If someone had told you in 2019 that a global pandemic would change the world in 2020, it may have been hard to believe. Now, as most of us move into another month of lockdown, there are ways to maximise time, stay engaged and prime ourselves for life after COVID-19 while staying safe at home.
- Upskilling and Learning
As companies and people worldwide wait for an easing of restriction measures, this time is a chance to refresh personal interests and professional skills alike. Time freed up due to the pandemic could be used to take a range of online courses to upgrade skills and gain insights in areas of interest to your industry that can then be shared company wide.
If you’re looking to advance professionally there are free online resources being offered by LinkedIn, such as sales courses like “Asking Great Sales Questions” or resources to help you navigate working from home. Other great sites to find free upskilling opportunities are The Great Courses Daily (for video lectures), or Coursera (which features courses in everything from arts to electrical engineering).
Or if you prefer to learn by listening, Spotify has expanded its podcast library to have something for everyone and an Audible account allows you to easily buy audiobooks or access original podcasts which is a great way to multitask as it leaves your hands free.
- Establishing Positive Habits
Starting a sentence with “I wish I had the time but...” may no longer apply to many of us whilst in lockdown so you could finally have time to implement some positive changes to your routine.
There are many free fitness apps available to help support you in establishing a new workout routine such as Runtastic, Asana Rebel, or Fitbod as well as timed workout classes available on YouTube like Pamela Reif’s or Ferdinand Fitness’ and podcasts such as Couch to 5k that provide a week-by-week guide. Apps for meditation, mindfulness and remaining resilient in times of uncertainty could also be of benefit now and in the long term. Our top picks include Headspace, Smiling Mind and Insight Timer.
Don’t forget - apps to make your life that bit easier can also save you time and money! Check out our list of 30 great finance apps.
As we all find ourselves with a smaller radius of the world to explore, it’s important to stay connected to people. Apps like Houseparty, WhatsApp or even Facebook Messenger let you video call friends and family so you can stay social from home. Or you could even get involved in some of the many online events such as live streamed concerts by famous musicians, online pub quizzes or watch parties like the one hosted by comedian Alison Spittle who made a hashtag #CovideoParty on Twitter so that people could chat as they watched the same films. Or, consider even hosting your own watch party with your friends via the Netflix Party extension.
- Reviewing Your Service Providers
Everyone has “rainy-day jobs”, or, as what our team likes to call “life admin”, these are the tasks that even the most independent of adults need to do but often don’t get around to!
Tasks such as reviewing your health or car insurance plans or checking if there are cheaper providers for internet and electricity may not be exciting to complete in the short term but can pay dividends in the long run.
The same can be said for opening a CurrencyFair account. CurrencyFair allows you to avoid excessive fees on money transfers and payments by accessing lower-margin FX rates. We even have a unique feature called the Marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers of currencies to securely trade at exclusive exchange rates, potentially even beating the rate you see on Google.
Download CurrencyFair’s app (iOS, Android) or sign up on our website to start saving on your money transfers.
Should you have any questions about how we can help you save money when you’re exchanging currencies, just get in touch with support@currencyfair.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.
In the meantime, stay safe and here’s to a productive lockdown.
