After the news of another lockdown on Saturday, we understand you might be feeling a little overwhelmed and underprepared, but in these slightly more precedent times there is room for growth and self-reflection – we’re here to help you with an optimistic message: we’ve been here before and it won’t be like this forever.
The new rules entail the closure of non-essential retail, restaurants, and leisure venues, and strict regulations on meeting people outside of your household, which you can do only outside and with one person. Schools and universities will remain open and work that can’t be done from home will still go ahead, while retail workers will have financial support no matter if employers are small or large, charitable or non-profit.
While the next month may feel like deja vu, there are things we can do differently this time around after making it through the first lockdown; we can use the isolation as time to work on ourselves – to take the time we would have spent on errands and procrastination to learn about ourselves, to find new things we love, to catch up on things we’ve been meaning to watch or read or listen to. We’ve compiled a list of things to do as lockdown starts, so that you can take advantage of this time.
Buy or make a journal
Journaling is a useful (and cute) way to reflect on what you want, what you need and how to get it. Journaling can also be a check-in tool, to look into how you’re feeling and to clear your thoughts. Answering questions and writing your goals and affirmations is a great daily habit to pick up during this lockdown to take some time for yourself and to help you on your path to achievement.
Schedule your week
Organising your week and setting daily goals is a great way to make each day feel productive. Whether it’s organising your shelves, sorting your wardrobe or getting a piece of work done, setting a task and achieving it can really make you feel like you’ve had a successful day.
Challenge yourself to find a new hobby
Going into the month with a new hobby in mind is a great way to fight off the boredom and maybe find a new online community to be a part of, it could be something completely new or something you saw someone else do the first time round… just maybe something other than baking more banana bread.
Lockdown resolutions
At the beginning of lockdown, you might want to write a list of things you want to achieve or improve on over this time, not so much the weekly, scheduled tasks but something you can look back on when we’re out of this isolation and can say that you’re proud of, this can be anything from reading a book to quitting a habit.
Find some positivity
There’s no doubt you’ll spend a lot of time on social media during isolation, so here’s a list of instagram accounts that will brighten up your timeline and keep you thinking positively:
This page focuses on self-development and reflection by posting art and literature. These posts will make you look at your life and your journeys with positivity and reflection.
The viral Instagram post that has seen millions of Instagram stories of people sharing the word that we made it through this lockdown, so we can do it again. If you need a bit of perspective and uplifting, @wearefeelgoodclub is where it’s at.
This page fights back against the toxic thinspo sometimes associated with Instagram by celebrating the beautiful people defying society’s beauty standards and reminding us all how gorgeous we are.
Jess Bird is an artist who shares her beautiful graphics about mindfulness, mental health and love, including advice and quotes to think about.
This lockdown doesn’t have to be about working into the night, getting back on the Chloe Ting workout and keeping up the diet. Its always important to have a laugh through your Instagram feed. At this time, its needed.
Words by Daisy Grace Greetham
