Bored in Quarantine? Here are 5 Skills to Learn at Home

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Being stuck in quarantine doesn’t mean that you have to sit around and do nothing. There are many ways to spend your time productively, and learning some new skills can help make your quarantine experience easier while broadening your knowledge. Here are five skills that you can learn at home while under quarantine.

Foreign Language

As the world gets better connected, it’s useful to know at least one other language besides your native tongue so that communicating with different people can be easier. There are many online language programs and other resources that can help you master vocabulary, sentence structure and writing in a different language. It’s also possible to find online videos that feature language lessons for free. Once you master some of the basics of a new language, you can find language study partners online and connect through a telecommunications application to practice speaking like the natives do. For English speakers, Spanish, Dutch and Norwegian are often considered the easiest languages to learn. Russian, Hebrew and Japanese are considered to be among the more difficult languages, but you can try learning them if you want to challenge yourself further.

Home Repairs

By learning to perform many of your own home repairs, you won’t always have to call for help when something needs to be fixed. Lifehacker.com notes that you can learn to fix holes in floors and walls with things like melted crayons and golf tees. You can also learn how to use aluminum foil to make certain toilet repairs. You can even learn how to make your own liquid plumbing solution to remove tough clogs without having to use harsh chemicals that could damage your pipes. You can also learn how to perform many of your own auto repairs by following a few online tutorials.

Photography

The art of photography involves more than just taking pictures with your mobile phone. To truly master this art, you must learn how to capture images with the best lighting and angles to make them look their best. If you want to really master photography, you’ll also need to learn how to use different cameras, lighting setups and other pieces of photography equipment, and much of this information is available online. You can even try ordering some new photography equipment and have it delivered so that you can start practicing with it in the comfort of your home. After you’ve taken a few pictures that you believe will showcase your skills adequately, you can try posting them online on social media or other websites and ask people to rate them. If you obtain the proper skills in photography, you may even consider turning your passion into a profession and becoming a photographer full-time or as a side hustle.

Music

Music comes in many forms, and you can learn how to play a new instrument or use your voice to sing beautiful tunes during your time in quarantine. The best music lessons online can teach you the fundamentals of playing the guitar, the piano or another musical instrument of your choice. Online singing lessons can teach you proper breathing techniques for singing and how to practice your pitch so that you’ll be able to hit the right notes better. Many of these music lessons that you find online include detailed instruction from experienced teachers who can help instill all the proper playing or singing techniques to help you build a solid foundation in music.

Hair Cutting and Styling

If all the barbershops and hair salons in your area are closed because of the lockdown orders, you can try learning the proper ways to cut and style your hair yourself. If you’re just wanting a small trim, it’s generally advisable to use small scissors to minimize any mistakes that you might make. Buzzcuts and other shorter hairstyles can often be achieved with a set of clippers. Following video tutorials from experts will help you learn more about the proper haircutting techniques. You can even learn how to apply your hair treatments and root touchups on your own so that you can stay looking your best.

You can become a better-rounded individual during your time in quarantine by learning some new skills that can be applied to different areas of life. By mastering any of these skills, you can become more valuable to yourself and other members of society who may want to eventually learn these skills from you.

If you build up your skills to a competent extent, then you could even pursue it as a career – who knows? You may fall in love with the idea and take advanced courses. The next thing you know, you could be getting barber insurance and opening up your own place. It’s a job that will always have demand, so it’s worth thinking about if it tickles your fancy.

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