My Top Ten Lockdown Survival Tips

Lockdown 3.0. As we are into our third nationwide lockdown, and it is set across one of the hardest seasons of the year (UK Winter), I thought it would be good to share some of the things that got me through the last two lockdowns and things I intend to continue throughout the next couple of months, to keep me as mentally stable as possible. 

Let’s all try and implement the tips all together and share in the comments, things that have and not helped you, as well as any other tips you have. So we can learn and do this together, to help us get through the next couple of months.

 

Tip One: Stop watching the News

After Week 1 of the first Lockdown, this was the first thing I consciously changed to help myself mentally. Originally in the lead up to and the start of Lockdown, I used to watch the News and the ‘PM Address’ religiously every day. However, after a while I noticed it was starting to take its toll on me mentally, as it just felt like a continued perpetual cycle of negative information and uncertainty. 

I therefore, made the conscious decision to stop checking the news regularly and started to rely on the ‘Top 5 News Stories’ provided by the BBC News each morning to my phone. As gave me a quick overview of the pertinent topics of the nation and meant that I only needed to delve into the topic further, if it was of interest and/or was big news and required further attention. I also took the decision, that if something was to dramatically change with regards to COVID for our nation, then it would be covered by the ‘Top 5 News Stories’ and/or you would hear about from your family and friends. 

 

Tip Two: Create a ‘loose fitting’ Routine that works for YOU

Routine – now for some people, this may be harder than it is for others and it is also very much determined upon your current Lockdown set up and set of circumstances. Some of us are working or not working, or even still working and homeschooling all at the same time.

For me personally, regardless of my Lockdown circumstances, ‘routine’ is a necessity for me, as it stabilises me mentally and gives me a sense of purpose and structure to my day. By creating a daily routine, it allows me to compartmentalise my day and stops me feeling like my days are just continuously moving on with no real sense of purpose. 

Now, the key to setting your ‘routine’, is that you must design a routine that works for YOU and no-one else. As I find your daily routine is very much personal to you, including the things that you need to do for your day as well as the things that are good for you and bring you joy. For example, there is no sense of designing a routine which is filled with hours of exercise or reading, if that is a thing that does not interest you and/or you don’t have that amount of time available in your day. 

Therefore, design a ‘loose’ routine that works for you, which also allows you to remain flexible, so that it doesn’t create any undue pressure on you throughout your day. Remember, this is a routine to provide you with purpose and structure to your days and not to add any additional pressures! 

Another good tip, is to try and keep a good routine between Monday – Friday and live a little more ‘free-er’ in your weekends, so that the weekends feel like a treat and gives you something to look forward to… even if there is not too much we can do right now.

 

Tip Three: Design a morning routine that sets the ‘tone’ for the rest of your day

Now this tip may feel a little alien for some, but I think this is a vital skill that I have picked up in life that helps me and the payback, far outweighs the effort. Take a moment and think about this as a statement ‘How you start your morning, sets the tone for the start and remainder of your day’. 

What does, this mean? This is a topic I could talk about for hours, but in short, how you talk to yourself and the choices you make, first thing in the morning have a direct impact on your general mood for the rest of your day. Now, this does not mean, if you don’t complete a special morning routine, that your day is doomed. It just means, that if you complete your ideal morning routine, it makes the rest of your day a little easier. 

What does your ideal morning look like? For me, I try to limit snoozing on my alarm and wake up with a positive thought for the day. A positive thought, is easier, if you have set your intentions, the night before as to what you are going to do the first thing in the morning. For me, I choose to wake up straight away, NOT look at my iPhone, until I have: (1) woken up, (2) downed a whole glass of water, (3) worked out for 15-30 mins and (4) completed a 10- min meditation session. I then reward myself with a quick look on my phone, a nice hot shower, a cup of coffee and 20 minute read of my book (as a reward) and then go on about the rest of the day. This whole routine, leaves me feeling energised working out, mentally reset from my meditation and feeling like I have had already done several enjoyable things before I have even started my working day.

 

Tip Four: Exercise 

Exercise, provides your brain with feel good chemicals that you just cannot deny once you have completed a workout. The key thing to remember here, is that incorporating exercise in your day is NOT to lose weight, but is in fact to encourage a healthy habit and to ultimately leave you feeling better MENTALLY more than the PHYSICAL. This benefit is often overlooked and is something that I didn’t really learn until my 30s. 

The additional benefit of exercising for yourself mentally, means that the exercise that you choose to do, does not need to be super long which in the end leaves you feeling like you want to quit exercise altogether. ‘Consistency’ is the goal here and a quick 15-30 min session, that gets your heart pumping and blood flowing is all you need to get those feel good chemicals into your body. 

 

Tip Five: Set yourself small obtainable goals

Now I know that many people felt in the first lockdown, the pressure to learn new things and to be as productive as possible. Which I think, if this is something that works well for you and productivity allows you to feel in control, when other elements of your life are out of your control – then this is great for you. However, we are not all the same and it is important to acknowledge this. The mere survival of during a pandemic is achievement enough and creating any further pressures on yourself, is most definitely not needed if not desired. 

That being said, it is important to not underestimate, the benefits of setting yourself small obtainable goals which work for YOU and YOU only, which allow you to feel a bit more in control of your life and make you feel good when you have completed your goals. Therefore, I encourage people to set themselves small achievable goals (NOT large hard to achieve goals), to add in a bit more control and purpose back into your lives. 

 

Tip Six: Non-Screen based activities

I think this tip is more important than ever during this Lockdown… as long gone are the days where we could go for long sunny walks, or drinks in the garden to pass the time, which were a part of our first Lockdown. 

Due to the UK weather and the time of year, we are confined more than ever to the insides of our homes. Therefore, I encourage you to seek out activities which do not involve a screen, to give your a life a bit more normality and take you back to basics. These activities can be baking, reading, jigsaws, knitting, playing board games and many more. Incorporating non-screen based activities into your week, will allow you to feel less like a zombie (attached to our phones/tablets/laptops and TVs) and more connected to life itself.

 

Tip Seven: Become one with yourself and nature

It was through Lockdown One that I really came to learn and ‘feel’ the benefits of meditating. Whilst it may seem like a foreign activity for many (myself included previously) – there is nothing better than taking the time to breathe slowly, slow the many thoughts flying through your mind and become aware of how you are feeling inside on a physical level. 

The mediation sessions themselves do not need to be long in length or take up a huge part of your day. I, still to this day only partake in sessions of 10 minutes in length – and you can also find shorter sessions between 3-5 minutes, if 10 minutes is too long for you. The key thing is you do a session and constantly keep it up, to see if you can form a new and beneficial habit.

However, if mediation is not for you, try making sure you take a walk each day, allowing yourself to become fully submerged in the presence and calmness of nature. Even in the dreariest of months, there is no denying the beauty of the nature and its resilience to ‘continue on’ regardless of the challenges it faces. So make sure you take the time to step out in nature each day, for as little as 15 minutes even, and take a deep slow breaths of fresh air as you look around. 

 

Tip Eight: Write a five things in a gratitude journal each day

As someone who has recently re-discovered their passion for writing. Writing a journal can sometimes feel too prescribed and not as a free-flowing an activity as writing normally feels like for myself. 

However, writing a gratitude journal, listing 5-10 things that I am truly grateful for that day really sets the tone of my morning and lets me asses even the smallest things that I take for granted. It is a 5 minute activity, that even when you think you don’t have time for it, pays off in dividends as soon as you have completed your list and allows you to go on with your day with a better and grateful mindset.

 

Tip Nine: Buy small weekly gifts for yourself (Sure to be a popular tip!)

Thats right you read it right, buy yourself a weekly gift! It doesn’t have to be substantial gift and the only requirement is that you buy yourself something that brings you a small amount of joy. 

Yes, this may seem to be an odd thing to be advocating during a global pandemic when money is scarce – however, we all love gifts right?! And we are all going through a tremendously hard time right now… so why, should we not buy ourselves a very small gift where possible, to bring ourselves an element of joy and something to look forward to at the end of the week?! 

The types of gifts you could buy yourself is very much determined by yourself. However, the type of gifts I brought myself in the last two lockdowns ranged from a fresh bouquet of flowers (they bring me joy each time I look at them), a new candle (something to light at the end of my day), a new bubble bath (something to look forward to at the end of my day), a new loungewear set (probably the clothing I wear the most during Lockdown)… and the list goes on… 

 

Tip Ten: Be aware of how you talk to yourself and the conversations you have with others

Last but not least, an incredibly important tip for me. Is to be aware of the way you talk to yourself and the types of conversations you participate in, during these hard times. Remember: ‘Negativity breeds negativity’ and how you talk to yourself, shapes your overall thoughts, dreams and the person you are and will become. 

Where possible, surround yourself with as much self-love, positivity and limit the amount of negativity you consume. Be aware of the people you follow on social media and the types of conversations you participate in. If in your gut, something leaves you not feeling very good – mute/unfollow the person you are following on social media or choose to not engage in those certain types conversations.  

Additionally, if you are finding it particularly hard in yourself to talk to yourself positively or with love, then invest in a well reviewed self love / positive book, to help you get the ball rolling. In fact, regardless of how you are feeling I think its always good to read a good book or listen to an audiobook which breeds positivity and personal development.

 

“Live a life set with intention”

–  Natalé Beckles