Before 2020, now commonly nicknamed “Year from Hell”, some of us might have been voicing out phrases like “I’m too busy to (insert hobby, event, book title, course title, etc.) or “How can (insert name here) find time and energy to (insert activities here)?”.
Now that most of us are under quarantine, work from home, reduced working hours or worst laid off (I’m very sorry, I hope you find better opportunities), we have plenty of time on our hands to finally do the things that we kept on postponing.
But are you binge-watching on Netflix? Find yourself 5 pounds heavier due to inactivity? Or making excuses to procrastinate because anyway you have all the time in the world?
If you answered yes, then this blog is for you. Here are a few ways I found effective in keeping yourself from falling down the rabbit hole of unproductivity and purposeless existence.
1. Plan your day
When your usual routine is in shambles, you would find yourself leaning into bad habits, hence having a goal in mind keeps you on track.
It doesn’t need to be extravagant or super detailed like keeping a planner, even as simple as creating a checklist of the tasks you need to do daily/weekly will help motivate you to do them and not just dreaming about it.
Don’t’ forget to have an action plan. You can’t simply write: Organize pantry, without a game plan.
I noticed that it’s useful to keep a small notepad to list the things I need to accomplish and it’s so satisfying cross them off the list once done. At the end of the day, I have an easy tool in measuring how productive I am.
Remember to assign specific time slots for simple routines like prayer or meditation, nap and snack time (so you wouldn’t overdo it), exercise, time outside in the sun and most importantly, catching up with your family and friends. My usual routine when I’m not at work looks something like this: prayer and exercise time in the morning and read a book or study in our garden after. Nap time is an hour after lunch, snacks are in midmorning and midafternoon, which is a good reward after doing chores, and conference call with the family late in the afternoon before dinner.
2. Explore New Interests or Revisit Old Ones
I’ve only just learned that “Interest” and “Hobby” have completely different meanings.
An interest is when your curiosity of doing something is peaked. Compared to hobbies, it’s short term and objective. It’s like your just food tasting and not committed to eat the full meal or like you enjoy gardening, so you research about it, watch tutorials but don’t actually plant anything. Finding a new interest can lead you to discover new hobbies.
I had always been interested in writing, I dabbled with it for a bit in the past and even briefly considered taking journalism in college but I couldn’t find the commitment to make it as a hobby due to lack of time and resources. Having this many free times, opened a lot of opportunities to put my thoughts into words. That’s why I have this blog to prove it and as they say, practice makes perfect.
Now list those interests down and start feeding your curiosity because this is the best time to do it!
3. Earn from Your Hobbies
From reading books, taking dance lessons, biking, baking and even DIY Projects can cost you a certain amount of cash. So, the big money-making question is, why not turn hobbies into profitable hobbies?
A few profitable hobbies I came across are:
a. Gardening- Everyone is a sucker for plants now. My pro tip: never hesitate to politely ask your neighbors if you can have seeds or seedlings or cut a few stems from their gardens. Put them up for sale or trade.
b. Filler Paper- Did you know that people sell this stuff by grams online? We have a lot of scrap paper at the office and I usually ask if I can take them home and shred it by hand while watching Netflix. I promise, your hands will never be idle ever again and you are saving the environment by recycling.
c. Book Review- If you are book addict like me, you spend your day lost in the world of words and you don’t even notice the time! I have written a couple of book reviews for entertainment purposes but, there are sites that pay you to do so (I’ll have to get back with you on this and recommend legit sites).
d. Online Selling- There are a variety of things you can sell and it’s very easy to set up using social media as your marketing tool.
The growing trend in my hometown is homemade food. Food is a commodity that no one can live without and if you want to compete you have to come up with something unfamiliar or exotic, as it’s safer not to travel and a lot of people are craving food that are not locally made, but still appetizing.
My cousin and I started our own online business called Pink J. We cook and prepare healthy food options and then I advertise them on our FB Page. If you are a starting business or planning to, a way to boost your sales is to coordinate with local businesses that are already popular and, in our case, we partnered with SC Food Riders and Pink Panda.
I use Canva (for free) to create stunning graphics to advertise our menu and Pinterest to spark up new ideas.
I hope you find these tips useful. But everything really boils down to your choice. You can decide that you’re contented to lounging on your couch daydreaming the day away or you can waste your time productively by making the effort to think and move!
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