May 2020

With the start of the this new “normal” way of life we find ourselves in, I, like many others I know, seemed to go from a hectic balance of work/life, to having so much time on our hands wondering what to do with it all. 

My company thankfully put me on furlough rather than redundancy, and I found myself trying to gain control of what I could on a daily basis without a solid work diary, to give me some focus.

Being forced into a situation goes against my being, but over the weeks I feel like I have dealt with it fairly well.

I live quite remotely anyway and already work from home so not much has changed in that sense, luckily. 

4 weeks in and I seem to have calved myself a nice little routine. Don’t get me wrong, anxiety is always bubbling away under the surface, but I wanted to share a few things here of what has helped me through so far.

Exercise – First and foremost this is the only thing that helps my body inside and out. I cannot recommend the couch to 5K App highly enough INSERT LINK. I have been running on and off over the past few years, usually phasing out during the winter months, running in the dark just isn’t fun! But with the glorious weather and time to commit I laced up my trainers and took to the tarmac once more. Little bit by little bit I have gained some fitness back, but most of all the way it clears my mind of worry and stress is second to none. Give it a go! 

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/one-you-couch-to-5k/id1082307672

Self Investment – With the daily scroll through the BBC App for the latest news and additional stresses, I came across a piece about free courses from being launched through the gov.com website. That morning I had woken up with a feeling of productivity and before I knew it I had signed up for 3 courses and was instantly setting up my days and weeks to work around this self improvement. I have found them invaluable to keep my mind busy and working and not giving into the Netflix binge sessions. 

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course/the-skills-toolkit

Reading – Once I could get my random thoughts under control I have thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in reading again. Since being a little girl sat on the school steps with my huge (or so it seemed at the time) hardback copy of Roald Dahls Matilda, I have related to the aesthetic pleasure of picking up a book and delving in. The sound, the smell the texture and the adventure of it is still wondrous and a great mindfulness exercise for all. I have also signed up to Goodreads, which has given me a focus for progressing through a novel or two not to mention the great recommendations and reading other peoples reviews – INSERT LINK TO MY GOOD READS PAGE HERE.

Cooking –  I can’t deny this topic had influenced my running a little more than I let on, but what a joy to take time in cooking again. Now that the craziness of panic buying seems to have calmed down, most of the supermarkets are fully stocked and I have been trying one or two new recipes a week to teach myself new cooking methods and trying new foods. Flicking through old recipes books has been a pleasure. For some free tasty treats, the BBC Goodfood app INSERT LINK has been an excellent resource for finding options with food left in the fridge before the big shop and for some new on tread meals try the Bon Apetite website, along with their YouTube for a bit of inso not to mention a good noisy round the pros kitchen during lockdown.INSERT LINK

The great outdoors – Wether you live in a city or the countryside, nature can be found in every nook and cranny. I am very lucky to be tucked away deep in a tiny village in West Sussex, blink and you’ll miss it and I have focused my every efforts on taking in as much as I can during my daily exercise. When I used to walk my dog Molly, it would often be with headphones in talking to work colleagues about a crisis during my lunch break. Couldn’t say I ever noticed a bird singing or the wind rushing through the trees. Bring on lock down and I’m living in the Darling Buds of May! Out came the binoculors and a new love of bird song and ornithology. I never knew so many species were on my door step. From the Green Woodpecker to the Firecrest, it’s been an absolute pleasure and what a tonic for the mind. Why not try out the INaturalist App which helps you identify creatures and plants during your walks. Just take a pic upload it to the app and it gives you a number of matches describing what you have found. Genius! INSERT LINK