10 ways to keep positive during lockdown:

If you’re anything like me, you will be sick and tired of hearing anything negative related to that of COVID-19 or about lockdown. I’ve had a LOT of time to think…. and also watched a tonne of Netflix (but that’s far from the point). It’s made me realise that yes our daily routine has changed dramatically, however, we need to take this as a positive, rather than a negative.

So, without further ado, I have compiled a list of 10 ways to keep positive during lockdown.

*sidenote* These 10 ways of keeping positive can be implemented into your regular lifestyle, not just for when lockdown is going on.

1. Don’t ‘clock watch’ the news: 

We all know the infamous saying that teachers always say: “don’t clock watch”. This means that teachers don't want to keep catching their pupils watching the clock, counting down the seconds or milliseconds until the lesson finishes. Pre-eminently my first bit of advice is to not be so transfixed on the news that you’re constantly checking up on it, as if it’s going to suddenly change the more times you check. *SPOILER* to put it bluntly, it won’t. When lockdown first commenced I was constantly checking the news and I honestly feel that rather than bringing positive news it brought negative news and therefore this brought about negative feelings. I have found that by only occasionally checking the news this still brings me up to date with everything and I can focus my mind on other things which are substantially more productive.

2. Clear space = clear mind: 

I am personally a strong believer that I function better in a tidier room or a tidier space. A couple of weeks into lockdown I decided to rearrange my room. I moved everything around. This made me clear out my bedroom and throw out a LOT, and also put aside a lot of different things that need to go to charity shops. After I had rearranged my whole room and tidied it I genuinely felt more at ease and much more positive. So, I couldn't recommend this more! My parents have also been clearing out our garage. They try to do this for at least an hour a day (as it’s such a huge task). Other than it being strangely therapeutic, they have managed to find hidden gems which had been disregarded in a box to be forgotten about for many years. Some of these gems include pictures of me and my twin brother when we were very young (see picture below) and many ‘artistic’ creations I had made when I was younger. So that has been rather amusing and kept my parents busy and occupied. So, I would give this a go! You never know what will come about from it!

(cute right? what happened?)

3. Take this time to learn new things:

Before I start on this point I think it is extremely significant to state that you do NOT have to be productive at all during this lockdown, or do something every day. I see all over social media people having a  scheduled lockdown programme with things on every day or people showing their lockdown achievements. Obviously, this is not going to work for everyone. You’re allowed to do whatever you want and whatever makes you happy, as that’s the most important thing. Work on yourself.

I have written down a few things I would personally like to achieve whilst in this lockdown period. One of these being wanting to learn a new language. I want to learn and develop my Spanish. My Uncle, Aunt and two younger cousins live in spain. They all speak fluent English too, however, I would love to be able to communicate with them in Spanish...or at least understand what’s being said.

4. Appreciate what you have: 

This period of lockdown has made me realise how grateful and appreciative I am, especially of all the small things. Another one of my new things that I have started due to the lockdown is that I have been journaling and writing down my thoughts, which actually partly inspired me to write this blog. Journaling has made it apparent how lucky I am to have somewhere to live, things to eat and to be with a loving, supportive family. 

We are all extremely lucky to live in a society which has access to the internet so we can keep in frequent contact with friends and family. I actually had my 20th birthday in April during lockdown so I managed to do a virtual party on zoom with the majority of my friends which was extremely fun! I’ve also taken part in a lot of virtual pub quizzes with friends too. This just further accentuates how fortunate we all are to be able to use the internet and to keep in regular contact with people.

5. Good music:

This piece of advice is essential in my opinion. A good playlist will boost your mood to the max. I have already spent some time (as we’ve got plenty of it) compiling several different music playlists on my phone for my certain moods. Sometimes all you need is to blast some music and to have a little dance.  This is exactly what me and my family do. We play music in our kitchen and have a little dance party together… normally with a bit of booze too, but that helps! I hold the belief that music really does make everything better.

6. Exercise:

I don’t mean you have to run a marathon (that would take longer than your hour allowance of outdoor exercise, so Boris will be onto you). However, it is a good idea to do a form of daily exercise. I’ve recently got into yoga, dance workouts and home workouts which I have been able to find on YouTube. I’m sure I look a little silly doing the exercises, but again that's far from the point as I know it's good for me in the long run… even if it makes my body ache afterwards. 

7. Bake:

Some may think that this tip is contradictory to the previous one. However, I beg to differ. After a workout you deserve a treat. So, bake that cake! Life’s too short to be worrying about the calories! Everyone is going to be baking and eating lots in these times, so you may as well just join in with everyone. I find baking and cooking one of the best ways to de-stress. Go put on some music and get your apron on (do people still wear aprons nowadays?) and get baking! I have found loads of new recipes and bakes that I have been absolutely loving, which I am thinking of sharing with you if you would like?

7. Read a book:

I find reading to be a really relaxing activity. At the beginning of the year, before this lockdown malarky happened, I had set myself a reading challenge on ‘GoodReads’. I set myself the challenge of reading 50 books this year. I have currently read 13 books so I am a few books behind schedule. For me this is a perfect time to continue to read without as many distractions. My favourite book that I have read so far this year has definitely been ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak. ‘Goodreads’ is a fabulous site and app. It allows you to search any book and see reviews that other people have published about it on the site. It also allows you to add books to your virtual shelves and provides you with personal recommendations. So if you’re an avid reader like myself, or even if you want to get into reading, this is a perfect place to go to. Please do let me know any good book recommendations that you have been loving by either commenting down below or by giving me an email or a message. 

9. Difficult times are temporary:

It is essential to remember that these difficult and stressful times won’t be permanent. There is light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel. I feel as though most of the stress has accumulated by the fact that we haven’t really experienced anything quite like this before. It is the fear of the unknown. We cannot predict when these hard times will disappear. What we do know for sure that this period of time cannot last forever. So, we all just have to take this time as a positive way for personal growth. However, I don’t think life will ever go back to ‘normal’. Bringing back one of my previous points about being grateful for the little things, I feel as though people will slowly change their old habits and attitudes which may bring about a different, but better, way of life.

10.  It’s OK not to be OK:

My last piece of parting advice would be that it’s ok to have down days, we all do. This is perfectly normal and is nothing to be ashamed about. This is an extremely stressful situation so I wouldn’t blame anyone if they felt overwhelmed or down, so you shouldn't feel bad for feeling down either. I think it is important to address these feelings and to try to talk them out with somebody you trust, so that you’re not permanently dwelling on them. You don’t want to be stuck in your slump for the majority of lockdown. The above tips and advice would be excellent ways to be able to get you feeling a little more positive.

I hope these tips and advice were useful for you? I am aware that not everything will work for everyone. However, these are a list of things that I do which help me keep positive. Please do leave a comment or let me know about what you have been doing to keep yourself occupied during these times and what you do to keep positive.