Hi, Smart City readers – Lily and Kara here with Dallasites101! With shelter in place orders being implemented county-wide, the most recent stay at home orders being extended to May 20, we are all adjusting to a new “norm.” It might be easy to get sucked into sleeping in late, binging Netflix and letting the days go by without a ton of productivity. If you’re like us and you want to use some of this extra time to learn a new skill while social distancing, we’ve got six suggestions to help! Here’s our guide to beat the boredom blues by developing six new skills without having to leave home!
Learn a language
How often have you wished you stuck with that secondary language you learned in school? Duolingo provides free language courses on a fun, interactive platform and offers more than 30 languages to choose from. Most notably, Duolingo adapts to your personal learning style, and you can learn anywhere and pause anytime for bite-sized lessons. You can access Duolingo through their app or on a desktop.
Learn to cook
Maybe you have a kitchen full of quarantine groceries and not a clue what to do with them. Cooking is a fun way to relieve stress and anxiety, it’s less expensive than ordering in, and you have control over the menu so you can fight the dreaded self-quarantine 15! Taste Buds Kitchen (with locations in Southlake and Plano) has started a free At-Home Cooking Club for all ages with new cooking videos released every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 pm EST! Plus, for every chef who joins, they will donate $1 to No Kid Hungry!
Click here to join.
Learn new fitness routines
Reduce stress and boost your happy levels with a workout break. If you’re looking to emerge from shelter in place new and improved, no worries! You don’t need an at-home gym to get a great workout. We compiled all the info on local studios and gyms providing free virtual workouts and fitness deals through social media. Enjoy virtual sessions of cardio, yoga, pilates, dance classes, and more.
See the full guide here.
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Learn about a new subject matter
Yale University offers free online courses, giving you the opportunity to learn from an Ivy League university from the comfort of your home. Choose from a variety of subjects like philosophy, music, environmental studies, and history, just to name a few. Course streaming is available from online platforms like Coursera, iTunes U, and YouTube. More than 600,000 people have already signed up for the virtual version of Yale’s most popular course, Science of Well Being.
Click here to view the catalog.
Learn to garden
Is it safe to say we’re all ready to venture outside caring for household succulents and into the world of “adult planting?”The Dallas Public Library might currently be closed to the public, but they offer an abundance of resources on its digital library platform – perfect for picking up a book or two about botany and gardening. Visit their FAQ page for information on how to get a library card so you can check out some all the best books to grow that green thumb. Once you’ve read up, we suggest ordering a gardening kit from Gardenuity to kick things off!
Click here for a list of the DPL’s online gardening books.
Learn a sport
Yep, you read that right! Get out of your comfort zone by picking up a new sport or brushing up on a sport that you enjoy. Not only will it help pass the time, but it offers a variety of the same benefits as working out. City Golf Club offers its Instagram followers live “slice” fix sessions and plans to share even more ways to work your game from home. If you’re into golf or ready to learn, this is a great recourse! You can also learn proper boxing techniques like throwing a lead hook and true boxer stance from the pros at Fight Camp through their YouTube channel.
There you have it! Hopefully, this gives anyone who has ever thought about learning a new skill a great place to start. To stay in the loop when it comes to COVID-19 updates as they relate to apartment renters and those moving soon, click here.
Written by Lily & Kara of Dallasites101
Dallasites101 is a hyperlocal media company in Dallas, about Dallas. They are your 101 to Dallas, encouraging new and native residents to continuously discover and engage in the city, through content and experiences. They want Dallasites to call the city home, to find and build their sense of place here by trying “the new.” And that doesn’t just mean what’s new to Dallas, but also what’s new to them!
