Being confined at home due to COVID-19 isn’t fun at all. But does it have to be that way? Not really! There is a silver lining in every situation, which for this crisis is the increased free time to learn new skills. Anything that you couldn’t find time for before the outbreak, this is your chance to clear your to-do basket. There are tons of useful skills to learn right now provided you have the right devices for self-practicing. Here are some of the devices you may find useful:

1. A personal computer

This is an obvious one so we won’t dwell too much on it. You need a personal computer to stream online tutorials and download useful content for your self-practice. If you don’t have a computer, a smartphone will do.

You can also make a computer using a Raspberry Pi 4 Set as the central unit of your computer. You will need to power your Pi using a supply that provides at least 5V and 3000mA. You will also need a MicroSD card to serve as your computer’s hard drive- ensure that the card of very good quality for the best performance. Follow online tutorials on how to make your PC fully usable. It is easy and doable, and it is a way of self-practicing in itself.

2. Fitness Tracker

You will need an Honor Band 5i or a Mi Band 4 if you want to spice up your workout routine. Now that you don’t have a trainer due to COVID-19 social distancing measures, a fitness tracker becomes a great asset to have. Get yourself a tracker that can detect Blood Oxygen Saturation because you need to check on your health even as you build the muscles.

3. Smartwatch

Get yourself a Samsung Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch, or the Honor Magic Watch 2 for your fitness tracking.  Smartwatches are also great for heart rate monitoring, which makes them priceless for anyone to wear while working out. In fact, smartwatches will come in handy for an almost strenuous activity you engage in during your self-practice sessions.

4. Drop cooking assistant

Drop cooking assistant is a smart kitchen device that you can connect to your iPad or smartphone so that it offers you help in the kitchen. It can, for example, help you weigh or measure ingredients, read your recipes, and basically train you on how to cook a variety of dishes. Hello Egg is another cooking assistant that will bring out the chef in you. It comes with pre-installed cooking videos that you can use to prepare meals and can even assist you in building grocery lists.

5. Smart Body Analyzer

Withings Smart Body Analyzer is almost similar to a normal weighing scale, but it is a little more advanced. It can, for example, give you detailed health data including your body fat percentage, your BMI, and your heart rate, all of which help you set goals and track your progress. When practicing indoors, this device will tell you everything you need to know about the room air quality through a smartphone app.

6. Book Light

Self-practicing requires you to cultivate your habit of reading books, pamphlets, and magazines. You need to read during the day and now that you don’t have to sleep early, you might want to read a little more before you hit the bed. If you have a roommate or if you are married, reading at night will disturb your partner because of the light. That is where Book Light comes in. The device is an integrated LED display that you can clip to your book for discreet reading.

7. Noise-canceling headphones

If you live in an apartment, chances are that your neighbors are at home in self-isolation/quarantine. Maybe your roommates are at home too and they aren’t missing a single chance to make noise. Well, your self-practicing sessions will be way better if you have noise-canceling headphones to help you focus.

Conclusion

There are numerous new skills to learn while in quarantine, and there are many devices that you can incorporate into your practicing routine to help you learn faster. The ones mentioned here are great not only for the current crisis but for any self-learning experience after this one. Get a better version of yourself on the other side of this quarantine.