The world has been a very strange place in the last couple of months - for most of 2020 to be honest. And many of us have spent a long time stuck indoors during lockdown(s). Getting back into a routine and into the swing of things is not easy. Hell, going to the shop is not easy with everything that's happening. So as most places are now opening again, we are forced to start going back to normal and wearing clothing other than pyjamas and sweatpants (what a nightmare). So I thought I would share a couple of things that I have found helpful when getting back into more of a routine and productive mindset. Let me know if you have any other tips. Now, you know the drill: grab yourself a warm drink and enjoy the read!
Wear a mask and wash your hands
I will keep this short and just share this quote with you: “the pandemic isn’t over just because you’re over it.” So wash your hands, wear a mask and keep a safe distance from people. Also, in the words of Eric from Sex Education: "you should wash your hands, you dirty pig."
Create a routine
I don’t know about you, but the way the world shut down completely threw me off. Suddenly, we all had to stay home and many couldn’t go to work. I work in a grocery store part-time so some normality remained; however, I had to replan my internship as we were forced to all work from home and events couldn’t be held. I think most of our routines were thrown out the window at that point: no coffee before work, no going out with friends at the weekend or going out for a meal. One simple thing I missed was doing some work in a coffee shop while having a warm drink!
The first step towards getting back into a normal rhythm is to create a routine. It doesn’t have to be anything major. Small steps such as getting dressed, going for a walk or clearing your workspace before sitting down can have a huge impact on your productivity. This will give you a purpose and make you feel less sluggish. There are only so many days we can binge-watch Netflix in our PJ’s and stay sane. So get up and do things that get you ready and in the mood for productive tasks.
Wear normal clothes
Wearing PJ’s all day will make you feel chill and like doing nothing because wearing pyjamas is what we do when we sleep and relax. So if you wear your boss outfit, you are going to feel like a boss and ready to tackle work tasks. I also feel like we have all lost part of our sense of style during the lockdown.
Get organised
Chances are that, with places opening back up, you will have appointments coming up. Whether that be to going to the dentist, to a work meeting or for coffee with a friend, write down what your plans are. That way you won't forget and it will also help you feel slightly more normal again - if you are used to having busy days where you running around non-stop (I sure was). I highly suggest using Google Calendar. You can access it from any device and it also automatically adds appointments from your emails, which is especially handy if you tend to get dates or hours mixed up.
I am also a firm believer in to-do lists. Literally, while I was walking to work this morning I created a to-do list because I just had all these tasks floating around in my head. Do yourself a favour and write down what you need to do. It will give you peace of mind (you won't be afraid to forget something), clarity (you will know exactly what you have to do) and also satisfaction as you work your way through it and tick tasks off. I highly recommend using Google Keep - it is by far my favourite list app and, again, is accessible from any device. You can colour code and pin lists as well as create many different types of lists and reminders.
Budget and put money aside
As this lockdown has shown, you never know when shit is going to hit the fan - for lack of better terms. That is why it is so important to have some money put aside when things aren't good: if there is a family emergency for example. Creating and setting yourself a budget isn't as awful a task as it might sound. Just set yourself some spending limits and stick to them. You can use apps to do this nowadays. I also suggest you open a savings account. I recently opened one and it is just so much handier to have a separate account that you can transfer money into. It's also really satisfying to do!
Support local
In the UK, we have this government scheme called "Eat Out To Help Out", which was created to encourage people to go have food in restaurants and cafés (rather than taking away as most of us have during the lockdown) by offering them a discount. We have seen just how many businesses were affected by this pandemic so be sure to support local and small businesses. They don't have millions of pounds worth of funds and it is often their likelihood that depends on how many customers they get. You can check out my post about my favourite small businesses here.
Remember “lockdown you” (what you enjoyed doing and having time for - again)
Now, as things are getting back to normal, it's important to not rush straight back into the way things were pre-pandemic. I'm sure many of us have at least one thing that they have enjoyed doing or having time for during lockdown: whether that be spending more time with your family, spending more time on your (new) hobby or spending more time on self-care. Now all these things have something in common: time. When the world was forced to a halt and we had to slow down, a lot of people realised just how caught they were with their jobs and other responsibilities. Time is the one thing that we can never get back, so make the most it. Remember lockdown-you's favourite things and see which ones you can implement into your new routine. I think we all learned how, with whom and on what we'd like to spend more or less time in the future.
Adapt to the new “normal”
I'm sure you have heard many people talk about the "new normal". That's because things probably aren't going to back to the way they were before all of this happened. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Have an open mind and adapt to the changes that are (and will continue) happening. If you have trouble dealing with change, I highly suggest you read Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson. It will give you a whole new perspective on change and how to deal with it. Also, don't be one of those selfish people that refuse to wear a mask or stay socially distanced just because they don't want to. Because the more we all follow the rules and stay safe, the quicker this will all be over!
So here we have it. I hope you found this post helpful and if you are trying to get back into things, you go! I'm proud of you. It's not easy so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't end up getting as much done as you wanted. Forgive yourself and try again tomorrow. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a lovely week.
Yours truly,