Being unable to plan ahead can not only make you feel unmotivated, but also challenge your attempts to maintain a positive state of mind. Add self-isolation, worry and uncertainty about the future, and it can make for a challenging time. Our Lifestyle Team share six of our top tips for remaining productive and positive during the lock-down.
Stay Motivated
Whether it’s taking a daily run listening to your favourite music, walking the dog or going for a stroll and taking in some fresh air. Use your daily exercise routine to do something that will enhance your mood and give you a break from being housebound. If you can’t venture out, then try and do some gentle exercise in your home or in the garden, if safe to do so. Pottering around the garden, weeding the flower beds or just enjoying finer weather can be hugely motivational. For those in properties without outdoor access, open the windows, pull up the blinds and let in the light. You can still order seeds and plants online, so now could be the time to introduce some window boxes to cheer up your home and situation.
Create A Schedule
If you’re working from home, it can become a challenge to stay focused and be productive. Try and stick to a routine each day to create some structure to your day and week. Even if you have to adapt it slightly to accommodate your family’s needs, keeping to some structure will help retain some sense of control over your new lifestyle. Arrange regular video calls with work colleagues so you can discuss projects, brainstorm ideas and keep connected beyond emails and phone calls. Create a rota for all family members to work to, however small or large the chore.
Eat Healthier
Eating healthy, wholesome food is going to be paramount in keeping you healthy from a physical and mental perspective. Be creative with the ingredients you have in your cupboard and try and minimise your food waste by planning your meals around best by dates. Get all the family involved in helping to create, prepare and cook meals with the available ingredients. If you are self-isolating alone, set up a video call with a friend and dine together on video. A chat over dinner with a good friend is much more fun than dining alone.
Cut Down On The Toxins
Whether it’s eating sugary and fat ladened foods, drinking too much alcohol or spending too much time scrolling through negative news stories and social media posts on your phone. Take this time to cut down on the toxic aspects of your life and replace them with healthier habits that you can continue with when life returns to normality.
Look After Your Mind & Body
Looking after your household can be a challenge both mentally and physically. Create a household chore rota that gets everyone involved and shares the burden of self-isolation. Allow yourself some time each day to take a moment for yourself. Use this precious time to switch off and do something for yourself, however small. Read a few pages of a good book with a coffee or listen to some of your favourite tunes. If you are practising self-isolation alone, then keep yourself motivated each day, by making regular calls to friends and families and maintaining a sense of your daily routine, as far as the current situation will allow. Your mind is a powerful aspect of your overall well-being, so don’t neglect it.
Take Positive Action
Make time to study your outgoing expenses and deal with these appropriately relating to your situation. In the current climate, you won’t be the only person or family to be doing this right now, so take the initiative to review, react and resolve. If you find you have spare time on your hands, use this constructively to learn a new skill. There are some fabulous free-online courses available from personal development through to academic courses.
