Isn’t technology amazing? Is there anything we need that we can’t get just by opening an app on our phone? The COVID pandemic has accelerated the move to online and virtual services, meaning that there are now so many more things we can do without having to leave the house. Take a look at some of the things it’s now possible to do online to keep the boredom at bay.
Find a lawyer
Professional services have often lagged behind other sectors when it comes to dealing with people. That’s changing now. Great legal advice is now just a few clicks away with many lawyers that provide their legal services online finding it much easier to do business remotely. You can talk to a legal professional about anything from making a will to starting a company.
Personal Training
Sweating it out in the gym or in the park with a PT has become a thing of the past in lockdown society. Fitness tech is impacting our lives in a big way. Many people have a smartwatch that tracks their activity, pulse and sleep patterns and. It’s all about taking control of our health. Now we have the capacity to do this from home while still having the advantages of personal trainers and high-quality equipment. Most of these exercise programs are free and are designed to get the best results without having to have a lot of equipment. YouTube is filled with exercise programmes from some of the world’s most famous personal trainers. There are a number of apps such as Centr, The Body Coach, Apple Fit and Peleton which have become very popular. Gym and trainers struggling with lockdown have taken their fitness classes and training online so that they can still directly interact with clients.
Attend a wedding
Missing out on a loved one’s wedding is really disappointing. After all, a wedding is how a couple shows their love and commitment to each other in from of their friends and family. With weddings and civil partnerships have been thrown into disarray with restrictions on guest numbers, the industry has had to get creative. Now, you can still watch people say their ‘I do’s’ live online, through real-time streaming. It might not be quite as good as being there (no great food or dancing), but you can still be there for the important part. You can even get dressed up if you like.
Attend a virtual cinema
It might seem like the entire world has done nothing but sit at home and stream movies and TV shows. Subscriber numbers for Netflix and Disney+ have gone through the roof, as people look for something to occupy their time and take their mind off the news. It’s still a lonely affair though and there’s only so many times you can watch Bridgerton. If you want to watch movies while still being able to interact with people, then you can enter the wonderful world of virtual reality and watch a movie in a cinema with friends and other movie fans. You’ll need a VR headset and a program like BigScreen Cinema. Then you just have to decide what you want to watch. Chat with people in the lobby before you enter the cinema and watch the latest release or a movie classic.
Get counselling
The importance of good mental health is becoming a priority for a lot of people. A lot of work has been done around the world to destigmatise mental health conditions and encourage people to seek help. Accessing counselling and therapies is now possible via a series of apps. Some are filled with advice and information on coping with issues surrounding mental health. Others let you connect and talk to trained professionals.
Visit a museum
Culture doesn’t need to stop just because you can’t get out to a museum. And as mentioned earlier, there’s only so many times you can watch Bridgerton. Expand your mind by undertaking a virtual tour of some of the world’s best museums. Over 2,500 museums and galleries have made their exhibits available to tour online via the Google Arts & Culture initiative. These include the Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam), the Guggenheim (New York) and the British Museum (London). Take a virtual tour of the exhibits while you access additional content teaching you about what you’re seeing.
Cook along
Gone are the days of buying bulky cookbooks, that you only use one or two recipes from. Instead, there are thousands of recipes, but the best chefs in the world. You can create and cook recipes in real-time. Before you know it, you’ll be whipping up gourmet meals in no time, ready to impress your friends and family once lockdown is over.
Learn from the best
There’s an online course for almost everything. The internet has made it possible to learn things that were only available to those studying. Platforms such as Coursera, EdX and Future Learn offer courses from some of the best universities in the world. Most of them are free, or very low cost. Then there are newer platforms like Masterclass, which feature some of the most famous and respected people in the world. Learn fiction and storytelling with Walter Mosely, or scientific thinking with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Masterclass does charge a subscription fee, but it gives you unlimited access to all of the content on the platform.
Complete in a bike challenge for charity
Get fit and raise money for charity with by completing the British Heart Foundation’s 30-day Virtual MyCycle Challenge. Charities have been hit hard this year and the British Heart Foundation estimates that it will be almost £50 million down on its usual funding target.
The internet has been a lifeline during the last twelve months. From homeschooling to keeping that vital connection with those we love. It will be interesting to see what happens when the world begins to get back to normal later on in the year. Some things we’ll be eager to return to, others, we might like the new way of doing things.
