Strange times we live in. Waking up each morning, listening to the birds, whom are becoming louder as the traffic reduces, I am thinking the same as many of you: and other day in the lock down…..
It has been not easy to try to find the new rhythm of things. What I have learnt and try to practice in the last couple of weeks:
- Have a structure for my day. It is really important to be able to look forward to things, to have a sense of agency over our temporary situation. So what I do is, plan each day, when I do my exercise, when and how much I work and ‘socialise’ with physical distancing. I go outside when I can, and enjoy nature if the weather allows, or I do yoga or train at home. I do my admin work, writing, & research work at specific times, and I work through a to-do list, without perfectionism. I see my clients online in the usual times. Family connections are cultivated via FaceTime, phone calls, messages, and happen all over the world as timezones allow in the morning and the evening. A sneaky afternoon nap also happens here and there 🙂
- Limit my news intake. It is very important to keep informed since things have been changing rapidly in the last few weeks. But the constant scary information overload stresses out our system and can easily take us to a shutdown. I read, what I think is reliable source in the morning and watch a lighter summary in the evening.
- I have said it before, but I do think its worth saying again: exercise, exercise, exercise. We need to keep moving even if we are restricted to our homes. What’s really great that has come out of this situation is the huge amount of free online resource that is available now. I put together a few below.
- Learn something new. I find that learning something new inspires me and got my energy flowing. So I am learning singing (again) and some new exercises and dances.
- Stay in touch with loved ones. This can be hard when we feel stressed, hopeless or scared, and it is more important then ever before. I did find that a silly FaceTime call or using filters on messenger can really cheer me up.
So please stay connected, move your body, exercise your mind, wash your hands and stay safe.
Here are some great free resources I collected for you in the last week.
