Lifestyle

15 Skills You Can Learn While at Home

Know how to play musical instruments? Know how to do some magic tricks? Know how to cook like a pro? No, no, and no? Well, if you are affected by the community quarantine,  now you have time to turn those bunch of nos into yeses. And after the quarantine, you’ll come out of your home as a musician, a magician, an excellent cook, or a completely better version of yourself. Do you like how that sounds? Awesome, now check out more skills you can learn while at home.

 

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home

It’s not necessary for you to learn everything on this list but it’s up to you if you’d like to turn this into some kind of a bucket list. Already know how to cook like a pro or to play musical instruments? Then tick it off your list right away and proceed to your next objective. Just remember have fun along the way and enjoy learning. 

1. Learn to play a musical instrument.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a close up photo of a wooden guitar

Have I already mentioned about learning how to play a musical instrument? Yes, quite a few times if you didn’t skip the intro. Well, it could be a guitar, a piano, a ukulele, drums, a violin, kalimba, or even a tambourine or maracas, whichever is available at home for you to practice with.

Can’t find any musical instruments at home? Try asking your father if he still keeps his old guitar which he used to serenade your mother with back in the old days and probably some extra guitar strings too. And if you really can’t find a musical instrument at home, you may want to settle with with musical instruments simulators (e.g. Real Guitar App – Acoustic Guitar Simulator, Perfect Piano, REAL DRUM: Electronic Drum Set, Kalimba) which could be downloaded for free from either Google Play or App Store for now. 

After deciding on which instrument to practice, lookup tutorials which you could easily follow. There are a lot of online lessons and mobile apps on the internet which you could make use of, so there’s no need to worry if your older siblings or parents couldn’t teach you. And, hey, you can even encourage your family to learn along with you if they also wish to learn such a skill. 

Who knows, maybe when it’s already safe again to go outside and resume school or work, you can show your classmates, workmates, and maybe even the world your new-found skill. You can finally join your school’s battle of the bands, serenade a workmate, put up a YouTube Channel and upload your music covers, and more.

2. Learn a new language.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a vector photo of a website that translates words

More than just not needing subtitles anymore when watching your favorite Kdrama, Anime, and Asia Novelas, learning a new language can do something more like connecting you better with other people around the globe.

And if you’re planning to have a trip to Korea or Japan once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, then learning either or both the two languages will help you become more than ready for your coming trip. Bet it could make your stay in those countries more enjoyable since language is no longer a barrier.

Not being able to hire a tutor or an instructor because of the ongoing pandemic isn’t a problem at all. There are mobile apps and several websites that offer different online courses about learning a certain language.

e.g. Learn Korean, Japanese, Chinese – LingoDeer, Drops: Learn 37 new languages, HelloTalk – Chat, Speak & Learn Foreign Languages, Beelinguapp: Learn Languages Music & Audiobooks).

But if you want to go with a traditional style of learning, using actual language books as a reference might also do the trick.

3. Learn a song or two.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of a black earphone over a red background

Can’t drop a beat whenever you and your friends are having a karaoke session? Whether you’re shy or just aren’t so familiar with the songs, practice can give you a decent push in the back. And now that you have free time because of work or class suspension, it’s time to familiarize yourself with least a song or two.

Can’t decide which songs to learn? Try searching for different or trending songs on YouTube, Spotify, or other music streaming apps. As for the lyrics, you can easily find it on the internet. And once the Enhanced Community Quarantine is over, surprise your friends on your next karaoke session with your new songs of expertise.

4. Learn how to draw.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a close up photo of drawing materials such as pens, pencils, and brushes.

Are you an aspiring artist Want to draw an anime character, a portrait of your favorite person, a cartoon character or stunning scenery?

There are certain ways to draw each particular subject of interest so it’s best to first figure out what you’d like to focus on. But if you are to compare the different tutorials on the internet, most of them have something in common which is having to start with basic lines and shapes. So long as you can already do the basics, you’ll progress in no time.

5. Grow plants and establish a garden.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of a basket filled with different vegetables.

More than flowering plants, you may also want to learn how to grow herbs, fruits, and vegetables to turn your space into a survival garden.

Herbs can be used for both culinary and healing purposes while fruit and vegetables, obviously, are good source of nutrition. Thus learning how to grow these kinds of plants would make a very useful skill. 

There are also several advantages of growing plants and establishing your very own aside from the health benefits that it brings. Some of these include:

  • great bonding activity for families
  • a way to teach children about
    • caring for others and the environment
    • handling responsibilities 
    • good conversation starter

6. Learn how to cook.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of two sunny side up eggs on a frying pan.

One of the most accessible skills you can learn while at home is cooking since most of the utensils and ingredients you’d need can usually be found at home. If you consider making a sunny side up as the art of cooking, then give yourself a round of applause because that’s already a good introduction.

Now, it’s time for an upgrade. It might be a good way to start with one of the most well-known Filipino dishes which is Adobo.

7. Learn how to sew.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a close up photo of sewing materials over a pink cloth.

Sewing is more than just stitching and seaming some random pieces of cloth together to turn it into something more useful. It is also about practicing creativity, especially if you’re aiming to create something that looks aesthetically pleasing, such as gowns and cosplay costumes perhaps.

You won’t need to use a high-grade cloth however if you’re still learning how to sew. You may start with whatever spare cloth you have at home like old clothes or a flour sack/bag. Then start working on simple patterns like that of an apron then level up from that point. There are guides, mobile apps, and other tutorials that are freely available on the internet making you just a few clicks away from starting your journey as a great tailor. 

8. Practice photography.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of a camera with lens facing upward.

Nowadays, you can already take awesome photos with just the use of your phone. And remember this: Photography isn’t just about capturing breathtaking landscapes. You can also take indoors photos and be creative about it.

When practicing indoor photography, your focus will most likely be to capture photos with great composition, lighting, depth, and shadows. Also, you must pay attention to the details. As for tutorials, there are in-depth guides, lessons, and even DO’s and DON’Ts in indoor photography that you can find online so surf away and turn yourself into an expert.

9. Learn Photoshop.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of a man walking on a railway. The photo seem to went under photo manipulation.

Learning the basics of Photoshop such as how the tools work is kind of easy so you can start with that. And once you master the software, you can use it when doing projects for school or for work such as posters, flyers, and infographics and even just for enhancing your personal photos.

Aside from these things, you may even include this skill on your resume should you plan to apply for a job. Just like the first four skills mentioned earlier, you will be able to find a lot of content on the internet which can help you learn more about Photoshop.

10. Learn how to edit videos.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of what a computer screen looks like while editing a video.

The different video editing apps or softwares come with different levels of difficulty. For example, editors such as Movie Maker and Filmora are simpler and easier to master compared to Vegas and Adobe Premier which can be more complicated and challenging.

If you’re looking for free apps where you can practice video editing, here are some:

When you learn how to edit videos and push through with it, it might even help you land a job or start your career as a professional. So if you’re thinking about trying it for a while now, hop into it while you have the time to do so.

11. Master the art of Origami.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of different origami pieces including as rabbit and other animals.

Origami is the art of folding paper into decorative shapes or figures.

What origami pieces are you familiar with? Perhaps paper airplanes and paper boats. Since you have some time to spare while on quarantine, you may now take your origami skills into the next level. And while some pros can make very complicated figures out of folded papers, you can take it slow and start with making a rabbit or a crane.

12. Learn a magic trick.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo of a magician hat which sprinkles out stars.

You won’t be able to tell when exactly a magic trick will be needed so why not try to learn a few and take such knowledge with you wherever you go. Who knows, you might just make a person’s day better with your magic tricks.

13. Learn how to code.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a photo focused on a laptop and a blurred mug in the background.

Living in a techy generation, coding is a skill that can be useful in many jobs. So once you start mastering this skill, you can proudly add it to your resume later on.

14. Get into vlogging.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a vector photo of  YouTube and YouTube plaques.

Fond of watching vlogs? Why not start your own?

You might want to start vlogging about your stay-at-home experience or about the things you usually do at home for productivity or whatever. Your vlog may also be about how to keep yourself safe from COVID-19 but make sure to make use of only factual information from trusted sources like the World Health Organization (WHO).

Another pilot episode that you can do is a house tour but that is only if you’re willing to show your home to random viewers.

Aside from deciding on a good topic, it’s important to determine which online platform you’d like to start with. It could be YouTube, Facebook, or any other social media platform that can support a long-form video.

You can learn vlogging by watching and observing styles of other vloggers but looking up for some guides and tips might also help. Also, start with what you have; a phone and a Gorillapod can already be a good companion. 

15. Learn how to clean your home and maintain it.

15  Skills You Can Learn While at Home: a vector photo of a pail, mop, and a puddle.

Didn’t see this coming? Well, cleaning your home and learning how to maintain its tidiness is one of the skills you can learn during these times, especially when you aren’t the one usually doing it. 

There are still a lot of things you can learn and do while at home

Staying at home doesn’t mean that you can’t be productive anymore. With an internet connection, books, and perhaps knowledge from your parents or siblings, you can always learn a new skill or two. Which among these skills would you like to learn? Share it with us in the comment section below. And if you have any suggestions, we’d be glad to hear about them too.

How do you feel about this?

Happy
0
Sad
0
Shocked
0
Not Sure
0

More in:Lifestyle

You may also like

Leave a reply