Being at home all day can be tough.
We are only allowed out to exercise, buy essentials and go to work if you're a key worker.
With no end day in sight things can get tough.
But a different way of looking at this is we have been given the gift of time. The big question is how are you going to use this time? We have a choice of either procrastinating or optimizing.
Lets be honest... most people are going to end up wasting this precious time. Many ways of wasting it can include:
Scrolling through social media
Binge watching TV series's
Eating junk food
Drinking too much alcohol
Over sleeping and laying in bed
Watching news stories over and over again
Getting sucked in to endless whats app group chats
Flicking through the TV channels
Watching pointless Youtube videos
Playing on the Xbox or Playstation
Its all about moderation just like before the lockdown, but it is easy to get a lot of your time hoovered away by these time suckers.
You can take the other option which is to capitalise on this time to better yourself.
Here are some ways to help you stay motivated during this time: 1. Get out of bed as soon as you wake up (This is the hardest one but the most rewarding) Getting out of bed in the morning is hard especially if that bed feels comfy and you could do with a few more hours sleep. Have you ever slept in and felt tired throughout the day? that is because sleeping in after you wake up makes you feel more tired as it uses energy up. Getting up as soon as you wake up will make you feel more refreshed and you can start the day with more time on the things that you want to do. If you had to get up early for work but are not working anymore still get up for the same time, this will keep you in routine. 2. Make your bed as soon as you get up
It is the first job of the day and it is the first job and achievement done, its quick, simple and doesn't take much time to do. Also you can go into bed that night with a freshly made bed. 3.Get ready Just because you are locked in your house does not mean you shouldn't make the effort on yourself. You should be looking good for your benefit always regardless of lockdown. Take a shower or bath, put your aftershave/perfume on, get dressed, do your hair (I know your hair maybe looking a bit wild at this point with no hairdressers open but do the best you can or go for a new look) 4. Exercise
As of writing this, we in the UK are still allowed to go out and exercise, take advantage of this. Go for a long walk, go for a run or go for a bike ride. Take advantage of the great outdoors. But exercise doesn't just have to be done outdoors, all you need is a bit of space indoors and you can exercise indoors without equipment. I use an app called 7 minutes which is good for doing body weight exercises. There are various other apps and youtube videos to watch for ideas.
5.Plan your day
Make a plan for your day so you don't fall into bad habits that will hoover up your time.
6. Learn new skills and prepare for the future
This time is the most golden chance you will get to learn new skills. There are no outside distractions so you can focus on learning something that you have been interested in learning. Read books, join audible and listen to books, sign up for online courses such as skill share or udemy, watch educational youtube videos (as long as you can avoid procrastinating on the non useful videos, if you find you can't then don't use this one). Some companies have courses still going on by using Skype or Zoom, join toastmasters online and improve your public speaking. There are a range of courses out there to learn and grow and this is the best time to do them. If you have any plans on leaving your job in the future or have business ideas this is also the time to get started, you might be thinking there isn't much work out there or people are not spending money but this will all change and the economy will start growing again, and when it does you need to be ready for this. Draw up business plans, create websites, learn the skills you need to grow, learn about sales and marketing.
7. Remove the News
The news is okay to glance at to see what is going on in the world but it is mainly focused on the negative. A plus point of this is at this current time it helps put fear into people to stay indoors and not spread this virus around by lounging in the parks and having mass gatherings. The down side of it all is it doesn't help with anxiety and depression, in fact it enhances it. Watching all doom and gloom, death rates, peoples struggles with the virus, this will only increase anxiety levels. Best thing I have found is just to watch the government updates on the news at 17:00 when they are given out live. This will help keep up to date with what is going on in the country without the need to be constantly reminded of the doom and gloom.
8. Stay connected with family and friends
Just because you can't go out and see people there are still ways to stay connected with people. Making video calls to family and friends can help you staying connected with the outside world and is good to avoid depression from feeling alone.
I hope you all choose to optimise this time wisely and come out of this a better person.
If you need my help staying motivated or help with your anixety or depression I am available for appointments via zoom or skype, to book a session call 07525851033
Stay safe
