Weekdays without a commute (for some) and long weekends with little place to go can leave you feeling restless, but you can dedicate some of that extra time on your hands to learn a new language, improve your culinary skills, start painting or even take part in dance classes.

There's a huge volume of free tutorials, apps and resources to take advantage of too, so mastering the art of coding, photography, baking, make-up and more needn't become an expensive pastime.

1. Learn a language

An obvious one but what better way to start thinking about all the holidays you'll be able to take once this is over than by learning the language of the countries you visit.

Plus, it's always useful to have on your CV and if working abroad has been on your mind, then get a head start by picking up the local lingo.

Don't forget about absorbing vocabulary through TV and film subtitled for support. It's a good way to get used to hearing a language in everyday conversation.

2. Learn to cook

A skill that will need very little investment, improving your culinary prowess or starting from scratch with cooking is simple. There's plenty of cookbooks to suit every palette, budget and diet.

3. Learn to dance

Up your dance game with at-home classes, you can follow along with online, going at your own pace and being right next to a shower when you've worked up a sweat.

4. Learn to paint or draw

Continuing with a creative outlet, art classes and online tutorials are in abundance, but can also be done off the cuff as long as you have a canvas and colours to work with.

This is also a useful lesson to incorporate into home-schooling and keep kids of all ages occupied. If all else fails, grab a colouring book.

5. Learn photography

Avid photography fans or those new to the craft can pick up tips, polish existing skills and further your interest with an online photography class.

6. Learn to do make-up

If the boredom is setting in and you're missing your beauty appointments for a touch of TLC, try teaching yourself to master nail art.

While there are many makeup schools online to dust up on your smoky eye and colour matching skills, the best place we'd recommend is YouTube. Everything is free and there's no shortage of experts to watch.

7. Learn arts and crafts

If you're budget and time conscious, then learning origami is an inexpensive and easy way to fill your time, while doing something productive.

Knitting is also a simple skill that can be mastered while you relax on the sofa.