How to Turn Coronavirus Lockdown Into New Opportunities
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way of our life. Companies adapt to new conditions: online stores and courier services have already introduced contactless delivery, office workers are quarantined and work from home. Rules have changed for everybody with the quarantine. It seems to have taken freedom from people, but gave a lot of time instead. Though everyone is puzzled about what to do with this gift. It is important to understand that this storm will also blow over. However paradoxical it seems, there is also a wave of positive in the dramatic time of the coronavirus. The lockdown opens a lot of new opportunities.
In 1991, Michael Porter wrote an article that gave birth to the Porter Hypothesis. Its essence is that forced restrictions give impetus to innovations and increased efficiency. It mainly relates to businesses. But in the current situation, this hypothesis will be extremely popular for individuals as well.
It is unlikely that coming out of coronavirus quarantine, everything will return to its starting point. Not everyone who is currently negotiating through Skype (perhaps for the first time in their lives) will want to fly across the world for exactly the same negotiations. Not everyone who is watching movies on a streaming platform at home will go to the cinema.
What Can You Do from Home?
Society has to retune its mode of life and make the most of it even in the coronavirus lockdown conditions. Luckily, digitalization opens up endless opportunities for everyone. Many resources have provided free access to their services to help people get through this difficult period with benefits.
Improve Your Remote Work
Quarantine gave a chance for freelancers and remote employees to boost productivity. Besides well-known free applications, now you can freely enjoy some paid services.
Google and Microsoft have decided to unlock access to their office tools G Suite and Microsoft Teams. Google advises that until July 1, it will allow free access to advanced functions for Hangouts Meet users. Microsoft is going to add a video to the free version of Teams, and remove participant limitations for a video conference. A premium version of Microsoft Teams will be free for a 6-month period. They had already opened this app for hospitals, schools, and companies in China, but it is free for everyone.
Start Online Courses
Quarantine is a great time for education. The most reputable universities of Ivy League have long ago developed more than 300 online courses that are accessible to everyone. They cover a wide range of subjects, from computer science to personal development and arts. Another educational giant Coursera granted access to 3800 online programs due to the coronavirus breakdown.
It’s high time to acquire a new skill. Design and animation lovers will benefit from specialized online UI / UX Design and Graphic Design courses. Those who want to brush up their foreign language skills can use Preply.com or a free EdX course. Entrepreneurs will find useful business resources.
Devote Time to Reading
In the busy rhythm of life, we always lack time for reading. Quarantine is a perfect time to finally read a book, and you can do it for free. The New York Public Library opened access to its books in electronic format.
The SimplyE library app contains over 300,000 eBooks of various genres. Besides books in English, publications in French, Spanish, Italian, German are also available. Book lovers just need to select a book in the app, download it, and find a cozy place to read from the screen. The service is accessible worldwide.
Travel Around the World
No, this is not a joke. Museums around the world are quarantined, but, fortunately, the Internet makes their collections accessible. To walk through the halls of these museums, you don’t even need to violate the self-isolation regime. One day you can visit the Louvre, and then take a tour around Madrid’s Prado.
The Google Arts & Culture project offers to visit picturesque places around the world, take a virtual tour of museums, temples, and other attractions, as well as get acquainted with the life and work of famous artists.
Take Time for Entertainment
Leading theatres of the world are inviting virtual audience:
- Starting from March 15, Vienna Opera will broadcast free records of past performances of opera and ballet every day at 19.00 (Austrian time) through a streaming platform that will remain available for 24 hours. All you have to do is log in or sign up as a new user on the site.
- Metropolitan opera starts online broadcasts of operas from the archives (broadcasts start at 7:30 PM New York and will be accessible for 20 hours).
- The Berlin Philharmonic Society provides free access to all archival concerts by March 31, 2020;
- The Bavarian Opera offers to watch its performances online;
- The Paris Opera will broadcast performances free of charge on the official website and on the Culturebox platform (from 17.03.2020 every evening at 7.30 pm French time)
Work Out
Now it’s time for healthy nutrition and working out. You are at home, so you can cook the right food for yourself and introduce workouts in your daily routine. Some YouTube channels and services have become temporarily free for you to enjoy at home.
The company DOWN DOG, which releases applications for yoga and fitness, makes them free until April.
Energetic fitness trainer Rebecca Luis invites to visit her channel. It is suitable for those who are not ready to exercise for more than 10 minutes but want to keep fit.
MadFit channel is also designed to burn body fat at home. You don’t need to look for special accessories here. All training is using dumbbells, which will increase the intensity.
The modern world regularly throws up new challenges for us, therefore, the ability to be able to quickly adapt to changes and be flexible becomes more relevant. Quarantine is a perfect moment to start to develop new habits and acquire new skills. Use this time proactively today to reap the benefits tomorrow.
About the author
Connie Benton is a passionate freelance author and owner of Whenipost.com.