If you are feeling anxious about the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. Most people are feeling low-level anxiety about the current state of events, especially now the country has been in isolation for a few weeks. And isolation can make this anxiety worse, especially if you are a business owner who is worried about money.
Thankfully there are a few ways to use self-isolation to your advantage. You don’t have to spend the days worrying about your career; instead you can do things to boost your career so you are prepared for the end of isolation.
Interested? If so, here are four ways to use self-isolation to your advantage.
1. Contact Your Networking Connections
Right now most people are working from home, and this will continue indefinitely. While this is frustrating, it does give you the opportunity to check in with networking contacts that you’ve been planning on talking to.
Email or ring them to check in; ask how they are doing, and what their work situation looks like going forward. It is very likely that they will appreciate you checking in with them, and this will open up a dialogue that will strengthen your connection. It could even lead to collaborative work during isolation, helping you both to stay productive!
2. Consider Taking An Online Course
Have you ever considered taking a course to better your knowledge? If so, now is the perfect time to do it. There are thousands of online courses for you to choose from, and many websites (such as Future Learn) are now offering free courses for adults in self-isolation.
This means you could learn a skill relevant to your career, or you could even learn a new skill that will allow you to switch careers. It’s up to you; simply look online and see if any courses appeal to you!
3. Update Your CV
You could also use the free time to update your CV. Many adults struggle to find the time to update their CV while they are in full time work, but it is very likely it needs updating. After all, it is possible you have learnt new skills over the last few years, especially if you took on new work or got a promotion.
So set aside a day to sit down and go over your CV. It can be tempting to just put an hour or two aside for this task, but in reality it can take quite a while to update your CV, especially if it’s been a long time since you last updated it. And once you’ve done, consider heading over to LinkedIn to update your online CV!
4. Do Some Relevant Reading
Finally you may want to consider doing some relevant reading. If you have a busy life it is likely you struggle to find the time to sit down with a book, but now you have lots of time to read! We suggest reading books that benefit your mind or your career, as this means you will be in a better situation when self-isolation ends, but if you are feeling a bit stressed or down, you may prefer to read a light-hearted book.
Thankfully you have lots of options to choose from, as Audible have just made hundreds of books free to read online. So have a browse through the options, and see if anything appeals to you.
Self-isolation can be very stressful and claustrophobic, but there are lots of things you can do to stay sane. Consider these tips to ensure your career is still thriving (even if you can’t leave the house!).
