Happy, Healthy and Hopeful in Lockdown

Hey, hi, hello. Long time, no see! Apologies for not writing in a while- the past few weeks have been H.E.C.T.I.C. both on a personal and- needless to say- on a global level. I’m not going to delve into the depressing details or write about our current situation in the world. Unless you live under a rock, you’re aware of what’s going on and you should be taking necessary courses of action to self-isolate in order to protect yourself and others. FYI even if you’re a young person with a healthy immune system, you’re potentially putting millions of vulnerable people at risk by not adhering to the government’s orders. You must #stayhome. There are no excuses. Period.  

Now that my semi-rant is over, let’s get into the juicy bit of this post! So, I was essentially self-isolating for a few weeks whilst I was in the Netherlands. Now that I’m back home and the UK has gone into lockdown, I’d like to say that I’m quite the expert in self-entertainment and staying sane in what can otherwise be a very stressful time. Initially, as every person has probably experienced, I went through the stage of spending almost all of my day on my phone either on social media or scrolling through the news and I was doing very little to take care of my mental or physical health. Needless to say, this soon became extremely boring and even toxic to the point where I had to delete the BBC News app and lock my phone away for the day. Before you reach this stage, I thought I’d bring you a blog post about productive ways I’ve been spending this time in lockdown. Hopefully you’ll be able to draw inspiration from the activities I’ve implemented into my daily routine. At the end of the day, this blog is all about being mindful and what better time is there to learn this skill than now? Before I begin, I’d like to remind you to take some time out of your day to check up on your pals- send them a text, give them a call, Facetime them. We’re in this together and it’s a difficult time for all of us. Spare an hour or two to reach out to your family and friends and remind them that we’re in this together.

Every morning I begin my day by waking up at a decent time so that I can start my morning off in the right way. My siblings are all still in education, so they are taking part in online classes throughout the week according to their school timetable. Fortunately, this means that I’m forced to wake up early before 8am so I can get started with my day straight away to avoid wasting any time. One of the main things that has helped get me through this period is waking up early and not wasting half of my day in bed! Even though a gal has got to get her beauty sleep, I always feel so groggy and unproductive for the rest of the day if I wake up past 10am.

Recently, I’ve been getting back into exercising on a daily basis by going for at least a 5km run every day followed by yoga to build strength. Now, more than ever, its so important to get fresh air and Vitamin D every day, release endorphins and relieve any stress or anxiety I’ve built up. I usually exercise first thing in the morning because it helps me feel refreshed and sets me up for the rest of the day. Even if I don’t have the motivation or will to run first thing in the morning, I still make myself go because I know I’ll feel much better afterwards Nature is my happy place and I love being outdoors so this is definitely my favourite part of my day. Even if running isn’t your thing, you can still go for a walk, take the dog out or go cycling instead. The most important thing is to get some exercise before you will go stir crazy from being stuck indoors all day, every day. I’ve been running pretty much consistently for 3 weeks now and I can already notice the difference in my mood and irritability on the days when I don’t. Now’s the time to focus on getting fit and looking after your physical body.  

As well as exercising my body muscles, I want to make sure I’m engaging my brain power either by doing online classes, working for my employer or learning German. Whilst my siblings are doing schoolwork, I spend a few hours every day doing some form of learning or work. For online learning, I’ve been using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for a few months. The Open University has actually just made courses free so we can all learn a new skill whilst in isolation. It’s time to get organised right now and broaden my knowledge on a broad range of topics so I’m taking advantage of this time to learn new skills. There’s no better time to discover things that I’m really interested in, and I’d really recommend doing online courses so you can improve your skill set whilst you have the time.

At the beginning of the year, I made a reading list which I have already made good progress in working my way through. I spend around an hour reading every day and am alternating between reading fiction and non-fiction books. One of the things I’ve always been meaning to do is read the Harry Potter series, as (I am ashamed to admit…!) I’ve never read any of the books despite watching all of the films a countless number of times. I’ve already added this to my reading list, alongside many of the books that are currently sitting on our bookshelf and collecting dust that I’ve never touched before. Now’s the time for you to make a reading list and get started on reading those bestsellers everyone’s been talking about, but you’ve not had time for until now because of schoolwork, a degree or work.

Follow my Instagram account @mindful_lifex 

One of my personal goals that I am eager to achieve before I go to university is to learn how to cook. If you know me, you’ll know that I’m really the most atrocious cook in the world! I tend to opt for typical uni-student meals such as ready-made pizza, pasta or wraps. Now that I’ve got the time, I’m attempting to cook one new dish every day so that I’m more than prepared for next year and don’t just end up living off the same 3 meals every week. Yesterday, I made Japanese Souffle pancakes, which I would highly recommend trying out- they were simply divine. Check out my best friend Kathryn’s blog post for a recipe if you want to try them out. Cooking and baking are super therapeutic and always lift my spirits, so I’d definitely try out some new recipes if you’re starting to feel down. 

That has essentially been my daily routine for the past few weeks. I’m doing my best to vary up my routine a bit everyday so that it doesn’t become too repetitive. Whether it’s going for a run at a different time of the day, calling a family member I’m isolated from or learning a different subject, I’m doing my best to change my daily routine as much as is humanly possible! These are difficult times but they’re necessary to tackle our pandemic. Just remember that we’re all in this together and there are obviously going to be times when we feel fed up, frustrated or angry with the situation. We all need to pull together and support each other during these times, so give your friends and family a call and check up on them. I really hope that you’re well and remember that this situation is only temporary. We will all get through this and if you’re struggling, please reach out to your loved ones. As Tony Robbins said, “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place.” We may be verging on the longer timescale, but we can all get through it and do our best to make the most of the circumstances. Try out something new, change some of your habits and take this time for self-reflection. Appreciate being around your family. It’s a strange situation but for many of us, it’s probably going to be the only time for a while that we’ll have this much time for self-improvement. Make the most of it. And please look after yourself and your loved ones.

Until next week, Khadijah x