These are uncertain times. At the time of writing major festivals across the globe are being cancelled or postponed. Countries in Europe and beyond are banning group gatherings and are going into lockdown. The general feeling of panic is seeping through to clubland and even smaller gatherings across the globe are at risk of cancellation or postponement.

If you have been forced to work from home or worse still you are self isolating from Covid-19 then how about you use it to your advantage to enhance your DJing and boost your career.  Don’t waste your time on mediocre Netflix box sets, instead crack your way through our list, up your game and come out stronger at the other end.

1: Nail a new technique

Get practising. You have time on your hands, so fire up your decks and learn that flare scratch or learn to mix different BPMs or genres. Even better smash the James Hype transition, yeah you know the one, only the best transition of 2019?!

2: Organise your playlists and crates

You are only as good as your organisation. How many times have you struggled to find the next decent tune? Plus you can probably admit to yourself that some great tunes will drop into your collection and probably never ever see the light of day.

Having a organised and planned music collection will make your life so much easier when out gigging. Don’t just take out word for it. Check out the Digital DJ Tips series on organising your music library properly.

3: Record a new promo mix

DJ mixes are your calling card and the backbone of what gets you booked. Making new mixes not only keeps you in practice but is shows the outside world how fresh and up-to-date you are. Record your mix, polish it, and send it out there. Remember recorded mixes are very different to playing live and they should be watertight and as error free as possible. Think of this as your CV, one typo and you are in the bin.

4: Stream your DJ sets

There possibly isn’t a better time to stream your live mixes as a DJ. If everyone is staying home then your audience could be massive, hit up everyone you know through social and away you go.

Think about the visual here, for once how it all looks will be as important as the music – If you can use multiple camera angles then even better. That said don’t forget the music as people will move on pretty quickly if you aren’t floating their boat.

There are a number of different platforms including Facebook Live, Twitter’s Periscope, Youtube, Instagram and Twitch are the main players, although you may hit copyright issues with some of these. Mixcloud now offers a copyright free platform so check that out.

Streaming at its finest. Carl Cox’s infamous Boiler Room set