PA life
Roccabella

More than 60% of the nation plan ‘self-improvement’ during the lockdown

Two thirds of locked-down Brits want to have โ€˜achievedโ€™ something by the time theyโ€™re allowed back out into the world.

A study of 2,000 adults found 16 per cent will learn how to grow vegetables, a quarter will master another language โ€“ and a tenth will become press-up champions.

More than 60 per cent are planning – or have already started – a regime of self-improvement while forced to stay at home. Other skills people want to tackle include sorting out their finances, learning an instrument and becoming a star baker. And for 32 per cent of those who are normally โ€˜canโ€™t cook, wonโ€™t cookโ€™, they plan to use the time to tune up their skills in the kitchen.

One in 10 want to make sure theyโ€™re employable when the period of quarantine is over, by learning coding programmes such as Scratch or Python – and seven per cent even want to work out how to run their own small business.

A spokesman for Lottoland, which commissioned the research, said: โ€œThere are lots of positives to an enforced time spent indoors.

โ€œDuring this unusual time, it would be so easy to give in to the bad mood, worry all day, and focus on all the things you canโ€™t do.

โ€œInstead, as this research clearly indicates, many adults are choosing to use the time wisely, and in a really encouraging way.โ€

Housebound Brits will also be getting into yoga, sorting out their garden, studying British history or researching their family tree. Eight in 10 adults say even though theyโ€™re missing out on the things they normally do, theyโ€™re still trying to make the best of it. As such, four in 10 are convinced they will come out of the current crisis โ€˜a better personโ€™, according to the OnePoll research.

Itโ€™s not just grown-ups who are improving themselves, as six in 10 of parents polled are trying to get children to learn new skills. Theyโ€™ll be put to use in the kitchen, learning how to clean the house and even helping with the growing of vegetables.

The majority of Brits (35 per cent) are cooped up in a household of two, with 15 per cent in a home with four people, and six per cent with five or more. But 46 per cent of respondents believe the coronavirus crisis has even brought their family closer together than they were before lockdown.

And just under two thirds think the nation as a whole shines during a time of crisis, and Britain comes together to get through whatever itโ€™s facing.

Lottolandโ€™s spokesman added: โ€œAs a nation, we could see ourselves better-rounded than ever before. โ€œWhile Brits are determined to make the most of their time behind closed doors it seems they’re still on the move.

Whether you’re embarking on a baking fail or attacking limescale, you can still bet on your favourite lotteries via the Lottoland app or on online.”

TOP WAYS BRITS INTEND TO โ€˜HOME IMPROVEโ€™

  1. Learn to cook / bake
  2. Work out at home every day
  3. Learn a language
  4. Go on a diet
  5. Yoga
  6. Learn to grow vegetables
  7. Learn to garden
  8. Family tree research
  9. Master an instrument
  10. Take an online university course
  11. Learn to draw properly
  12. Read up on English history
  13. Learn to play new board games
  14. Learn to Facetime/video chat
  15. Learn how to cut your own hair
  16. Learn how to use mindfulness apps
  17. Take on expert level jigsaw puzzles
  18. Learn how to use social media apps such as Snapchat or House Party
  19. Learn how to do press ups
  20. Learn a coding / programming package like Scratch or Python
  21. Work out how to manage finances online
  22. Master painting/watercolours
  23. Learn to write a novel
  24. Learn how to upload YouTube videos
  25. Learn to colour in properly
  26. Learn how to run a small business
  27. Learn how to knit
  28. Learn to crochet
  29. Learn how to sew
  30. Learn how to make podcasts
  31. Learn how to play kid’s computer games
  32. Learn an online design / CAD package
  33. Learn higher maths
  34. Learn to type
  35. Learn to make cocktails / certain drinks
  36. Learn how to use a drill
  37. Learn to sing
  38. Plumbing
  39. Learn how to do keepie uppies
  40. Learn how to change a car tyre