Many people enjoy being indoors in their free time. Some people relax and enjoy family time. Many get bored and find it hard to stay indoors. They simply look for ways to kill their time.
Social Media comes for their quick escape. They seek validation from strangers and look for their approval. The worst thing about doing this is you have no idea who is actually influencing you.
Sometimes, the hardcore losers act as messiahs and fake their social media lives to gain some traction on the internet and become the fake Godmen for countless.
Our Story …
I am Varun Goyal, and I run Voxcel Group with my elder brother, Piyush Goyal. Usually, we are buried with a lot of work and tight batch timings, which leave us with little to no time to reflect on life. However, we love enjoying our time together with family.
Even Sundays go into doing work, such as marking students’ mock tests and giving them detailed remarks on four IELTS writing parameters. Only a few teachers in the world do that. Count us in those. This is how passion should be. Whatever you do, do it with full focus and enthusiasm. The universe will take care of the rest.
Every day, we tell our students to continue their IELTS practice, but they should also be open-minded and learn at least two skills before boarding the flight to their dream country.
How I Utilize my Free Time?
As I stated earlier, my schedule is usually very tight, and I leave with little time to do any activity on Voxcel Group’s social media accounts or even blogging. In the past, I wrote a lot of content and won many awards for my short film “True Love,” which I penned many moons ago. Writing is one of my core skillsets and I feel proud of it.
In 2020, When the complete lockdown was announced during the Covid-19 pandemic, I decided not to let it go to waste. Being indoors broke the chain of the coronavirus spread and helped me learn some designing skills. Thus, I resumed blogging for Voxcel to help my readers with their IELTS and study Visa journeys.
Presently, I am trying my hands on Adobe Photoshop, Canva, etc., software to test the waters for future marketing campaigns. Besides, I am learning how to design good marketing slogans and constantly bringing ideas to the table, eliminating the obscure ones.
“Boredom is a state of mind.”
I have two options: either to relax and watch movies, as I am a screenwriter, too, or work on my dreams. I choose the latter. I can watch the movies later, but the time, once lost, will never return.
Hence, I am working tirelessly, churning out content and honing my design and video editing skills. I am positive this will help Voxcel’s juggernaut and lay a solid foundation for many years.
If I talk about my partner, Co-director, and brother, Piyush, he’s busy preparing IELTS modules and planning to Keep Voxcel at the top of the game. He’s also taking online IELTS classes and clearing students’ doubts. Nonetheless, he’s helping in writing content; he’s a great writer, too.
Birth of the IELTS Scepter …
During Covid-19, we didn’t waste a day and started designing the IELTS Scepter book. It took us months to do that, and with each passing day, we kept adding and removing things after carefully examining the students to whom we gave the book.
Now, the Scepter has everything, and we remain attentive to making changes if necessary.
IELTS Online Tests and Online Classes …
With time, when we sensed that students in Canada and different parts of the world needed our help, we redesigned the website and made it user-friendly to do IELTS Practice Tests Online for free.
Nonetheless, we have designed the modules in PDF formats to take less paper than the usual Cambridge PDFS available. It helps save a lot of paper, and those comfortable with the CD-IELTS exam can practice it on our website.
Moreover, we have written Band 9 samples for Writing and Speaking for free, and some are paid for a negligible fee that comes with our IELTS online course, which is a life-saving course and can help you crack the IELTS on your first attempt.
Hopefully, and thankfully, you might never get this time again. This is the best time to make it useful and learn skills to enhance your future.
Still, considering where the world is heading, I can offer my 2 cents to improve your skillsets.
Coding –
The world is becoming technically advanced, and many companies are adopting full robotics. Hence, the sky is the limit for great coders. If you are looking for a study visa abroad, post your 12th grade, or if you are going to study in your home country – this professional skill can lighten your future. Many IT professionals are working from home and keeping us connected with the web during the pandemic. Imagine if we had no internet or had been disconnected from the web during the curfew. People would have gone mad.
Moreover, top players in the game are still earning money while the world is locked indoors, and millions have lost their jobs. If such a situation happens again, you will be busy with your job and will not only earn money but will be helping the world in many ways.
Designing –
Humans love graphics. Without pictures or pictorial presentations, text looks obscure. Some software can help you test the waters: Adobe Photoshop, Canva, Postermywall, LucidPress, etcetera. If you are a beginner, you can test the rest of the mentioned websites, leaving Adobe Photoshop.
If you are determined or know the basics of designing, many free tutorials on YouTube will help you hone your Photoshop skills.
Video Editing –
Many companies now go for video content to fuel their marketing campaign. There’s no age bar for video editing projects. They pay handsomely good money; the best part is you can work freelance and earn money right from your personal space.
Remember, videos are impactful. Most people love consuming video content instead of anything else. That’s why countless people have developed their income sources by making videos. Any good video is meaningless unless it’s not edited perfectly. There are many video editing software that you can try your hands on. Filmora, iMovie, etc., are popular among beginners, well-established YouTubers, and vloggers.
Cooking –
I often ask male students during the IELTS speaking module practice which skill they want to learn. Most say cooking, but they rarely do, despite knowing how many problems one faces when he/she goes abroad on a study visa.
Cooking requires pure passion and love. It is very therapeutic. Moreover, homemade food is healthy and less expensive than ordering from restaurants. Some might say organic food is more expensive than restaurant food, but at least you stay healthy and hygienic when you eat at home, thus avoiding many health issues and wasting money in the long term.
Students planning to go abroad often have many excuses for not having time to learn cooking. This is the time to do it. Get into the kitchen and help your mother. Let her have her own leisure time, too. Mothers are the best cookery teachers, so enjoy the time while it lasts.
If you are planning to go to Canada on a study Visa or to your dream country, knowing how to cook can save you a lot of hassle; plus, there are thousands of jobs for chefs across Canada and other Western countries.
Watch English Movies –
Recently, I instructed all my students to watch one English movie per day during the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic. Usually, they don’t do it, make silly excuses, and remain stuck at the average listening scores.
Don’t underestimate the power of listening. It can transform your mentality and can help you score Band 9. Such a band score is a dream for most, and trust me, they aren’t tough to score when listening if you are well-prepared.
Watch any English movie of your interest. Listen to English songs, and for a while, forget to listen to songs in your native language. Check the IMDB list for the fans’ top-ranking movies and start watching them. You can subscribe to NetFlix, Disney+ Hotstar, and online video streaming platforms.
Reading –
Reading is food for the mind. Read novels or any article of interest to you. When you read, you subconsciously develop your language skills. I often tell my students this to improve their band scores not only in their reading module but also in their writing and speaking.
Students who are planning to go abroad for higher education should read about the country and become familiar with its customs, traditions, and atmosphere. This will help them not feel alienated after their landing.
Many international students get culture shock because they paint a rosy picture in their heads and are hit hard with reality when they go to Canada, etc., on a student visa.
If you are not planning to move aboard, read whatever you can. It will broaden your mental horizons, and you will find many ideas for starting your dream businesses and anything else.
Remember, one idea can transform the world. Apple Inc. and similar companies are the prime examples.
Writing –
The world is becoming a global village, and many companies now need quality copywriters and content writers to churn out great content.
Learn the insights about copywriting, and mind you, it’s a much-esteemed job, and you can pay handsomely once you start mincing coherent content with a voice to resonate with the masses. Doesn’t matter if you are working or a student, you can work on your skills with your regular businesses and can work as a freelancer.
Reading an article looks easy but can be the toughest thing to do. Many companies, almost all MNCs, constantly look for creative writers to write catchy slogans to attract attention and boost revenue growth. Sometimes, getting just one slogan right can take weeks or months.
I also suggest my students keep practising their IELTS writing and not stay disconnected from working on their weaknesses. The only way to improve is to read and write—WRITE! There’s no shortcut.
Spend Time with Family –
This comes as a shocker. Many people would argue that they have already done it. But still, most of the time, when we did it before quarantine, we were buried in our smartphones. We hardly asked how our parents and grandparents were. We hardly genuinely asked about their emotions and what they felt about life. Now you have enough time. Keep your phone aside for a while and chit-chat with them.
This is especially true for students who are planning to move abroad soon. Deepen your family bond. This time is all you have.
That being said, everybody has different likes, and deciding what to do with your life is up to you. Whether to improve your skillsets or not…
Voxcel aims to impart not only world-class IELTS coaching but also we look forward to develop the overall personality of our students.