Hi everyone! I hope you’re well, especially in times like this.
I live in Singapore, and we started our circuit breaker phase yesterday; this meant staying at home and not heading out unless it’s for essentials. It may just be me, but I really do love the idea of just staying home. In fact, I’m a little worried that I’ll get too comfortable and struggle to get back to normal working life when all of this is over.
Instead of sulking and complaining (which unfortunately, I see a lot of people doing so), I decided this is the perfect time to start on my list. A few months back, I created a list named “What I would do if I had all the time in the world?” and brain dumped into it.
For me, time can be a luxury and the idea of starting a new project or learning something new seemed daunting and out of reach. I’d usually come up with some excuses, telling me that I don’t have time to do that. Right now though, there’s no excuse and it’s time to start checking off this list, one by one.
Here’s a peek into the list.
What I Would Do If I Had All The Time In The World:
- Learn basic Indonesian
- Learn conversational French
- Try making dumplings from scratch
- Try making baos from scratch
- Get leaner and stronger
- Take a course on photoshop
- Read Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
- Take a course on digital marketing
- Organise my pantry and kitchen
- Take a course on SEO
- Really declutter my wardrobe and donate what I haven’t worn in the past year
- Enroll into a self defence course
- Try Krav Mega
- Learn how to ride a motorbike
- Get into crow pose in yoga
- Get into a split in yoga
- Grow my indoor garden
- Learn more about Procreate and try it out
- Try starting a podcast
- Reorganise my makeup collection
The list goes on, really. But it’s mostly a place where I dumped all my thoughts and possible ideas on what I think would be nice if I could actually do it. Then I realised, what exactly is stopping me from doing and achieving those things? It’s probably time, and my lack of discipline. So, now that I’m going to be working from home and having more free time to myself, I can’t give myself any more excuses.
For the month of April, I am going to focus on 5 things from the list.
1. READ TOOLS OF TITANS BY TIM FERRIS
I had this book for years, and it’s just sitting there on my book shelf. It could be the thickness of the book that scares me a little, and I’ve put off reading it for way too long. Thus, this month, I’ve set up a schedule and plan to read 2 chapters every morning at 8.30am and 2 chapters before bed. There are over 140 chapters in this book, so I’d probably have to take some extra time to fit the extra chapters in.
2. LEARN BASIC INDONESIAN
As someone who loves Bali, I really want to learn more about the culture and interact more with the locals. I may also have plans to live there sometime in the future, so knowing Indonesian will definitely be useful. For me, I think the first step is to build up my vocabulary of the common words and their pronunciation. Thus, I plan to watch at least one video of Bahasa Indonesian on Youtube daily. The channel I’m currently following is Indonesianpod101.
3. TRY MAKING DUMPLINGS FROM SCRATCH
If you know me personally, you’d know that my love for dumplings know no bounds. I loooooove dumplings. And since I’m at home, I really want to give making dumplings from scratch a shot. I’ve been watching quite a few videos and reading some recipes. I think I’m ready to try very soon!
4. TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE ON ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
I have been using Adobe Photoshop for years now, ever since I started Beautybyrah. However, my photoshopping skills are pretty basic and I would love to learn more. I’ve been taking this Adobe Photoshop Essentials Course on Skillshare and am learning so much! If you would like, you can use my link here to get 2 months of Skillshare Premium for free (and since you’re on premium, please check out some of my classes too hehe).
5. GET LEAN AND STRONG
No excuses for skipping the gym anymore! However, as gyms are closed these days, I’ve turned to 2 main fitness videos/websites. The first is Alomoves. They have many yoga classes, along with some HIIT. I got a free one month trial when I purchased a pair of leggings from them and have been hooked onto the site ever since. The other is really old school, but I’m challenging myself to do Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred daily in April. I used to do this when I was in University years back and had great results. Since I still have the files in my laptop, why not? All I need is a mat and a pair of dumbbells!
There we have my list; here’s a few more ideas to help you figure out how to spend your time at home wisely:
- Take an online course/class (Skillshare and YouTube have great ones!)
- Listen to a podcast
- Research on that topic that has been piquing your interest
- Reorganise your house, room by room
- Declutter your old makeup and skincare
- Research on some charities that you would like to donate to in the future
- Watch a documentary (I heard that they have some great ones on CuriosityStream)
- Try out a new recipe
- Write that book you’ve been thinking of
- Join a monthly challenge posted by many fitness accounts on YouTube
- Learn how to sew
- Make your own natural skincare products
- Read a book that you’ve always had on your list
- Try watercolour painting
- Reorganise your email and planning system
- Digitalise your old papers and reduce clutter
- Declutter your clothes
- Try making your own Kombucha (I just tried that last week and it’s super easy!)
- Redesign your space to emanate calm
- Start doing some yoga ( I created an Introduction to Yoga:40 Common Poses class, if you’re interested)
- Start meditating
- Try sketching and drawing
- Learn to upcycle your old clothes/items
Of course, don’t forget to take some time to just breathe and relax.
Stay safe, stay home and take care, everyone! Despite the current circumstances, I think it’s even more important to reflect on our lives and be grateful for whatever we have, especially our health.
Till then,
