It’s been a weird few months, right? With lockdown and then being furloughed from my job from March until the middle of June it made me think a lot about my daily routine and making changes to my lifestyle.
I’ve had time to think about my life and what changes I can make for the better. These aren’t massive lifestyle changes, just little ones which have had a positive effect for me. I just don’t think massive changes work for me as I get so overwhelmed but making a few small changes daily have really helped me and my mental health for the better.
Eating a better breakfast
Before lockdown I really didn’t make much of an effort for breakfast. Normally just a cup of tea and just a few biscuits, I’m just so lazy in the mornings but as I’m now starting to run more as my knee injury starts to ease I need more energy so I have been adding more cereal, toast etc. into my diet. I think I may add pancakes into the mix soon..
Having a lie-in if I feel I need it
Throughout lockdown I wasn’t sleeping well which I think was a problem for a lot of people, it was a scary time and still very much is but lack of sleep is not the best if you want a productive day. When I felt like I needed it, I let myself lie-in to get that extra hour of sleep i’d been missing and it helped so much with me getting stuff done as I wasn’t as tired. Listening to your body is so important!
Exercising in the morning compared to the afternoon
I found throughout lockdown when doing exercise in the afternoon I just wasn’t enjoying it so I switched it up to the morning and it was the best decision. I found it started my day off so much better and now I enjoy it so much more wether that be a walk, run or workout or even just doing some daily stretches. This may change though when I finally feel ready to get back to my running club as we normally run in the evenings.
Drinking more water
This is one thing I always seem to mention that I need to start doing more of and to be honest I think I’ve finally started to take action. Once I’d been furloughed from work I obviously had a lot more time on my hands so I actually looked at my daily intake and it wasn’t good, I wasn’t even drinking half of what I should have been. After drinking more the past couple of months I can see now just how dehydrated I actually was. I now just take sips throughout the day and don’t even think about that I haven’t drank enough.
Writing down 2 positive things a day
Something that I started at the later end of lockdown was writing down 2 positive things that had happened that day. Even if I’d had a bad day I still found 2 things to be positive about. I think this is one thing I’ll keep for a good while, it really helps on those bad days.
Learning to say no when struggling with my mental health
This is definitely one that’s taking longer than I thought to get more comfortable with. Not saying no sometimes does more harm than good, you can end up with more projects and commitments than you can handle which is very much why I wanted to start. I always feel like I can handle everything that comes at me but actually I’m kidding myself that I can. I took on quite bit at the start of lockdown and my mental health suffered.
Guys, it’s acceptable and absoluelty okay to say no. I felt so overwhelmed with everything I was putting too much stress on myself which I didn’t need at all.
Taking social media breaks
Social media breaks can be so necessary sometimes. I got so stuck with my creativity for writing and lost all motivation for instagram so taking little breaks every now and then totally helps. I haven’t posted on instagram in nearly two weeks now because I honestly just lost all interest in my photo’s but taking that time has made me focus on where I want to take my content now and in the future which I’m actually so excited for so don’t worry if you burnout, take a break and I promise your come back with so much more creativity than before.
Have you made any lifestyle changes during lockdown?
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Lockdown has made me change my lifestyle a bit and I’m actually loving the changes I’ve made and hope to carry them through post lockdown! I love the idea of writing down 2 positive things a day, that’s such a lovely idea and I can imagine it helps your mindset! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Ah that’s amazing Lucy! My mom actually inspired me for the 2 positive things a day as she does it at work and I thought it was the cutest idea and definitely helps my mental health! x
Lockdown season has made me look deep into my own habits and routines, and while I can’t say I’ve managed to make ALL of the changes I wanted to, two positive things I’ve definitely been able to do is drink more water and give up on my cola habit. I struggled so much with drinking cola, and I just couldn’t give it up, despite knowing very well how harmful it was to me. I hope this streak continues.
The 2 positive things a day sounds like a great idea! Your blog is gorgeous, by the way! 🙂
Ah well it’s great that you’ve changed a couple of things though and I’m sure you’ll get to the rest when you can! Take it day by day 💕 Well done for giving up your cola habit! When I was younger I was the worst for fizzy drinks but I’ve now replaced them by juice and water which is obviously a lot more healthy! Ah thank you so much Shirsha! x
Some great changes! I’ve recently decided to limit the amount of fizzy I drink and try to drink more water – and so far so good 🙂
Ah it’s great you’ve decided too cut down on fizzy drinks! I was the worst when I was younger with Coca Cola.. Thankfully I’ve cut down a lot! Keep going, lovely x