WITH the advice regarding coronavirus now recommending self isolating and social distancing, there’s a good chance more and more of us will be spending time in splendid isolation.

If you do find yourself stuck at home, and well enough to put that time to good use, why not try learning something new, such as...

Origami

Ranging from super simple to outrageously complex, you’ll always have to learn more regardless of whether you pick it up quickly.

Cooking

Whether you’re baking cakes, making bread or following a recipe for a delicious dinner, improve your cooking skills and enjoy the fruits of your labour afterwards Calligraphy It takes around 2 hours to learn the basics, but in this craft, practice definitely makes perfect; by the end of two weeks you’ll be able to wow everyone with your stunning words.

Knitting

As with many skills, your improvement is directly related to how much you practice but knitting is a fantastic way to keep busy and can even be a great way to earn some extra money once you’ve mastered it.

Yoga

Keep up the exercise and discover a new way to workout that can continue long after you’re free to get back in the gym.

Chess

The easiest way to learn to play chess is by playing, and this you can do online. You’ll soon pick up strategies and tactics and will be GrandMaster before you know it! www.chess.com/learn

Musical instrument

We’ve all, at one time or another, promised ourselves we would one day learn to play a musical instrument so now’s your chance. The ukulele is a good choice.

Language

Whether you’re picking up where you left off in school or trying something totally new, you can get far in a few weeks and it can be extremely beneficial once things are back to normal.

Sketching

Follow tutorials, try to recreate images and let your imagination run wild in an explosion of colour and tones; regardless whether they’re as good as the Old Masters, this is a fun way to pass the time and every effort leads to improvement.

Creative writing

A fantastic way of escaping from everyday life, reading books and writing stories all help to build up your vocabulary and improve on the basic storytelling skills we all possess.

Solve a Rubik’s Cube

An enviable talent and quite the party-piece, solving a Rubik’s cube can be self-taught and built upon to increase your speed; perfect for filling the time.

Shorthand

An extremely useful skill to have, you’ll soon be able to take notes significantly faster culminating in around 225 words per minute by hand.

Card tricks

Handy for enthralling the youngsters in your family, some simple card tricks take quite a bit of time to master but are an easy crowd pleaser.