Whatever your plans have been for 2020, chances are you’ve cleared your diary for the coming months. Wherever you are in the world, the coronavirus outbreak has affected everyone and many people have lost their jobs and are in self isolation.
If you’re wondering how to make money during the coronavirus lock down, there are plenty of options for all walks of life. This list will look at some of the best self isolation activities for those who are in lock down to make some money. They might involve learning a new skill, with a view to making money after this has all gone away, or there are also a few instant pocket money options too.
First, a quick look at recommendations the WHO and governments suggest to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The Covid-19 Pandemic & the Great Outdoors
For those of us who live in cities, we’ve mostly been told to stay indoors and only go out for essential requirements such as grocery shopping and visits to pharmacies or doctors. When we do go out, it’s recommended that we maintain a distance between people of at least 1 metre (3 feet), or ideally two metres (six feet).
Avoid places where people congregate, such as bars, restaurants, public beaches, town squares and public transport.
If you do go out, remember to wash your hands as often as you can, avoid coughing or sneezing on other people and try to avoid skin on skin contact outside of the home (no shaking hands, hugs etc).
People who live in rural or semi-rural areas will be able to enjoy walks in the country as there is less of a chance of human contact. Even in cities, there are rural areas that you might be able to access such as parks or coastal areas. Wherever you go, just make sure you obey the physical distance recommendations with strangers to avoid spreading germs.
What to do in isolation
It looks like lockdown is going to be the normal for quite a few people over the coming weeks or months, so these are our best suggestions for self isolation activities to to help you make an income.
1. Write a book/screenplay etc
That idea you’ve had rattling around in your head for ages? Well, now is as good a time as any to put it down. The old adage ‘you can’t edit a blank page’ is 100% true, so whatever your idea, start working on it. Selling your masterpiece on Amazon’s self publishing platform, KDP, is the best way to get it out there and earn some money.
Be warned though, just writing a book and popping on KDP isn’t going to make you the next JK Rowling. You’ll need to make sure you can format and promote your book.
For screenplays, selling these can be a bit more difficult, and playing the movie production industry is a whole other ballgame. But if you’ve got a movie idea, start putting it down.
Pro tip: First drafts always suck, so just write the whole thing as best you can from start to finish. The real work starts on the second draft…!
2. Learn to play a musical instrument
Or even improve your current skills. If you’ve got a guitar, piano or other instrument kicking around the home, pick it up and get learning – which is probably self isolation activity numero uno for many people. You might drive the other people you live with a little crazy, but after a few weeks of lock down you could be a maestro!
You’ll find courses on YouTube and Udemy and there are self teaching books on Kindle/Amazon.
3. Learn to DJ
A bit like playing a musical instrument, but more like throwing a party, DJing is a great way to listen to music in an active way. Pick up a set of digital turntables on eBay or Amazon and get mixing. You’ll find those hours in self isolation just disappear and it’s a great activity to do socially. Might annoy the neighbours though…
DJing is on our list of good side hustle jobs, so if you get could this can be a decent income in the future.
4. Sort out your old clothes/belongings
Most of us have a whole ton of clothes and gizmos that we’ve accumulated over the years, so spending time during the covid-19 lock down sorting shit out is time well spent. Selling your stuff on Depop and eBay is a tried and tested way to top up your income, and there will be people out there looking for bargains in the coming months.
5. Discover your artistic side
If you already have some artistic flair, now might be a good time to make it your focus. Everything from creative digital design, to painting, to sculpture is a good way to get your creativity flowing.
How to use it as an income? Etsy, Amazon Handmade and creating your own website are all good ways to get your art seen.
6. Learn a new remote digital job skill
A lot of people have found themselves out of work as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. So, if you’re one of them, it’s a good time to focus on making yourself an independent remote worker. There are plenty of websites offering the means for you to spend your time in lockdown learning new skills such as:
- Software programming/coding
- Content writing
- Translation
- Digital design/graphics
- Social media marketing
- Video editing
- UI/UX design
- Accounting/book keeping
Many of these are learnable in a couple of weeks, although getting to a professional level may take slightly longer. For learning, you’ll find many options on sites like Udemy.com, MOOC.org, the Open University and Alison.com
7. Work on finding your freelance clients
If you’re already working as a freelancer, or you’ve done the step above, finding clients is a time consuming activity that can be done in self isolation. Our golden tips for beginners in an industry finding clients are to put the feelers out to your immediate network (i.e; friends and family) that you’re in the market for new work and see what comes in. Even if it doesn’t bring instant results, one day, somewhere down the line, someone will remember that you’re a …. whatever.
Next up, make sure you have a Linkedin account and build connections on there. It’s an excellent way to see whats happening in any industry and to build professional connections, so get using it.
We’ve put some tips up before about finding clients on Linkedin and using Fiverr, so take a read of those too.
8. Offer your skills remotely
Are you a teacher, skilled business guru or fitness instructor? You might be able to offer your skills to people over the internet via apps like Skype, Hangouts, Zoom etc.
Advertise your skills on sites like Linkedin (for business), iTalki (for language learning) or other posting sites.
9. Give a couch concert
Musicians gotta eat too! Not being able to perform live is a big deal for a lot of professional musicians, so you can sign up to give a couch concert, if you’re a musical pro. Check out SofaConcerts or search online for couch concert.
10. Online adult performer
Whatever your look, there’s probably someone who would love to check you out. Girls and guys included! If you’re a bit of an exhibitionist, online cam sites can be a great way to earn some decent money, all while wearing your underwear (or less). Plus, you’ll have a large audience of people who don’t have much else to do for a few weeks.
Can you make money from it? Good looking girls most definitely, with earnings in the thousands of dollars per month reported. Guys? Yes, but quite a bit less. You’ll be catering to the gay market primarily, although you don’t have to be gay to do it. If you’re fine with that, check out some of the online cam sites like Chaturbate or Freecams.
11. Trader
There have been some serious movements in the fiat currency and crypto currency markets during this outbreak, so financial trading has been an highly profitable course for some. Learning to trade is a great self isolation activity, and one that can be learnt relatively quickly.
It’s also a job that can be done entirely remotely, although we do have to warn all readers that financial trading comes with it’s own risks. Potentially profitable, yes. Also, potentially ruinous. Proceed with caution.
12. Some simple online jobs
You don’t need to be a specialist at whatever to make money online. There are plenty of jobs that can be done remotely that you can do simply with a laptop or phone. Examples?
- Data entry
- Customer service assistance
- Virtual personal assistant
- Making sales calls
You’ll find jobs like these on traditional job sites such as Indeed, Jobsite and Monster. However, there are a growing selection of specialist sites for remote jobs. Check out FlexJobs or Remote.co.
13. Healthcare support specialist
There is a growing industry of people who offer healthcare support online. Think smoking cessation, lifestyle and nutrition management, antenatal support and even telephone triage nurses.
During the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare centres are trying to keep up normal service support as well as the increased demand. There is definitely a surge in work from home healthcare jobs, so if you have some exerience, do a job search on your local jobs board.
14. Surveys, games and reviews
You may have steered clear of these sorts of jobs in the past, for whatever reason. But during self isolation, activities that you would normally be doing anyway can now be paid for. Games, reading websites, ordering products online, there is monetisation available for those who want to do it.
Check out websites like Prolific, Inbox Pounds /Inbox Dollars and TestingTime.
Final word…
Make the most of your self isolation activities and earn a bit extra to keep your head above water. After all, we don’t know how long we’ll be in dealing with the coronavirus situtation.
If you know of any other ways to make money online, share them in our comments below. Stay safe out there!
