How I’m surviving Lockdown!

Whether you are on your own, with your partner or your family during Lockdown, this is a challenging time for all of us.

I returned from a wonderful holiday in Melbourne, Australia, mid March and, fortunately, I got to see my kids, (who are now both working and living in London)  for Mother’s Day, which was really lovely!  Lockdown followed shortly after and, as I am a single mum,  it was quite a shock to the system, going from constant socialising with friends and family in Aus, to suddenly being unable to meet up with my family or friends here.  I’m sure a lot of you can relate to this if you are on your own at the moment.  Even if you are currently with your partner/family or housemates, you are also likely to be facing challenges  – after all, it’s not that easy being stuck at home 24/7, without the odd fallout!

I realised that I must let go of what I couldn’t control and recognise what was within my control so I made a plan of action that was ideal for me. I was determined not to let the situation get me down so I have taken these steps to cope with Lockdown- I hope these could help you too, so give them a try

1. Counting my blessings:

• I am very lucky to have my  wonderful family and friends and I look forward to catching up with them, in real life, soon!
• My dad was tested positive for Covid19 but had not symptoms, apart from a high temperature.  After 3 weeks in hospital, he tested negative and is now free of the virus and can now be at home with my mum!
• I very fortunate to still have both of my parents
• I have a garden that I can use to sit and relax in
• I have more time to relax and to catch up with household jobs that I’ve been meaning to do for ages!
• I’m saving money by staying at home
• Every day,  you should think about 1 thing that you should be grateful for!

2. Staying in touch,virtually, with family and friends :

• Video calls with family, friends  colleagues and clients via WhatsApp or, for larger groups,  using apps such as  Zoom or  House Party.  We often play games such as Heads Up, Quick Draw & Trivia-General Knowledge or Finish the Song Lyric – all great fun! My parents aren’t tech savvy anymore but we still keep in touch with phone calls!
• If you are at home with your partner, family or housemates, try having some fun times together such as playing games such as Heads Up, Pictionary, Board games for Trivial Pursuit in the house or games such as Swing Ball Tennis, Swing Football, Lawn Twister & Giant Beer Pong in the garden.  I found some great ideas here: 27 Fun Outdoor Games You’ll Want To Play All Summer Long

3. Daily Exercise Routines:  

• Dancing is great for you as it releases endorphins in the brain, which alleviates stress and worry and makes the workout fun.  It’s also great for burning calories, core stability, flexibility and muscle strength.  I particularly love my  virtual Zumba dance workouts with my instructor, Clare, as my gym is currently closed!  You can check out all her classes on her Facebook page here: Live Stream Classes with Clare

• I also enjoy HIIT workouts (High intensity interval training) which are great for improving cardiorespiratory function and for general fitness. As it’s very effective for improving fitness levels, you can get away with shorter workouts, which is always a bonus! 
• I love Joe Wicks, The Body Coach HIIT workouts   You can either find his DVD workouts & recipe books on Amazon or try his  90day workout programme

• I alternate these workouts with  Core strength and weight training. Core strength building is important for preventing and treating back pain, stabilising the spine, improving posture and reducing risk of injuries from sport.  Weight training great for building muscle and bone strength, lower your blood pressure and for boosting your metabolism.
• I also love Hollywood trainer, Gunnar Peterson’s  Core Secrets workouts– you’ll need some dumbells and a Swiss ball for these!

• If you’d prefer something less highly intense, you can also try Pilates and Yoga workouts.  These are great for stretching tense muscles and for mindfulness.
• You can access many great workout DVDs and workout equipment on Amazon  I particularly enjoy, Joe Wicks, Denise Austin & Gunnar Petersen    I also love Fitness Blender workouts – you can some of these for FREE on their website or on YouTube!  Definitely worth giving these a try!
• If you’d prefer to get out of the house, you can walk, run or bike ride outdoors!

4. Organising and De-cluttering:

• The house and the Wardrobe – I love using Pinterest for ideas and have saved some great tips to my Organising & De-cluttering Board 
• Making a weekly/daily plan – ticking off completed tasks makes you feel great!
• Storecupboard & Batch cooking – I use what’s in your storecupboard so that I can save money, wherever possible.  If you are on your own, you can freeze in batches to eat on another day!  Check out some recipes ideas from great British Chefs
• Garden-  I love a beautiful garden but I’ve never really been into gardening and all the hard work that’s involved!  With some tips from my neighbours, I have managed to complete a few task which have really helped make my decking, balcony and garden look so much nicer.  It is still a work in progress thought!  Solar lighting is lovely and I’ve actually put on my gardening gloves and have added some lovely, easy care, plants to my, very hot, South facing garden. It is still a work in progress though!   I have saved some great ideas to my gardening Pinterest board. You can check them out here: Gorgeous Gardens

5. Rest and Relaxation:

• Listening to Feelgood music – here is Elle Magazine’s list of songs to help you chill out: Best Feel-Good songs 
• Watching Feelgood films – I am loving watching Feelgood films right now! They’re great to watch on your own, with your partner, housemates or with your kids.  Here’s Empire magazine’s list of 30 Feelgood movies to distract you from the horror of 2020
• Meditation –  It’s good for you as makes you feel more relaxed, happier, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and helps you focus.  I use the Calm app to help me chill out – you can download from your mobile app store.  The Breathe app is another good one from the app store – you can have a free trial of both of these
• Getting a good night’s sleep- This is essential for your physical and mental health as improves your immune funtion,  it can improve concentration and productivity,  it boosts your metabolism and it can improve you athletic performance, I use the Calm app to listen to, very relaxing, sleep stories.  You can find some on the Breathe app too.

6. Making Plans for our, Coronaviris Free Future!

1. Create a Vision board  –   Having a vision board will help you to focus on all the things you want to achieve and will inspire you  to to make them happen.  The board is a collage of images and words representing a person’s wishes or goals, intended to serve as inspiration or motivation.  How to make a vision board  I really love this Vision Board Kit  It’s a really easy way to get started 
2. Creating a Bucket list- This is a list of  things you want to do in your lifetime i.e. before you “kick the bucket”!  -This can include places you want to visit, and things you want to see and do.  Here are some great ideas that I have saved to my Pinterest Bucket List board
3. Start a new course or find a new hobby – Fancy learning a new language, arts & crafts, creative writing, playing an instument, gardening or photography?  Now would be the ideal time to start! I am currently learning French, Spanish and Italian and I’m also doing some on-line business courses.  Checkout some that you can try here:  10 hobbies to take up during lockdown to keep yourself busy

I hope this has inspired you to stay positive during these difficult times!  Please feel free to leave to comment below.

You can find out more about my Life Coaching services here

I will  be sharing some new blog posts soon.  Take care and stay safe!

Cindy xx