Finding the Good in Lockdown

Hello! It’s been a while – it’s definitely time for a little life update so I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to and how we’ve been Finding the Good in Lockdown.

What we’ve been up to

• We’ve been staying at home since around mid-March. Official lockdown in the UK began on the 24th March.
• My husband is working at home. He usually works from home a couple of days each week anyway and his company is well set up for remote working.
• I have a son in year 5 so we’ve been learning at home. (This is the biggest reason for my absence from the blog – I’ve been busy supervising the learning and coming up with fun ideas to keep us busy. Plus he’s using my computer for school work!)
• The dog is settling in well (he arrived in January) but all the work we’d previously put into leaving him at home and overcoming any separation anxiety has gone out the window! We will need to gradually build that back up as and when we can.

Finding the Good in Lockdown

I thought it would be interesting to share how we’ve been Finding the Good in Lockdown. Hopefully it might give you some ideas. And I think this will be great to document to look back on in the future.

Getting outside –

As part of the lockdown rules we are allowed outside once per day to exercise. We’ve been making sure we take this opportunity every day. The dog gets walked twice a day (once by each adult and our son goes with one of us). It’s great to get out of the house, get some fresh air and spend a little time in nature.

Other exercise –

We’ve also been having a go at some of The Body Coach’s youtube exercise videos. We found the first few of the daily 9am sessions a little too full on so have been trying some of the lower impact stuff which has been good fun.

Keeping some kind of routine –

During the week we try to keep a routine going. It’s flexible when needed but we usually do school work / home learning in the morning until lunchtime. After lunch we do a few more low-key things before finishing mid afternoon. Having this routine means we tend to just get on with it rather than having to convince ourselves to do it!

Planning the days –

As well as planning my to do’s (and very few appointments!) in my Bullet Journal we also have a daily plan for learning. We spend a few moments each weekday working out a plan for the day using activities jotted down on post-its. This is flexible but gives us a guide when needed. I also spend a little while on a Friday roughly planning the next week.

Keeping track –

I’ve created a few lists and pages in my Bullet Journal since lockdown began which I think have been helpful:

• Postponements and other reminders – I’ve kept a note of anything cancelled or postponed because of lockdown. I’ve made sure to note down anything that was pre-paid as well as other things that will need to be rescheduled at some point.
• Orders and Things We are Waiting For – I’ve used similar lists in the past. Here I track anything we’ve ordered or we are expecting to receive. Good for those online orders from various places. I note down the date ordered, item, where it’s from, the due date and then have a tick box for when it arrives.
• The Positives of Lockdown – I’m trying to celebrate the things that have been good about this whole situation. For example – learning to make flat breads and slower mornings with no school run.
• Looking Forward To – this is a list of things I’d like to do after lockdown – visit the seaside, see my Mum (and actually be able to go inside and not just drop things at her door!), the spa day with a friend that has been postponed etc. What would be on your list?

Time Out –

It’s been important that we each take some time to ourselves so we don’t go crazy. Some afternoons I take myself upstairs to read or have some quiet time. And we’ve all found our own ways of finding down time.

Being Gentle with Ourselves –

This can be tricky but it’s so important. I’m sure I’m not alone in having good days and bad days (in normal life, let alone lockdown!) and I am trying to remind myself that this is unprecedented and some days won’t go as well as others. That’s okay.

Stick with what works –

I’ve also tried to keep up with some of the things that help me Find the Good throughout the day. Things like morning pages and my gratitude journal. For more tips on Finding the Good throughout the day and at special times please click here.

Coming Up

Next week I am intending to play along with Week in the Life.

This is a project that Ali Edwards runs yearly. I love documenting our lives and looking back on previous times to see what’s changed and what has stayed the same.

I have taken part a couple of times before. You can see my last documented Week in the Life from May 2018 on the blog. I also completed Week in the Life in 2017 and 2011 (you can read a little more about those attempts here.) Most recently I took part in Day in the Life early March (before lockdown started).

My plan is to do a post for each day of Week in the Life. I will probably post the detail of each day the following morning. I’ll play this by ear depending on how this works with the kiddo being at home and doing school work.

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I’d love to hear how you’ve been finding the good in lockdown. Please share in the comments below or drop me a line.