concentration.
Has the spread of Covid-19 thrown your routine off? Since colleges are shut, how do you spend your day? In times of great anxiety, it is important to maintain a routine. Chalk out a time table, and plan your day – while it is important to stay in touch with your education, it is equally important to exercise too. Walk in the corridor or society compound, or the garden if you have one. If that doesn’t appeal to you, try skipping or simple cardio exercises like push-ups, or burpees. There are hundreds of videos online where experts show easy-to-follow, and safe exercises. Evolve a healthy routine – binge-watching TV series doesn’t count as a routine.
Last but not least don’t be consumed by the Corona anxiety. You are very very likely to not fall ill. Stay home, practice physical distancing and revise your syllabus. Follow the online classes offered by your institute, as well as other study material, and organize your notes. When these hard times are over, you will not feel left behind.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Remember the true test of steel is fire, so don’t join the bandwagon of anxiety. Follow the mantras listed for you, and manage your time effectively. Hope for the best, but as a student never fail to prepare for the worst. Chalay Chalo! Let us all survive this lockdown.
The writer of the article - Richa Singh is a Content Writer at Investronaut.
