Make Your Time At Home Count

As COVID-19 continues to reshape the world as we know it and we roll into the seventh week of lockdown! We know that everything that was once considered normal has been thrown out the window so is it time for us to open our eyes to new experiences that we may not have considered in the past?

 

Let’s keep together, for now, by staying apart and making the most of this time. We have brought the best of the outside in. So why not embrace this new wave of cultural creation, put your own skills into practice and surprise yourself with how much you’ll enjoy it!

 

 

Write To Loved Ones – An Post 

An Post is giving every Irish household free postcards, enabling everyone to write and send personal messages to family and friends across the country to help them stay connected in the weeks ahead as people continue to socially isolate and many remain ‘cocooned’. 5,000,000 postage-paid (to anywhere in Ireland) cards have been produced that will enable people to send a message of love and support to special people in their lives. Two uniquely designed postcards will be delivered over the coming days, and additional cards will be available to pick up at all local post offices around the country. 

 

View more info here: https://www.anpost.com/Media-Centre/News/Send-Love-to-someone-special-with-free-An-Post-Pos 

 

Celebs – Cameo 

Why not do a good deed for a friend in need during quarantine and send them a message from one of their favourite celebrities? You can purchase videos from actors, musicians, sports stars, reality tv stars, and even RuPaul’s Drag Race stars! 

 

View more here: https://www.cameo.com/ 

 

Random Acts of Kindness – Mental Health Foundation 

All over the world kindness is prevailing in uncertain times. People are coming together to sing on balconies, others are setting up groups to offer support to the elderly or vulnerable. We have heard stories of virtual movie nights and creating choreographed dances over video chat. Amid the fear, there is a community, support, and hope With this in mind, The Mental Health Foundation is encouraging people all around the world to engage in random acts of kindness in order to stay positive and connected. They want people to visit their website, choose one of their suggested actions, and share via social media, tagging @mentalhealthfoundation with the hashtag #coronavirusKindness. 

 

View more here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/random-acts-kindness 

 

 

 

Let us entertain you! There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to adapting to the day-to-day changes in our lives as a result of a pandemic but what we do know is that there is a whole heap of amazing cultural resources out there ready for you to discover. Enjoy the show!

 

At Night At The Opera – The Met Opera

Whilst New York’s Met Opera House looks unlikely to reopen this year, they are offering the next best thing with incredible performances streamed daily. Released for free every night at 7.30pm EDT (11.30 pm our time) each performance will be available on-demand for 23 hours. The schedule includes complete performances from the past 14 years and features all of the opera’s greatest singers.

 

View performances here: https://www.metopera.org/

 

Explore 30 Famous Sites – Google Earth 

The more time you spend social distancing at home, the more you might be craving those amazing destinations far far away and wondering when you might be able to visit them. Well, for now, Google Earth has a solution that lets you explore the outside world without requiring any travel plans whatsoever; by offering virtual tours of 30 World Heritage Sites.

 

Destinations you can take a trip to include the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, and The Sphinx. These incredible landmarks featured remind us that while the world is ever-evolving in sometimes scary ways, its unique beauty can always be celebrated.

 

View performances here: https://bit.ly/GoogleEarthByJJK 

 

 

 

 

At-home workouts, mindfulness practices, and eating healthier just got a whole lot more interesting. Get fit the fun (& free) way and nurture your physical and emotional wellbeing as we find new ways to move, groove, and eat – together.

Nutrition 

Deliciously Ella Food blogger created a site dedicated to helping you live better and making vegetables cool! Now is the perfect time to start brushing up on your culinary skills and try something new, so why not experiment with one of these healthy recipes. The site boasts some delicious plant-based inspiration for every occasion.

 

View recipes here: https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/ 

 

Wellness 

World-famous yoga and activewear brand Lululemon have teamed up with fitness trackers Strava to offer FREE Instagram live workouts, yoga, meditation, and more. Check out their Instagram for daily updates and follow #thesweatlife to keep connected and inspired by the Lululemon community. 

 

View Workouts here: https://www.instagram.com/lululemon/ 

 

Fitness 

305 Fitness is encouraging everyone to try something new and join their signature 305 dance cardio classes that are brought to you every day – live and archived on their YouTube channel. So dust off your sneakers, and smile through the sweat with these fun workouts, guaranteed to get your heart-rate up. No equipment is necessary!

 

View Classes here: https://305fitness.com/videos/cardio 

 

 

 

Whether you’re seeking insights from high-flying CEOs and forward-thinking founders, striving to find an opportunity during these pandemic times or fancy learning something new. 

 

IVY League Courses 

Whilst we’re under quarantine, why not use the time you would usually spend socialising to learn something new that could help grow? And, if we are going to learn, we might as well learn from the very best. 8 Ivy League schools including Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale – are offering 450 free online courses that are just the right amount of challenging to take our minds off the current state of affairs and help us see the future more optimistically.

 

View free courses here: https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs 

 

Google Digital Garage 

There are so many free courses out there and more being released every day. Google Digital Garage is one of our faves as it is designed to help you grow your skills in areas such as; Digital Marketing or Data & Tech. The majority of their courses are free and are approved by industry experts, entrepreneurs, and some of the world’s leading employers meaning you can be sure you’re learning up-to-date, real-world skills. 

 

View free courses here: https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage-ie/courses 

 

 

 

Entering our second month of quarantine, we could all do with some cheering up! Focus on the Positive: We take a look at some of the best feel-good resources out there to give you some much needed ‘feel-good factor’ news right now.

 

Good News  – The Happy Newspaper by Emily Coxhead

Every single day there are people helping others and doing incredible things in all corners of the planet and the majority of them aren’t celebrated. Emily Coxhead’s Happy Newspaper has decided to change that by creating a platform that recognises these amazing individuals. The Happy Paper lives online as well as in print form and aims to bring a refreshing twist on what we typically view as ‘news’, reporting only on positive changes and truly inspiring stories. 

 

Click here: https://www.instagram.com/thehappynewspaper/

 

Good News Network

 

Millions of people tune into the Good News Network as an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media. The website, an archive of 21,000 positive news stories, confirms what people already know that good news itself is not in short supply; the broadcasting of it is. Check-in daily for some positive news to get your day off on the right foot!

 

If you want to smile click here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/category/news/

 

 

 

Creative – Isolation Art Classes 

Ever looked at a piece of priceless art and thought ‘I could do that’? Well now’s the time to have a go at creating your own masterpiece, thanks to Isolation Art School. Take part in online art projects, enjoy live-streamed lessons, and get tips on how to help unleash your inner creativity. Classes are hosted by some of the modern-day masters including children’s illustrator Quentin Blake and Turner prize winner Keith Tyson – expect a fun, inclusive, inventive classes, designed for both kids and adults.

 

View Instagram classes here: https://www.instagram.com/isolationartschool/channel/ 

 

Online Classes – Nikon Free Photography School

Nikon are doing their bit to help creators stay ‘inspired, engaged, and developing’ through a series of online photography classes. To encourage people to stay positive and better themselves during these crazy times, they are providing all of their courses for free for a limited period.

 

Sign up here: https://www.nikonevents.com/us/live/nikon-school-online/ 

 

COVID Capsules – Long Creations 

Natalie Long from Long Creations has designed a COVID time capsule memory pack for kids to get creative with and to serve as a meaningful memory to look back on once this is all over. The COVID Capsule is a printable book that invites kids to talk about how they’re feeling, draw pictures of their experiences, and send a letter to their future selves. This fun and the engaging pack will help keep kids occupied for hours and serve as an important reminder in the future.

 

View pack here: https://fox8.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/04/COVID19-TIME-CAPSULE-3.pdf 

 

Stay Inside. Stay Inspired ?