As simple as the title sounds, it really is easy to get lost in certain things. Go a little off track and the four walls you are living in, will crumble down with you. Keeping sane is hard to do. If you think about it as when you don’t feel well and all you want to do is lay in bed all day and feel sorry for yourself. Really lockdown can be for a long while still to come and we have to live a normal as life in order to keep our mental health sane. You need to keep positive and happy in order to make the end of lockdown 2020!
Setting a Routine is so key but naturally a thing we do all the time. Sticking to the routine as well really helps but at the end of the day a routine can be loved, skipped or binned by the mind instantly. It’s all about forcing yourself into a routine making a habit. Habits in life take about 4-6 weeks to become one, but are so worth it. Mentally you need structure and routine to create a good life. Lockdown could be made into a bad or good situation. One we aren’t going to come out of for a while likely especially with people disobeying the rules. You just have to do what is right for your mind and stay focused on you. First anyway then maybe your family living with you.
Give Yourself Alone Time
Even with me living alone, I still give myself an hour of me time daily. It is so good for you and your mind to switch off from the world for an hour or so. Every night I turn off come 9pm, read and journal for a whole hour. So amazing and I really benefit from that hour everyday. Creating time for that one hour can be hard, but force it. You just need to take yourself to another room for an hour or so and leave your phone, tablet, kids behind. Whoever is in your house with you. Switch off. Check on yourself, are you ok? Do you need to focus on different things? What is bothering you? Fill the hour or so with things you love to do. For me that is journalling and reading. But I would easily be able to spend the hour creating some art work or whizzing something up on the sewing machine. A time where you can leave what is bothering you or distracting you and do what you want to do. It is bliss when you work out what works best for that hour. Love yourself first always and forever. Then go on to help others.
Good Healthy Balanced Diet
Don’t become best friends with the fridge! Create a healthy balanced diet to follow. Make sure you have that good balance of foods to last you the week. Remember we need to stay home so keep them fruits and vegetables topped up. Having my dinner at lunch time now is really helping me. One from not vegging out in the fridge all day but two because its making me fuller for longer. My food tends to be healthy anyway but making sure I have the right ingredients out the day before really helps to keep my balanced diet going. Keep a little treat in the cupboard and treat yourself now and again but don’t slip into eating the junk food all the time. Plan the week out food wise if that helps but for me I now have about 60 meals in the freezer just needing my weekly fruit and vegetables delivery to go with them. Forcing the healthy eating eventually will make this a habit and you will only naturally want this type of food.
Enjoy The Little Moments
There are so many little moments that we most probably take for granted daily. How many times do you go on a walk down the street and stop to take in how beautiful blossom is? I am loving seeing the families go out and play on the hills in front of my home. Not only is it fresh air but its quality time. Puts a smile on my face. The giggles, the smiles and the fun. Laugh more often. Every morning I make the bed and put on my makeup. Even if it’s just for me and then to be washed off later. Enjoy the rare changes and chances we are getting to stay home. You don’t have to go here or there and time is not limited. Clean the home even if its just for you. It will feel amazing daily to wake up to a good healthy environment. Smile because you can and do things a little crazy just to enjoy yourself. Dance around, paint anything and everything you want to do. Just enjoy every moment of everyday. Much better to laugh and smile everyday than cry and be sad and lonely.
A Good Night’s Sleep
Always 100% get a good nights sleep. Without a good nights sleep I am lost. There is a lot playing on everyones minds right now and for many reasons. But if you follow the rules and are doing all you can for yourself then that is all you can do. To have the motivation, get up and go day in, day out you really need to be able to switch off and sleep. I am lucky that sleep is a must for me and I am a good sleeper. 12 hour nights at a weekend. Saying that though I need at least 9 to be ok for the following day. Sleep just helps you mentally but also physically everyday. Still having them routines and structure to everyday needs the sleep. Even if you are adding sleep on you still need to be allowing you the amount you would run on to go to work, or whatever you are doing daily. A good nights sleep is always the best chance for a successful day ahead.
If you can put all these together and really work on all four. Then you will feel so much more positive and motivated everyday to continue. You won’t end up the size of a whale and waking to an alarm in however long will be the easiest thing yet. Appreciating and enjoying the little things will help you throughout lockdown but also for the rest of your life. Think of all them things that make you happy, that you no longer can do. They are still to come and that is what you need to remember. Love them now and love them even more in the future.
