I don’t know about you, but I’m finding lockdown 3.0 a lot harder than its predecessors. I am unsure why it’s more difficult, perhaps because it feels a little bleaker this time.
I’ve written a blog similar to this before, but as my mood has evolved over three lockdowns, so have my ways of coping with the fact that I am not working as normal and running out of things to do. While I’m not alone in the house, my husband works in our study from 9am until 7pm at the earliest every weekday, so I don’t see anyone during this time and it can be lonely.
It got me thinking about those of you who live alone and whether you’re struggling to fill your time if, like me, you’re not working as normal. So, once again, here is what I do to stay busy – maybe you could take some inspiration from it to keep up your self-care and stay sane during this latest lockdown:
1. Make the bed. I know it sounds simple, but on the days when you feel like you can’t face doing anything, just getting up and making the bed always makes me feel better. Albeit small, I feel by making the bed I’ve achieved something (my bed has two throws and a ton of scatter cushions, so feeling proud when I’ve made it isn’t such a crazy notion) and I can enjoy coming back to a beautiful bedroom later.
Seeing a beautifully made bed really perks up my spirits
2. Move your body. It doesn’t matter how you do it, or when you do it, but getting exercise will help you shake off feeling low. It is proven to release happy endorphins (or ‘dolphins’ as my mate calls them, which in turn makes me imagine happy, playful dolphins jumping out of the water in excitement whenever I get that feel-good rush from a workout) and help you feel more energised. I see a startling difference in my mood on days when I exercise from the days I don’t. On the days I don’t, I always try to at least do a stretch or meditation. Even a fifteen-minute walk or a gentle yoga video from YouTube will help you feel good.
Even when the weather isn’t as nice as it is in this photo, I still love getting out for a walk in fresh air
3. Write a blog or do a video. As you know, my business is closed, but I need to keep my name out there and my business going on, even though I can’t see clients. I try to do this by keeping my social media up to date and by writing these blogs or making videos. Of course, I’m not earning any money from this, but it means my business has adapted during lockdown and hopefully people will remember me when they can start booking treatments again. I also really enjoy it and even if nobody reads my work, it helps to keep my head in the game and feeling like I’m doing something. If you enjoy writing it can help to express your feelings and thoughts, so you could write a blog, or a diary/journal just for you.
Me writing my blog during lockdown 1.0
4. Vision boards. If you don’t know what these are, they’re a creative way of setting clear goals for what you want. The way I do it is not on a board, I have a scrapbook that I fill with pictures of things that represent my life goals – words and pictures. The idea is that this vision book helps me manifest my goals. I get my photos from magazines and do a classic cut and stick job, but you could do exactly the same thing on Pinterest if you prefer.
One of the pages of my vision book
5. Light some candles. I find candles so soothing. I have loads dotted around my living room and I light them when I need a boost. I make a cup of tea, sit on the sofa and let the calming flames lull me into a state of zen.
Is there anything better than candlelight to soothe your mood?
6. Film night. Each night my husband and I watch a film (we alternate who chooses). We did this with my parents during lockdown 1.0 when we were ‘stranded’ in Dubai and it was fun. It’s a good way of seeing films you wouldn’t ordinarily choose and is something to look forward to during the day. If you live alone, why not do it over the phone with a friend or group of friends together on Whatsapp and suggest each person takes a turn to choose a film each night, each person watches it respectively at home and then you can discuss it afterwards.
Oh how I long to be back in a real cinema, but for now my living room will make do
7. Do what you feel like doing. It’s so important to look after our mental health and the number one way I do this is if I really don’t feel like doing something then I won’t force myself. I don’t think wallowing for ages is good, but we all need a duvet day occasionally.
If you want a day in bed watching TV while chain-drinking earl grey then do it. You should never feel guilty for doing what you feel like. Of course, if you have children then duvet days aren’t easy, but there are variations of lazy days that you can take. Give yourself time and care because you cannot look after others unless you look after yourself.
Every day would be a duvet day if this was the view from my bedroom…
8. Look forward. For me, travelling is what I enjoy the most, so even though I’ve had a few trips cancelled, I’ve made sure to have a holiday booked to look forward to. Of course, everything I have paid for is flexible or refundable, so if I need to postpone then I easily can. It doesn’t have to be booking a holiday, it could be getting a date in the diary for April to see your best friend, or planning a socially distanced outside walk with someone next week. I think it perks us up when we have things to look forward to, so try arranging dates for when lockdown should be over and look forward to them actually happening.
Even though it’s a while away, just having a holiday booked in the diary gives me something to look forward to