As the coronavirus pandemic forces us to be stuck at home all day, it can feel a bit like you’re stuck in your own unfunny version of Groundhog Day. But being on lockdown doesn’t mean that you have to be weighed down by boredom, anxiety, and stress. You just need to make sure you’re making the most of your time and we’re here to help you with that.
Thankfully, plenty of companies and organizations are providing incredible services to keep you entertained, informed, and prepared for whatever comes next. The best part? They are all totally free. So whether you’re looking to spend a night at the opera or need help dealing with your PCS, we’ve got you covered. Here are 7 amazing resources that will help you not only survive but thrive during lockdown.
1. Three Months of Free Guitar Lessons at Fender
Have you thought about picking up that guitar hiding in the back of your closet but don’t know where to start? Fender is currently offering a free 3-month subscription to the Fender Play tuition app, which provides lessons for learning to play the acoustic or electric guitar, bass, and ukulele.
Whether you have never played before or just want to shake off the rust, Fender Play features instruction videos that will help you channel your inner Jimi Hendrix. While your guitar skills improve, you can learn to jam along to your favorite songs, as the Fender Play library has a wide selection of songs from artists like Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and Joni Mitchell.
2. PCSgrades Makes Your Next Move Easy
Planning for the future can feel overwhelming right now but there is no better friend than PCSgrades during your PCS experience. Created to help you navigate the moving experience with ease, PCSgrades has webinars available that prepare military families for the next step after the quarantine.
And that’s not all, they also provide you with a variety of invaluable resources, including area guides for new duty location research, moving and housing reviews, and helping you find a realtor now that you can begin working with for free.
3. Nightly ‘Work-Ins’ with Planet Fitness
Missing the gym? Planet Fitness is bringing the exercise to you with free nightly ‘work-ins’ that have been hosted by a variety of celebrities, professional athletes, and fitness experts. Break a sweat with Red Sox legend David Ortiz, professional dancer Derek Hough, or Olympic champion Summer Sanders.
The ‘work-ins’ stream live every night at 7 p.m. EST on FaceBook Live but if you can’t make it, they are still available to stream later on Planet Fitness’s FaceBook page and YouTube Channel. Plus, you don’t even need exercise equipment to participate, so there’s really no excuse to ignore your fitness.
4. Nightly Streams from the Met Opera
If you’re looking to add a bit of culture to your quarantine routine, you can’t do much better than the Nightly Met Opera Streams. Every night, the Metropolitan Opera posts an encore performance from the company’s Live in HD that is available to stream for free for 23 hours.
You can see all the classics, including Bellini, Puccini, and Verdi, performed by the operatic legends of the past and the present. Performances are streamed at 7:30 pm EST each night and can be accessed on the Met’s website or via the Met Opera on Demand app.
5. Hundreds of Free Ivy League Courses
Ivy League schools are notoriously exclusive but all eight universities are currently offering over 450 free online courses. Whether you are interested in Computer Science, Humanities, or Business, there is guaranteed to be a class that is perfect for you.
While you won’t technically be receiving college credit, signing up for any of these amazing classes is the perfect way to continue your education at one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world for no cost.
6. A Free Year of Headspace
With so much emphasis on taking care of your physical health, it can be easy to overlook your mental health. Luckily, Headspace is here to help, as the mindfulness and meditation app is offering a year of Headspace Plus for free if you are among the millions who are out of work due to the COVID-19 crisis.
With this subscription, you will have access to the full Headspace library, which includes hundreds of guided meditations, at-home workouts, and courses that equip you for handling stress, relationships, and other mindfulness topics.
7. Weekly MasterClass Q&A with the Expert Instructors
MasterClass gives you the opportunity to be taught by experts in everything from film making to horticulture to the art of negotiating. And in March, the platform launched MasterClass Live, a free weekly series that allows you to watch live Q&A sessions with some of MasterClass’s distinguished instructors.
So far, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, best-selling author Dan Brown, and make-up artist Bobbi Brown have all participated and all of their videos are available on the MasterClass YouTube channel.
This post is sponsored by PCSgrades.