Growing & Staying Engaged in Lockdown
A how-to guide on restoring the lost luster of lockdown.
In the first weeks of lockdown, many of us found the bed-to-desk commute and lifestyle a novelty to indulge in. Instagram feeds were full of sourdough bread, dalgona coffee, and mid-day mimosa breaks. Overwhelming demand brought Animal Crossing’s servers down. Fast forward a few months and a day in lockdown has become just that — another day in lockdown.
Boredom, restlessness, and lethargy have replaced impromptu creativity. Staying engaged, productive, entertained, and on top of your game is key to thriving in these times. Whether you’re content with your current lifestyle, looking to pick up something new, or launch that side hustle you’ve always dreamt of these tips can help you.
Create a Routine
A routine structures your day and helps you make the most of it. The least useful thought to wake up to is it’s just another day. Creating patterns of behavior for self-care, work, exercise, and breaks focus your mind to where it should be. As we’re all sitting at home, working and living our lives sitting in a chair for hours — making time for that afternoon run means more than it has before.
Quarantine time is an opportunity to evaluate your routine and see if it’s really working for you. If you’ve ever wanted to direct your focus to getting in shape, starting a side hustle, or whatever it may be — now you can rebuild your routine to do that.
Keep a Calendar
Birthdays, anniversaries, and important life events are still happening. Keep you calendar up-to-date with events, tasks, and reminders. Set a time each week to organize and update your calendar — it’ll run much smoother. A full calendar reminds us that there’s always something to do and look forward to, whether it be doing a crossword or call with a friend. Putting the things you want to do on your calendar makes you much more likely to follow through on them. Consistently keeping a calendar helps carve out the time and give you the motivation to followthrough on the things you really want out of your lockdown experience.
Bonus points if you sync your work and personal calendars to reduce the time you spend scheduling stuff.
Plus, if you ever feel like you’re wasting your time watching too much Netflix look back on your calendar to remind yourself that just the opposite happened.
Take on New Hobbies
If you’re fortunate to have a bit more free time, start something with it. Even inside our homes, there is a lot to learn, see, and do. Online classes are abound with regular fire sales on sites such as Udemy. Setting aside 30 minutes every day for a favorite workout, cooking, or hobby class can give you something to look forward to you every day.
Pick up a Podcast or Two
Picking up new podcasts is a great way to take in your personal interests or to learn something new. It can be nice to listen to something in the background while focusing on work or cooking a meal. Personally, I listen to Pivot and 99% Invisible to keep up with tech industry news and learn about how design impacts our everyday world. Exploring the podcast library on Spotify opens you up to a whole new world of content — without staring at a screen for hours, freeing up your attention to do other things.
Indulge a Bit
These are wacky times. Even while being engaged, it’s hard not to feel down or zoned out. Make it a priority to indulge yourself a bit — order your favorite takeout, partake in your guilty pleasure, etc. Pick up what you feel rewards you for making it thorugh another week in the pandemic.
And remember, as a wise person once said…
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