Words by: Kiera Eardley
Art by: Anqi Meng

So, you’ve caught up on your lectures, tidied your room, meal-prepped and walked the dog (twice).

Or, maybe, you’ve done none of these things and instead woke up in the same perpetual state of boredom as the past two months. I get it! It is Groundhog Day, after all. But whichever camp you fall into, the question remains the same: what next? If that internship you were meant to start in April fell through, you’re living off JobSeeker until your café job starts back again, and you’re desperately seeking SOMETHING remotely productive to fill your time, you’ve come to the right place. While we wait for the world to slowly inch back to normality, here are four things to do in your free time that will nurture that hungry creative soul of yours. And, also, will look very nice on your résumé.

Get Tech-y

On your Saturdays that now look exactly like every other day of the week, upskill by learning how to get the most from the technology at our fingertips. For us students, Adobe has some incredible discounts on annual subscriptions to Creative Cloud, which includes apps like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. With loads of free tutorials available, you’ll be creating seamless designs in no time. If a YouTube career sounds more like your calling, Apple’s Final Cut Pro X can be trialled free for 90 days to ensure your isolation vlogs will be as cinematic as Scorsese. Then, once you’ve maximised your tech for supreme creative potential, have a browse through Canva — their extensive résumé templates will upgrade your CV to be as vibrant as your new skillset.

Make Like Maslow and Self-Actualise

With half of us stuck working from home, and the other half rendered jobless by the virus-which-shall-not-be-named, what better opportunity to learn things that might help us earn more in the future? Facebook Blueprint can teach you the ropes of digital advertising, so you can spruik all those paintings/pot plants/mosaics/candles you’ve made during iso for some extra cash. There’s also LinkedIn Learning, which offers short courses run by industry experts to strengthen your career prospects. Covering topics like networking, job-hunting, and how to harness your stress in a positive way, both you and your CV will come out of lockdown living your best lives.

The All-Rounder

For those of us who are itching to enrich our brains, Masterclass comes highly recommended. The hugely popular subscription website features modules from famous experts, who teach their passions in an easy-to-navigate format that’s replete with very fun and seriously cool industry insights. Full disclosure, Masterclass is a little pricey, but if you split the cost with your mates or family, you can watch as you all transform into a bunch of well-rounded, highly-skilled geniuses. My top picks? Creative leadership with Anna Wintour, conservation with Dr Jane Goodall, acting with Natalie Portman, and cooking with Gordon Ramsay. These are impressive enough, and that’s without mentioning space exploration with Chris Hadfield, who’s a former commander of the International Space Station. NASA, eat your heart out.

Start That THING

You know the thing I’m talking about. We’ve all got one. That one thing you’ve been planning to do
for 5,237 years, which somehow always stays on the backburner and you never get around to it. Now’s the perfect time to finally tick that box! Get onto WordPress and make that blog for your short stories, set up that Etsy store to sell your latest designs, or record that podcast about the sport you’re missing most. Now that you’ve got some time on your hands, just DO it