20th Mar 2020

A few tips for surviving lockdown

The thought of working from home and chilling inside for a while might sound pretty great at first, but throw a pandemic lockdown in the mix and things start to get a little less fun. As Aristotle said 'we by nature are social animals' so how will we stop getting lonely and a little stir-crazy as we self-isolate? We've put together a few ideas on how to survive a lockdown....

Make a schedule

Creating a daily schedule and sticking to it is super important. It maintains structure and helps to achieve daily goals. We all know bingeing Netflix is easily done, so set yourself time limits. If certain people (or programmes such as the news) are making you anxious, take a step back from them. Humor is important, so try and watch funny movies in the evenings as a nice way to round out the day. 

Keep active

This is vital for both your physical and mental health. There are tonnes of amazing online workouts you can do from home - and for free! Here's just a few of our favourites:

• Barry's Bootcamp is hosting 20-minute bodyweight workouts live on Instagram everyday.
• Female Quotient are offering virtual workouts focused on strength and yoga via Zoom.
• Gold's Gym have a variety of digital workouts for free through the end of May.
• Orangetheory is sharing a new 30-minute workout video each day, featuring some of its most popular coaches from around the world.
• Have kids? The Body Coach has some great YouTube classes designed speicifcally for children.

Read

Now is a great time to delve into all those books you've been meaning to read. Executive Editor Edie Lush gave us a little run down of her favourite reads earlier this month on national book day. The Independent also have a great 'must read' list to work your way through!

Learn a new skill

Always wanted to learn a new language? Now's your chance. Duolingo and Rosetta Stone are both amazing resources for online learning. Codeacadamy offers great free coding courses if that's more your jam.

Virtual coffees, meetings and house parties!

Now we are well into the social distancing phase, that catch-up over coffee or dinner date is a definate no-go. Use Zoom (great for work meetings) or FaceTime instead and host them at home. Anything that’s visual is really important to help give you human connection. The House Party app is also great for an evening dance party!

Marie Kondo your home

Tidying guru Marie Kondo has sold millions of books and has her own Netflix series about how to organise and declutter homes. Her KonMari system is said to result in not only an orderly living space but also a clean mind - so why not put that claim to the test.

As much as this is an incredibly challenging period for all of us, this could teach us to be more adaptive and creative, and help us to discover new interests as we try to fight the boredom. Take this time to reconnect with yourself and family and friends (virtually) and think about what really matters.