With the pandemic going on I, like a lot of people, had a sudden reaction as if I was back at school during summer holidays. I was being paid to simply stay at home and doing all I can to help keep others safe. So, I stayed home, used all my free time enjoying the piece and quiet, played games, caught up on my anime and TV shows and slept the rest of my day away. By end of the first lock down I had left my home a grand total of two times, in 6 months.
It wasn’t until I realised how long had past that I suddenly felt sick with fear. How much of my time had I wasted of my life doing literally nothing. Despite the misfortune of so many, we were granted a great gift of time. Time that I could have spent improving myself or furthering my career.
What could I have done with my 6 months.
- Learnt a Language – Being an English speaker I could have learned any of the Germanic or Romance languages to near fluency, including; French, Spanish, Norwegian and even Swahili.
- Learnt Computer Programming – There are numerous methods for this available such as an online learning platform like Udemy or Team Treehouse. A 100 hour course could give you all of the knowledge you need, as long as you read around and practice. You could even simply use Youtube for free.
- Got into Fitness – Improve my health and mind by exercising, improving my strength and confidence.
- Or Literally any skill I wanted – and be a ‘good’ 6 months ahead of the game. Most people will do no more than 1 hour a day after work, what about a 9 to 5 equivalent of training, or even just studying something interesting when I would have gone to the pub.
It wasn’t until people began going back to work and meet their friends that I realised how foolish I had been, not using my time to the fullest. Now, I feel frustrated every time I don’t do something to improve myself, I feel as though I am wasting my time.
This was truly the point when it finally made sense to me. All those years as a child being told to: “work hard”, “don’t leave it to the last minute” and, “time goes faster when you’re older”. I now find there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that I want to do.
So, What am I doing now
It seemed like the right time to quit my previous job as a member of front of house staff. At this point in time, I am working online as an ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this isn’t a 9-5 role, but it does give me lots of time and enough money to survive. With my free time I keep myself in a ‘9-5ish’ routine but add in studying.
So, I am currently;
- Working as an ESL Teacher
- Exercising – I no longer have the ‘tired’ excuse and I need to be healthy to travel well
- Studying Japanese – for travelling Japan and Asia
- Leaning Web Development – to supplement my income, and a role you can travel with
- Blogging – to establish a semblance of presence for developing an online business
In any case I can say whole heartedly, “I have learned my lesson”. I refuse to waste my time. If I want to make my life easier in the future, why waste the time I have been given now, especially with a second lockdown coming into play.
What do you think? Are you wasting your time? Learning new skills? Got a new job? Please let me know. If you have any questions then Leave a Q.
Please don’t waste your time!