The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted the worlds operations in drastic ways. We had never thought that all major cities of the world would become ghost towns. The doctors are suggesting people limit their social activities and remain at home. Educational institutions have also been closed across the world. The situation is not different in Karachi and around Pakistan. Students are at home and they must be guided and informed to lead a healthy, productive life even when the world in a state of lockdown. Here are a few ways students and professionals can remain productive, creative and active at home.

While learning a new skill can be a productive pastime, you must also spend time reading. The importance of reading cannot be emphasised enough. Read novels or newspapers. You can also download the PDF versions of your favourite books and read them on your smartphone. When reading, you can also go through the news and gain information pertaining to the world. The habit of reading will enhance your knowledge and give you a feeling of confidence, which is a psychological impact of reading.

Apart from learning a new skill, you can also learn a new language. With the world becoming a global village, you can never be too sure of where the future may lead you. As a student, you might pursue your higher studies in Europe, Canada or the USA. As a professional, you can land a job in Turkey, Japan or Egypt. Even if you stay in Pakistan, learning a new language will add value to your CV (resume). Where learning a skill is an activity that will help you at some point in life, learning in its essence must continue. You can learn how to do digital marketing and how to create designs in Photoshop. You can learn how to create objects from wood or learn how to paint. You can learn how to cook food or how to sew. The possibilities are endless if you have a vision of what you want to accomplish and have identified the areas of your interest.

When you are at home you can also pursue a freelance revenue-generation mechanism. You must find an activity of your interest and turn it to earn a profit. For instance, you can sell your services as a content writer, a translator (from English to Urdu and vice versa), or can perform other tasks including graphic designing, software development, website development, data analysis and reporting among others. You can create an account on Fiverr or Upwork, attract clients from across the world and complete their tasks to earn money.

Speaking of money, you can also create your YouTube channel and upload short videos where you share words of wisdom, personal experiences, product reviews or information that the viewers can benefit from. While the process of gaining subscribers to a point that you can start earning money from people viewing your video is a long and tedious one. However, you can begin creating videos and uploading them from today. All your need is a smartphone camera and the internet. However, the catch to create a successful YouTube Channel is to regularly upload videos. These videos must ideally be six to eleven minutes in duration.

Living in the confinement of your home will also make your lethargic. However, you must not come under the influence of being lazy. You must wake up early in the morning, take a bath, have a nutritious breakfast and begin your work at home. If you are a student, you can revise your syllabus and if you are a professional, you can work-from-home. Furthermore, you must keep a things-to-list to keep you active throughout the day.

You should also spare time to do exercise. You do not need to buy any exercising equipment. All you need is loose clothes. A t-shirt and a trouser will do. The exercises that you can do in your room include push-ups, jumping jacks, lunges, walkouts, plank, side lunges, single-leg deadlifts, sit-ups and squats. You have to keep your body in shape and your mind active to remain emotionally stable at a time when spending time at home is the wisest thing to do.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist

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Learning must continue - Daily Times