Staying home is currently our new normal, and although this has been an adjustment the team at World Solar want to help our community productively make use of this time before we all go back to the hustle-and-bustle of everyday life.
Tips for making the most of your time at home:
- Working from home
If you have the ability to work remotely, make sure you have a dedicated area in your home. This area should have the essentials you may need to keep your work moving. Make sure it’s comfortable, quiet and promotes a productive environment. It’s also important to create a daily schedule, ensuring you get some time away from your work as it’s easy to blur the lines between our own personal home time and your professional life when in a home environment. Go for a walk or run locally, hang out with friends or family within in your bubble and have your meals away from your work space. - DIY Projects
Maybe you started a garden patch, or painting part of the house but never quite finished the job. Now is the perfect time to restart or begin new DIY projects. You will spend a solid amount of time at your residence now, so why not make it the best place to be. If you already have the tools to keep an existing project going, great - allocate some time throughout the next few weeks to bring this project to life – even better get others involved within your bubble. Not only will it get the job done faster, but it’s a good bonding exercise. If you want to start a project, think about what resources you may need, what you already have around the house and what you may be able to purchase from essential business operators within alert level 4. You will need to get creative here, but is all part of the fun.
- Start a business
Have you been thinking about starting an ecommerce business, or you have a talent for baked goods and want to go commercial? Whatever your business idea is now's the time to start planning – research is your friend, look into the industry you may want to enter, find out what competitor companies are doing, what advantage your business may have over competitors, if there is a demand or a gap in the current market, and what initial funds you may need to kick things off. The more you plan, the better chance for success. Check out Business Govt NZ for tips on starting a small business in New Zealand.
- Virtual activities
Technology has become a staple in our everyday lives. We now have the ability to stay connected more than any generation before us. If its at home exercise you want, Les Mills and TVNZ have partnered up during the lock down period to offer virtual workouts on Les Mills on demand, and the best part is it's free. Maybe you need to get in touch with friends and family outside your bubble, give Zoom a try - this video conferencing platform allows you to connect with others by video calling them for meetings, classes, or just casual check-ins. Lastly, taking time out for yourself is important as well, the team at Joyful is offering free guided meditation classes, what a great way to start your day.
- Online Courses
Keen to learn a new skill, or a refresher of existing skills. Then start looking at free or paid online courses you're interested in. These are all easily accessible by running a search on any online search engine with specific keywords related to the skill you want to find courses on, start sifting through the various sites and review their course outlines before selecting the one to join. YouTube, is also a great space to find video tutorials by professionals and everyday people like you and I. Lastly, easily start reading a book related to the field you are interested in, and if you don't have the book on hand, try downloading the Kindle app where you can access millions of eBooks on your digital devices.
