What day is it???
I don’t know how many times I’ve asked this question over the last few weeks!
It’s like the Christmas holidays when there’s a complete absence of time. Everything is pretty much closed and we have lots of time to do what?
Another question that I’ve been battling with is what is the difference between the weekends and the weekdays for me!? But I’ve realised… if I’m asking this question, it’s now time, that I get a little more active with some sort of a plan!
Everything in this strange time has been extremely comfortable. From socialising over video call and social media only, to potentially not even having to leave my bed to go to work, has begged me to question… how will I ever go back to normal? Is this now the time for me to start thinking about life post-pandemic?
Now… let’s not turn this into an anxiety-ridden task that needs to be done. That’s not why I’m bringing it up, but rather a time for us to start trying to get back to normal, to living a healthier lifestyle, to spending time doing things we love and get positive vibes from. The feeling more so than what we are doing is so much more important right now.
The Everlasting Comforts
I’ve been reimagining what friendships are looking like from the pandemic perspective, and it’s pretty bleak. The video call was great for the first few weeks but now, for me, it’s becoming slightly unhealthy. When we meet our friends and socialise in person, we usually have a life that we plan that around. We have plans before and after that meeting up, and now it’s pretty hard to end a conversation because well, we have no excuses… we have nothing to go to and nothing to do. So much so that there are memes dedicated just to “video-call-anxiety” and not wanting to talk to even your closest friends with the fear that you’ll be stuck in the everlasting doom of the screen… like a zombie, afraid to be alone, having a friend always in the background!
Ok… I know that was dramatic… but you absolutely know what I mean!
I’m no expert but I’m not sure how healthy this is for our friendships. How do we maintain a healthy friendship without sounding cold? We can’t deny it, nothing beats the in-person socialising. Not only friendships though, our daily todo’s are either now non- existent or very comfy. There’s no effort involved in doing anything anymore. I suppose this is where we try to work on two areas:
finding ways to reboot over the weekends that give us our weeks back
planning what I want life to look like for me post-pandemic.
Routine
I hate the word routine. The definition is “a sequence of actions regularly followed”... UGH… how boring. Although it sounds terribly ordinary, it’s something we need a bit of in our lives, and I emphasize “a bit of.” Some areas that I have benefitted from in the last few weeks are
Getting up before 9am and making my bed. Link here as to why you should make your bed first thing every morning. It’s great to sleep in once or twice a week but more than that not only takes energy and time from our day, but can lead us down an unhealthy, potentially dark path.
Put on something that makes you feel good, whether it’s great workout gear, or an outfit that just makes you feel content. Your appearance throughout the day is only (and should only be) important to you. When you’re running around the house or past a window and see your reflection, you might double take because you are working this day and feel good!!!
Try to get out everyday even if you don't feel like it. I usually go for a run or walk first thing in the morning because I am a morning person. I love the morning time and I feel great when I accomplish it first thing. During my work year though I tend to exercise in the evenings, to switch off from work and clear my head when I come home. Find what works for you, but when you go, even if you’re feeling blah, I can promise you will always feel better after getting out of the house!
Start being more conscious of what you are eating. Some foods can really mess up our energy levels and even the times of the day when we eat our meals. Minimising your intake of junk food and alcohol really boosts your mental capacity to function faster and your digestive system to… let’s just say… work in a cleaner environment and again, faster!
Especially with the warmer weather we’ve been having, try to drink loads of water. I am so bad at this! I only notice it when I’m halfway through a heat stroke!
Finally, stop reading the media and social media so much. Try and limit it to once a day. As we all know, the media can heighten the levels of anxiety as a result of anticipatory reports and honestly, that helps none of us!
I’m just going to leave you with some hopeful inspiration by my favourite poet:
“Hope” is the thing with feather- that perches in the soul- and sings the tune without the words- and never stops at all— Emily Dickinson