How I've Made Lockdown a Positive Thing

Yes, you read right. Despite my hopes to avoid writing about the coronavirus situation, as I honestly believe there is nothing to be gained on dwelling right now and we should all be looking for positive distractions in our media consumption, I’ve decided to write a little about some positives I have found in these difficult times.

At the beginning of lockdown, I was really struggling to motivate myself to work, or even just to get out of bed on time. I was sluggish from sleeping too much and spent too much time playing games on my phone.

It was about a week and a half in that I realised this was kind of pointless, and if there is anything I hate more than doing something pointless, I’m yet to find what it is. Like team sports, still don’t get the point of those but … don’t get me started.

So, I decided to go around the house with a notepad and make a list of everything I wanted to do.

Because I find myself in a rare position for me; for once, I don’t have any work that needs doing (now that I’ve finished my uni coursework). No homework to finish, no prep work to do. It’s actually quite a rare and wonderful feeling.

So far, here are the things I’ve done:

1. For the last week, I’ve been trying to drink at least 2 litres a day. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m notorious for dehydrating myself, and my mum is constantly nagging me to drink more water. So I thought I’d finally aim to do that.

2. I’ve taken up Italian lessons on Duolingo – ten minutes a day for six days and counting so far.

3. I’ve given up caffeinated tea – well caffeine in general actually as I don’t really drink coffee. I’ve started drinking herbal tea instead, and I feel a lot healthier. You don’t really realise how addicted we are to caffeine in this world until you start to cut it out.

4. The other day, I recorded my first podcast with my co-Head of Drama for the campus radio station, which was really fun and new – I’ve never really listened to podcasts before, so it was really interesting to explore that medium

5. I’ve knitted and crotched myself a new scarf and am currently working on a hat – I’ve made hats before but this one doesn’t seem to be going quite right – attempt number five starts tonight!

6. I’ve been reading “Brideshead Revisited”, a book which I got as a birthday present nearly a year ago and haven’t had chance to read yet. I made a promise to myself that I would finish it before my birthday, and I’m almost there, so wish me luck!

7. I started writing a new book the other day, which I’m so excited for you all to read. It’s very new, but it’s something that is really close to my heart right now, and so it’s practically writing itself. I’ll try and get it out for you to read as soon as possible.

8. I’ve been exercising every day… Before you have to check if it’s snowing outside at that statement coming from me, I decided it was by far time for me to get a bit fitter. Or at least to the degree that I’m not completely out of breath from walking up a hill. I’ve been using the app “Workout Women”, and it’s so helpful in tracking your fitness goals – I’ll talk a little more about it tomorrow on my Instagram story (@roxyelle01)

9. I’ve been using “Microsoft To Do” to keep track of my everyday tasks and give me a little more structure in my day when everything seems so confused. I was watching the film “Five Feet Apart” the other day, and the to do lists of the girl (whose name escapes me) was such a good idea that I looked up whether there was actually an app to track your task. Now that I have this app, it’s helped me so much to motivate myself (I’ll talk about that app on Instagram tomorrow too)

My two aims in writing this post are this:

a) As a kind of flex on the fact that I’m working towards better health and fitness for once in my life – I’ve always been mindful and healthy in what I eat, but there are so many areas to consider and I’m finding it really good to work on those areas 😊

b) To inspire you guys to do the same. Now I know it’s really hard to motivate at the moment, but it’s the only way to get through this tough time. And I truly believe it’s a good thing for us to do.

I also wanted to say, if anyone is struggling with the current situation and needs someone to talk to, or even just someone to listen to them, please feel free to DM me on Instagram. I answer all DMs, and am happy to hear from any of you who need.

Lots of love and my best wishes for you and your families. Stay home and stay safe, and we WILL get through this.

#lockdown #tipstostaybusy #staysafe