Let’s be honest. Spending the summer in the confines of our houses with nothing but our family members, the house pet, and (if we’re lucky) Netflix to get us through, is far from what we had hoped or imagined. However, there is one precious commodity that presents itself to us all during this season – time. And as a wise man (namely, Stephen R. Cowley) once said, “The key is in not spending your time, but investing it.”

Imagine if we all used this time to invest in mastering a skill we’ve always wanted to learn? At best, we will emerge from the lockdown as competent artists, poets, chefs, coders, musicians and entrepreneurs ready to take the world by storm – at worst – we’ll have at least learned how to sew on a button and save a few quid next time little Jimmy pulls one off his coat… what have we got to lose?!

Here are 5 skills you can master at home…

1) Bake bread from scratch

All you need to make bread is flour, water, yeast, butter, a little bit of oil and the blessed ingredient we’re in no shortage of right now: time. Why not look up some recipes online? Or if you really want to keep things simple, check out Jamie Oliver’s soda bread recipe on YouTube – you don’t even need to get the weighing scales out for that one!

2) Conquer the Rubik’s cube

You know you’ve always wanted to be that person. If you haven’t mastered the age-old challenge yet, what better time than now? No problem if you don’t have a Rubik’s cube lying around at home – you can always use an online simulator instead! Once you’ve cracked it, you could even put your family members to the test to see who can do it the fastest…

3) Take up an instrument/Singing

Whether it’s piano, voice, guitar, steel pans, or actual pots and pans from the kitchen cupboard – now is the perfect time to uncover your inner Mozart. There is a plethora of free YouTube tutorials to help you learn online, or you could even scout out some music teachers who are offering lessons over Skype or Zoom…

4) Find a new creative outlet

Finding a way to express yourself creatively is not only fun and satisfying, but studies have shown it can also have other helpful benefits. If you’re feeling anxious, concerned or just plain sad, having a creative outlet can be a great way to process our thoughts and emotions. Be it sewing, writing, photography, painting, cooking or gardening – the possibilities are endless!

5) Learn to code

With the digital world becoming more crucial than ever, there is no time like the present to brush up on some coding know-how. Simply start with the basics, or set yourself a more ambitious challenge like learning how to build a website. Code Academy is a free online learning platform that could be a great place to start.