We’re officially in a coronavirus lockdown, to pass the time and make our lives a bit more organized, we’ve made a list of things that employees, designers, and creatives could do during these days in between working from home, binge-watching, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Netflix, Prime Video, Zee5, etc. and feeling a little confused as to how this has all happened.
UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM (MACBOOK, LAPTOP, DESKTOP, MOBILE)
We all know that we’ve dismissed that notification way too many times, take this time to update your computer or any technological device you have to the latest software. Your device will thank you.
UPDATE YOUR CREATIVE CLOUD (ONE DRIVE, GOOGLE DRIVE, ETC.) AND OTHER SOFTWARE
Again, now is the time to stop ignoring the notifications and just update everything on our computer or mobile to keep our machines working in tip-top condition, especially seeing as they’re probably being used even more frequently than they were before.
CLEAN YOUR SCREEN (TV, LAPTOP, MONITOR, MOBILE, ETC.), KEYBOARD, MOUSE, PROJECTOR, REMOTE, AND ANY OTHER DEVICES
Doing it to the tune of happy birthday is optional. We touch our keyboards and mice a lot, so it’s important we keep our laptops, computers, and any other devices hygienic during this pandemic. Whilst your there give your screen a nice buff too, get rid of any fingerprints and dust that have made a home over the last month.
BACK UP YOUR FILES
Just in case, God forbid, your laptop decides to pack it in (based on how well the year has gone so far, I wouldn’t want to risk it, 2020 is a sassy b*tch), take this time to backup all your important design files onto an external hard drive. If you’re super cautious like we, then back your external hard drive up onto another external hard drive for an inception style fail-safe system. Continue this process for as many times as you deem necessary.
UPDATE YOUR WEBSITE
Now is a good time to go back and see if you could spruce up your website. Is the copyright year correct in your footer? Are you the latest projects up there? Have you linked up to your social media feeds? There are lots of small quick ways that you can give your website a bit of spring clean that doesn't require too much effort.
UPDATE YOUR PORTFOLIO
Following on from checking your website is up to date, have you mocked up your latest designs and written up some accompanying text to support your employment? As employees, we infamously put off the dreaded portfolio update, but now is a better time than any to get rid of that project from 5 years ago that you didn’t even enjoy doing…
ARRANGE A MINI PHOTOSHOOT
I know that getting dressed, washing your hair and applying make-up (if that’s your thing) is now a mammoth task, but if you can pry yourself out of your pajamas then why not use this time to take some quick snaps of yourself and update your profile picture/bio pictures across social and your website. Plus, you’ll feel fabulous afterward and people will look up to you in awe for actually brushing your hair.
WORK ON A PERSONAL PROJECT
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to lose work as a result of COVID-19 (99.9% of the population) then why not exercise your creative freedom without client restraint - don’t get us wrong, we love our clients, but having the luxury of complete creative freedom is glorious. If you’re stuck for ideas you can comment us, definitely, we will provide brief ideas.
CREATE A PERSONAL PROJECT
If you don’t already have a creative project on the go, then why not create one? If you’re stuck for ideas maybe chat with your friends and brainstorm some ideas, or you can comment on us for some inspiration.
START A BLOG
If you’re good with words (or even if you’re not!) why not exercise your creative writing skills and add a blog to your website? Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website, whilst also showcasing your expertise and opinions on specialist subjects.
WRITE SOME CONTENT FOR YOUR NEW BLOG
If you’re stuck on how to write a blog, take a look at answer the public to see what people are frequently searching for. You can then create a website based around these topics, alternatively, ask your followers or clients what they’d like to learn more about. A blog doesn't just have to be words, you could also utilize your inner YouTuber and create some killer video content for your blog and socials.
LEARN A NEW DESIGN PROGRAMME
That program that you’ve been wanting to learn? Why not learn it now! There’re tonnes of online courses (free and paid) that can show you how to use different software. You could even skill swap with a friend to teach each other how you use your current programs and compare tips and tricks.
CREATE BULK SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
We schedule our social media using Planoly and bulk create and schedule content for our Instagram and Facebook page. Why not list a couple of ideas that you could post about on social media and find or create some lovely graphics to go along with them. This will save you time and allow you to free up your time to engage with your audience more.
WORK ON YOUR WEBSITES SEO
Everyone’s SEO can be improved. Search for some keywords that you’d like to rank with and create some content around them, whether this is video, blogs, or web pages. Another great way to boost SEO is through backlinks - reach out to fellow freelancers or businesses and see if you can guest blog on their website in exchange for a link back to your site.
PIN ALL YOUR DESIGNS ON PINTEREST
Pinterest is an unutilized traffic source for a lot of designers, go through your old projects, pick out the best bits, and make them Pinterest-able! Take a look at which pins are most successful and replicate that in your Pins.
UPDATE A DRIBBBLE ACCOUNT
Similarly, to Pinterest, Dribbble is a great way to be inspired by and connect with other designers. These platforms are also used by prospective employers, so they are a great way to showcase your design work.
UNSUBSCRIBE FROM ALL YOUR SPAM EMAILS
We’ve been emailed by every single one of our subscriber lists about the COVID-19 update, now is a good time to look through those emails and unsubscribe from those emails that you instantly delete to free up some space in your mailbox.
ORGANIZE YOUR SYSTEM (DESKTOP, LAPTOP, MACBOOK) DESKTOP FILES
Delete all those unnecessary screenshots, rename your files and organize them neatly to give your desktop a bit of a spring clean. It’s also a great time to go through and delete all 1000 screenshots of your home screen you have on your smartphone too…
Hopefully there’s enough stuff there to keep you busy for at least one month of lockdown…
Let us know what you’re doing to keep the boredom at bay, and stay safe and stay home.
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