I was inspired to write this piece because a friend of mine is moving to Japan and the thought of living alone freaks her out. I assured her that distractions and forming routines once she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s here are the best way to alleviate these kinds of anxiety. Even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the case for you, whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at home or at the office, some JETs have a lot of time on their hands. Having free time is a luxury; don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t waste it, maximize it!<\/p>\n
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There are a huge number of free online courses available these days. Take advantage and learn about anything that remotely interests you. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re worried about sticking with a course, you could also consider something that provides certification at the end. The breadth of online certifications available should not to be sniffed at. For these, just be careful that there aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t any requirements you have to fulfill in person.<\/p>\n
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Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face it, hobbies are time consuming, but really enrich your life. Especially take advantage of hobbies you try that are unavailable in your home country. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take it too seriously at first either, and allow yourself to take on some hobbies casually as you discover what you really like.<\/p>\n
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If this sounds crazy, think again! You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re already braver than the majority of the people you know \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you left your comfort zone and are living in a foreign country! Everything in your life is interesting because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so different from theirs. Plus you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll thank yourself later for keeping a record of this exciting time in your life.<\/p>\n
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This may sound similar to exploring new hobbies, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not so involved. Like maybe cooking isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t something that enthralls you, but hey, since you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re forced to cook for yourself at times, why not try out some recipes to add to your repertoire? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll come in handy later in life too. Google \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcskills everyone should know\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll find plenty to keep you occupied.<\/p>\n
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So maybe you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not feeling anxious like my friend is, but if you are feeling any negativity, working out not only helps you look good but helps you feel good too! And if my tiny inaka<\/i> town has a gym, yours does too. If the gym isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t your thing then find a new hobby that involves being active!<\/p>\n
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I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking about digital files. I did this recently and it felt great. I deleted 286 gigabytes worth of files, organized my pictures, documents, lolcat pictures (don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t judge), and everything else. About an hour a day for a week means that I can now easily find anything I want and not have to worry about space on my hard drive (also my future self will be happy).<\/p>\n
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Now, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t argue that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more difficult to acquire the things you want to read and watch being in Japan. All I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll say is if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a will, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a way (wink). Do it and finally join the conversation on some of the best movies, shows, documentaries, books that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always wanted to join! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll definitely take up loads of time and this can tie in to educating yourself as well!<\/p>\n
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This one is my specialty. As JETs we have the time and money to really take advantage of living in Japan, the land of festivities. Every corner of Japan has a specialty, a history, a festival, something unique about it. Do the research and make plans to go! (Not to mention how accessible the rest of Asia is). It would be great vlog\/blog content too.<\/p>\n
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So a lot of what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve mentioned so far is productive in some way, but this one is simple. Make yourself laugh. Watch the funny videos you come across, click through the lolcat pictures (or whatever floats your boat), read humorous articles, whatever it is. No day is complete without laughter.<\/p>\n
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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so easy for weeks to pass by before realizing we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spoken to our loved ones. The place you left behind is changing just as much as you are and in this day and age, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely no reason to throw your hands up in defeat that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdrifted apart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 from it. Those people you left behind helped get you where you are today, so don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget about them. Even a little bit goes a long way when keeping in touch.<\/p>\n
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I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping this list gives you some new ideas or inspires you to incorporate some to your own routine. And of course, use your own discretion as to which you can attempt at school. Start as soon as possible! Remember, a year from now you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be glad you started today.<\/p>\n
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by Jennifer Garcia<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was inspired to write this piece because a friend of mine is moving to Japan and the thought of living alone freaks her out. I assured her that distractions and forming routines once she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s here are the best way to alleviate these kinds of anxiety. Even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the case for you, whether…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":2981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false},"categories":[371],"tags":[372,200],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/ht-bonus.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}