If you’re like me, you are constantly looking for new ways to keep yourself busy or entertained during quarantine. I read that Yale University was offering its most popular course, “The Science of Well-Being,” for free online. I started reading about what the class was about and I was instantly intrigued. The course essentially teaches people how to increase their own happiness and build more productive habits. I thought to myself, “what better time than now to take this class?”
The course is offered on Coursera, takes about 20 hours to complete and it is divided into 10 weeks. Each week there are video lectures from the professor, readings to help you dig deeper into various subjects and a quiz. I finished week 2 today and I must say I have found the class to be very beneficial so far. In addition to watching the video lectures and reading the articles that have been assigned, I also completed the various surveys that were required. The surveys really help you think about your life and what your goals are. There is also a survey that highlights your greatest character strengths based on your responses and it helps you become more self-aware. We have also delved a bit into how the things that we are sure will make us happy or unhappy, most of the time really do not. It’s fascinating to learn about the different studies and see how they alter your mindset. I look forward to seeing what the next few weeks have to offer but so far I highly recommend this class!
A few days ago, I started looking into what other universities were offering complimentary online courses. I found this great article on Business Insider that lists top schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia, and a few of the classes that they are offering. There are classes about pretty much anything including politics, game theory, political science, religion, negotiation, communication and so on. The majority seem to have the same format which is watching videos, reading articles and taking a quiz. They are all free but also offer the option to purchase a certificate of completion.
Please let me know if you end up taking any of the classes and what your thoughts are!
Happy learning!
XO,
Kika
7 Comments
Brian Hardin
April 20, 2020 at 12:28 amGreat suggestion about staying occupied AND learning during quarantine! I’ll definitely look into it!
juliasjd
April 20, 2020 at 7:10 amThis is the first time I’m hearing about this. So cool!
kikacarvalho
April 21, 2020 at 5:36 pmThey are actually really good classes!
Pranaya Nair
April 25, 2020 at 11:52 amSome free sites like edx.org also have some really cool courses. I recently took up the free Academic and Business Writing course for my personal growth and had a striking experience. They provide some good pop-ups (their version of writing assignments) and ask us to maintain a journal to write them down. They even have tie-ups with top colleges like Harvard which is the best part of the website.
kikacarvalho
April 25, 2020 at 1:49 pmThat’s awesome!
lauren staton
August 27, 2020 at 10:35 amI always try and do an online course whilst travelling. great article.
kikacarvalho
August 27, 2020 at 10:35 amThank you so much Lauren!