During these unprecedented times, it is important to get yourself into a routine and keep yourself busy, to speed up these long and repetitive days. Here are a few things that have kept me positive and productive during lockdown.
Morning:
After waking up at 8 am, and checking my social media, I get up and ready for the day. Every day I set an alarm as I have found that waking up early usually leads to a productive day.
I put on some gym clothes, but my hair in a ponytail and get ready for my morning workout. Lockdown, for me, has involved quite a lot of sitting around and eating out of boredom, therefore, I always start my day with a quick workout to keep myself fit and healthy. As stated in an article in the Express, “exercising will strengthen your immune system, improve your mental health, and make you feel better about yourself during this frightening time.” Here are the exercises that I do:
25 x squats
25 x sit-ups
25 x leg lifts
25 x mountain climbers
1-minute plank
I repeat this 3 times, giving myself a 1-minute break in between.
Since this lockdown was announced, I have taken the time to focus on my skincare, something that is usually forgotten about in a busy day of ‘normal’ life. Every morning I use the following products, which I have found to help keep my skin moisturised and glowing.
Today my to-do-list has been quite full, with lectures to catch up on, essays to plan and articles to write. To wake myself up and get myself ready to face my work for the day, I always start with a coffee! I have been loving the Dalgona iced coffee that is all over TikTok at the minute! This is the recipe I have been following.
I take this and my laptop into the garden to get started on some work. Since England has surprisingly had some nice weather these past few days, I have been loving working in the garden, getting some Vitamin D and some fresh air. This has really aided my concentration as my family are too, working from home, so my house is full of distractions at the minute.
Afternoon:
After a few hours of procrastination and finally ticking some things off of my to-do-list, I decided to do some baking. I am sure I am not the only who, since this lockdown has become a bit baking obsessed! Today we fancied a treat and something chocolatey, so we made some chocolate brownies!
Top tip! If you want your brownies to be gooey/fudgy in the middle, melt your butter before mixing it in with the other ingredients!
While we waited for our brownies to cool, me and my family took our dog out for a walk. We are lucky enough to live in the countryside so there are plenty of places we can go to get our daily exercise! I have found this to really break up the day and a chance to clear my head. I always come back feeling fresh and positive!
Evening:
Today is Friday and as me and the girls cannot go on our usual night out, we brought the night out to us! I did my makeup, put on a cute top, poured myself a glass of wine and got ready for a group facetime with the girls! We have been enjoying our quiz nights! This has been giving me something to look forward to in the week and a good excuse to catch up with my friends.
It is time to relax after my busy day. Before I go to sleep, I always watch something on Netflix. Recently I have been hooked on the documentary series, Tiger King. I would definitely recommend watching that if you find yourself with nothing to do during this lockdown!
And finally (and most importantly), I meditate. During these stressful times, I like to boost my positivity and think about everything I have to be grateful for. I use an app called Simple Minds and on there, there are hundreds of videos available covering numerous different topics or issues that you may be facing. I find that this has been the most effective in keeping myself happy in a time where many may find this impossible!
Keep safe,
Emily x
Words and images by Emily Braeger