How to shake off your lockdown funk!

Lockdown Funk, this post is for you if your desperate to get back on track and out of the lockdown funk! 

Wow, what times are we living through right now, Covid 19 has been without a doubt the biggest global life changing experience during my lifetime that I have lived through. 

There has been much hardness, death and sadness over the past few months on a global scale, and I recognise I’m fortunate and full of gratitude that as a family we were safe, secure and could pay our bills. I did not, and still do not take this for granted. 

For me, lockdown brought a much needed slower pace of life for our family, a time to connect with my children at a deeper level and a time to immerse myself with nature. But you should know it wasn’t always easy, like most of us I struggled to get food supplies for my older relatives, feared for their wellbeing, was useless at home schooling, drank way too much gin and injured my knee too, so it wasn't always rosy!

I'm writing this on 28th September 2020 after the full lockdown has passed. We've had a lovely summer with more freedom, been able to see family & friends and now my children are happily back at school. Meaning I'm able to focus on myself and my purpose in life a little bit more.

But i'm also a realist and can sense winter coming, the shorter days, the darker nights, the germs festering colds and snotty noses. I know that normality will not come back for a long while yet.

So if you are feeling the overwhelm of an imminent mini lockdown, darker nights, scared for you and your relatives safety, worrying about your livelihood, this post shares my 3 biggest things, that cost nothing and will keep your emotional and physical wellbeing topped up in these crazy times. 

FIND YOUR ROUTINE 

Think about the basic structure of your day, does it have a pattern, things that happen daily?

Strip it all back and you’ll see the most basic part of a routine is your sleep patterns. I found that during lockdown my bedtime creeped later and later and my mornings would also start later and later. This felt really indulgent at first, but after a month or so I quickly started to feel out of my natural rhythms. I didn't like how I felt. 

If you've fallen into this pattern firstly think about how much sleep you need, your body is really good at making sure it gets the right amount of sleep when allowed, at our age (if you are around 40!) its somewhere between 6-9 hours on average - I know it's not always easy with small kids.

If bedtime has become later, start by bringing it back 15 minutes earlier each evening until you reach the time you want to go bed. 

Then allow yourself to sleep until your rested if your small children permit it! 

As for mornings, I like getting up before my family to enjoy some time in peace to do my morning routine, so when I was first "resetting" my body clock, i used to set an alarm and leave it outside my bedroom, so I had to physically get up to turn it off. After one week my body quickly fell back into its natural rhythms. 

As much as possible try to keep your bedtime the same time, as close as you can on weekends too, you know if you have a later night how much harder it can feel the next day! 

When our body is rested we can cope with things better. 

MOVEMENT 

Add movement into every day, it doesn't have to be a full on workout, just a gentle stroll outside can have massive benefits. 

If you know you're sitting at a laptop for most of the day, schedule a lunch break for 30 minutes, make it non negotiable and go for a walk - come rain or shine. When you walk, walk with intent and immerse yourself in your surroundings, put your phone on silent or better still try to leave it at home!

As for workouts I prefer to schedule mine in for the mornings because I like to get it done and I feel it sets the tone for my day. Choose exercise you enjoy doing, try something new, in fact it's never been easier to try new types of exercise. But be sure to set aside some time to do a workout if you enjoy how it makes you feel. Tell your partner or friend you are doing this so they are around for childcare (if needed) and get your exercise gear out the night before so its the first thing you see when you get up.

You'll be done in time to eat breakfast with everyone. 

EAT INTUITIVELY

Wasn't it amazing how during lockdown the nation didn't run out of fresh food! I know right, shopping became harder but the reality was it was all the long life, beige coloured food that sold out, not the fresh food. 

Again when you are really in tune with your body you know what it wants. But to get to this point takes awareness and time to be able to eat like this, intuitively. Try to really listen to when you are hungry and try not to eat mindlessly, notice any patterns to your hunger, energy flows. 

Take your time when eating and really appreciate every mouthful. 

Eat the most colourful, fresh and seasonal food you can afford to buy, try eating all the colours of the rainbow, try new things. 

Get organised and have an idea of what meals you will cook for the week ahead and if you're not particularly hungry that day opt for smaller portion sizes. 

In essence - keep to a structure, eat colourful food that you know makes you feel good and move as much as you can every day whilst committing to a weekly workout or two.

Start simple and pick one of these to focus on each week and I promise you will move out of your funk steadily.