QUARANTINE
Lockdown wasn’t all bad
“I just don’t have time” wasn’t a valid excuse anymore, and I finally got to own how I used my time.
I consider lockdown having been a prosperous period for me, being lucky enough to be healthy and work from home, as those are two major worries at the moment.
Therefore, feeling safe, I was able to focus on growth and habit building, which are beneficial in the long run but appear to be somewhat superficial in this crisis. But it felt somehow soothing to focus on myself, and look for the bright side and how I could make the most of this situation.
Here is my silver lining.
Building my morning routine
You hear it everywhere, having a strong morning routine helps people feel focused and energised throughout the day. It means putting self-care and self-growth first, to thrive to be better tomorrow.
So why didn’t I do it before? I didn’t have time. Or so I believed.
I could blame a long commute, but my workplace is 5 minutes away from my home. Maybe I was just too tired to get up early, but I don’t have anyone else to care for, and nothing preventing me to go to bed earlier.
The truth is I wasn’t making it a priority. Then quarantine came, and I knew I wanted to be intentional about my sudden gain of free time. I wouldn’t let myself oversleep, I had to build a solid structure that could prevail against rain, wind, and the almighty snooze button.
I read “Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod and decided to apply it to my life for 30 days straight. No exception. I didn’t trust myself to skip a day and not fall off the bandwagon completely. After a month I could reassess, and choose what to keep or not.
I have been doing my morning routine for almost three months now. It doesn’t always look the exact same. Some days I give myself an extra 30-minute sleep, but it’s followed by a variation of a routine. I prioritise learning and intentional living first thing in the morning, and it sets the tone for the rest of the day.
Exercising
I wrote a post all about getting fit during lockdown. I wasn’t, by far, the most regular gym member before but I refused to go back to my couch potato ways during the quarantine.
In this article, I explain all about the tangible actions I did to make sure I would come to the other side a healthier, stronger version of myself.
Reading
Part of the morning routine is reading, it carves out the time of your day for an activity that is so easily put into the “don’t have time for” category.
It takes more energy than YouTube or Netflix. It’s not convenient, hard to clean the house and read, or to have lunch and read.
However reading more (especially nonfiction) means that you’re learning every day, which could have a great impact on your life as a whole. You can take your career to the next level with a book on your industry, or on soft skills, always appreciated by companies and coworkers.
Fiction books shouldn’t be disregarded either as they have the advantage to boost your vocabulary, imagination, and attention.
During the last three months, I read a total of 8 books, which might not seem like much, but it’s still 8 more than in the previous 3 months.
I have been trying Audible for a week now as well, which allowed me to add another book to my list. I wasn’t sold on the idea of audiobooks at first, thinking they might not be as “legit” as hardcovers.
However, it came as a replacement for my YouTube consumption, which is definitely an upgrade, and it allows me to multitask with mindless activities such as folding laundry and cleaning the flat. Overall I’m quite happy with it, and I think I might stick with my subscription for a while.
Connecting with people
It might seem at odds with the title of this post. Lockdown and connecting? However, I can honestly say I haven’t felt this close to my friends and family in a while as I do now.
I live in another country as them, making real-life meet-ups hard anyways. But knowing that everybody had time to chat, and the boredom of not having anything else to do, really strengthen our bonds. The best part is that even now, as everything is slowly reopening, the habit seems to keep going.
We all went through an unprecedented and tough beyond reason situation that we will forever share.
The pandemic certainly felt overwhelming at times and still does, though it gets better every day. I find that focusing on my sphere of influence, namely my time and habits, really helped to cope with the situation.
I love the phrase “Not every day is a good day, but there is good in every day”.
It might sound cheesy, but I always try to be grateful for the little things and it makes me appreciate them more. And I hope by searching a bit you too can find the good in your everyday.
