It has been a long battle with the COVID-19 virus. We’re now nearing the 2-year anniversary of the outbreak of the virus. Looking back on the journey we’ve been on, it has definitely been an arduous and treacherous trek. Rules are constantly changing; new variants are always evolving and new updates with the different COVID-19 vaccine with all the reversal of rules. The only thing that stayed constant would be the advice “Stay at home if you can”.
Although home is a safe place to be, it can get boring being cooped up at home, following the same routine for months. One thing that can spice up your life would be to sign up for different courses. Read on to see if there are any courses that pique your interest!
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Baking Courses
Trying to be the Gordon Ramsey of baked goods or simply attempting to bake delightful treats for friends and family? SkillsFuture has a wide array of courses for you to choose from. Learning how to make scones and muffins are a good entryway into the world of baking. If you are a more seasoned baker, you can consider getting a higher certificate in food services that will teach you more about the do’s and don’ts when baking various pastries. Who knows what would be in your cards after many classes? You might end up starting your own home bakery business!
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Coding
Like engineering was the big thing back then, analytics is now where the money lies. Many are picking up coding languages like Python, JavaScript or C. There is demand for jobseekers with a good understanding of these languages and hence, these coding languages would prove to be useful if you are thinking of doing a mid-career switch. The easiest of the lot would be Python, simply because of its layout and simpler syntax. Coursera offers good coding courses by recognised universities for all experience levels. If you are a beginner, Programming For Everyone is a good place to start. Based on personal experience, I find the lessons relatively easy to understand. Although the estimated time of completion is 7 weeks, you can complete it before that. It is possible to finish the lessons in 2 days if you do multiple lessons a week. Furthermore, with Coursera, the professor can help you with your code if you get stuck.
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Mental Well-being
There is unnecessary pressure to hustle and grind despite the pandemic. This can become toxic if the expectations are set too high. The most important thing to do now is to ensure that we remain healthy – both mentally and physically. Physical health is very easy to understand. Exercise and eat healthily, that’s it. But what about mentally? It is easy to say ‘just be happy’, but that is so subjective. The Science of Well-Being imparts valuable skills for you to understand how to increase your own happiness and to build productive habits. Though this course will not make you happy in a snap, getting a better understanding of yourself could be critical when you need to get yourself out of a funk in future!
Although this pandemic has caused huge trouble to citizens, businesses and especially the Government, I would also like to think that there is a silver lining. With this pandemic, the busy and the overworked can finally get some rest. With this pandemic, more time can be spent with families creating special memories at home. With this pandemic, the warmth of the Singapore spirit can be felt through the gifting of welfare packs to the underprivileged.