10 ideas to up-skill in the lockdown

Last week I had shared a post on how to be productive while idling (read it here). So, continuing in the
same vein I would urge all of you to upgrade your skills (=productive, duh.) it doesn’t have to be life
changing or even a resume accessory, the intention behind this is to learn because learning is earning.

But Puralika what can we do to up-skill? Or specifically what skills can be learnt when we are locked in
the house?

Ah! Despair not! I shalt give to thee a list of such ideas and not only will they be fun to learn but they will
also enhance your resume or start a side hustle (who knows?). or at the very least you will have a set of
transferrable skills that you can display in your career.

What are transferrable skills?

Now, coming back to the original aim of the post, here are (as promised) 10 ideas for upskilling in this
period –

 Cooking – Every self respecting adult should know how to cook (and also *ahem* equality
*ahem*) I swear you will never regret learning it since it will help you save the money required
for eating out. As a matter of fact, I recommend learning even how to make the basic
ingredients like condensed milk, khoya, pasta, muesli etc at home, that way you may expend
effort but at least you have quality assurance and did I mention the saving of money (yes, I am
broke and money is on mind 24x7)
 Introspection– I have often observed people are afraid to think, introspect and feel, they would
rather look at memes and say, “mood”. But for our own mental, physical, emotion and spiritual
well being it is important to understand ourselves. So, talk to someone close or if you are like
me and feel shy talking you can write your heart out in a diary. Ask yourself the same question
you would ask a loved one or pet – Are you happy? Are you sad? Why? Are you inspired? Are
you motivated? Do you need someone to talk to? How was your day? Etc.
 Online courses/internship –No talk of online up-skilling is complete without at least an
mentioning online courses or internship. If you want to polish up your CV, take a certified course
from an authority in your chosen field (gonna cost you money though) but if you want to learn
for the sake of learning, you have plenty of free courses floating around but be cautious, their
content may not be on the same level as that of the paid ones. Similarly, there are plenty of
internship opportunities now (find them on Linkedin) go and grab one you like! It will give you a
sense of structure and if you have a lot of free time, you can occupy yourself with it
 Gardening – nothing is as peaceful as tending to your garden and since you can’t get your hands
on the exotic nursery plant, forage around and find local plants that suit your taste. And if you
already have a garden, clean it (mine is a mess, and it is backbreaking work.)
 Cleaning – A clean home is a positive home. I don’t need to write about the importance of
cleaning, from your own experience you know that cleaning makes one productive and much
 more likelier to get things done, so take this time to not only deep clean the house but also to
develop a habit of being clean.
 Learn a language – Learning a new language is always a good idea since it helps the brain make
more connections and neural pathways while trying to understand the meaning of a new
language through current knowledge. Plus, in the event you feel like leaving all this behind to
create a new life, it would be easier for you to adapt to a new town with your language skills.
 Drawing/ any art form – Expressing yourself in any form is essential to a good living and
sometimes words fail us. For those moments, practice art and wow the world with your ideas!
 Photography – There is no other point in history where photography has been so widely
practiced as it is today. We can now capture everything we love in our cameras and cherish
them forever. And isn’t it better if those pictures were a bit better, a bit sharper, a bit more
composed? So, go and learn the basics of photography and you would be surprised how quickly
the aesthetics of your pictures improve
 Remote networking – One of the major drawbacks of the lockdown is lack of networking events
– but on the bright side, you can still make deep connections through webinars (if you have
good internet connection) personalized emails or simply reaching out to the people you want to
connect to on Linkedin. But be sure to respect their response and not push them.
 Find your study GPS – this is something I recently came to know from Ana Mascara. Take this
rest time to find out what study methods work for you and how you can switch from passive
studying strategies to active ones. More about it here.

And that’s it! Tell me, how you are utilizing your lockdown! Until the next post, HAPPY HUSTLIN’ HON!