Staying sane during lockdown 2!

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Hello fellow blogger friends! It’s something different today, and completely non-book related…

I know we’re being told this isn’t a second lockdown and isn’t a return to the measures we faced in March (which it isn’t) but it’s certainly not the freedom that we’re all used to having in our lives. Even for an introvert like me who isn’t bothered about socialising I’m starting to flag a little bit.

Hence this post on how I’m staying sane during lockdown 2! I’m still working, but from home so I have a purpose to get up and out of bed in the morning.

1 – I’m sticking to a similar sleep routine. I’m going to bed around my usual times and only waking up half an hour later than normal so that when I do return to normal work it isn’t such a shock to my system.

This is completely different to lockdown 1 where I was awake until like 2am every day.

2 – Getting dressed. I’ll be the first to admit during lockdown 1 I didn’t change out of my pjs for work, grim I know. This time around though I’m getting dressed, not in my usual work outfits cos nah, but just into some leggings and a jumper, something that tells my brain “this is not relaxing time”.

P.S. Yes this means wearing an actual bra which I didn’t do a lot of the first time around…

3 – Working from the dining table. As I have my laptop it would be so easy for me to sit on the sofa, but I’m forcing myself to work away from there so that when I sit down in the evenings it’s not a work space.

4 – Regular exercise. I started a new exercise regime during August and I’m pleased to say I’ve stuck with it!

I do have a broken toe at the moment which is preventing me from doing a lot of my usual stuff as I can’t really put weight on it yet, so I’ve adapted and changed my exercises up a bit so I can keep going.

5 – Schedule regular me time. For me, having a bubble bath is the BEST, I love coming out looking like a lobster because the water is so hot, it gives me LIFE. I make sure to always set aside time (on a Saturday, late afternoon) where I have my peaceful bath, with an obscene amount of bubbles lmao.

6 – Not being too hard on myself. During lockdown 1 I was far too hard on myself, I would berate myself for not reading more or for not exercising more, because I suddenly had all this extra time I should be filling it by doing things… I’ve since realised this is not the case, it’s an incredibly stressful time and there are absolutely no expectations on anyone.

7 – Putting my Christmas decorations up. Ya know what, I’m usually one of those people that says NO DECORATIONS TILL DECEMBER, but nah, I’ll be getting my tree up in my room next weekend because why not?! 2020 has been awful I NEED some festive cheer.

I’m treating lockdown 2 very differently to the first time around and so far after a week of it my mental health is much better this time around, it’s not perfect but I haven’t cried yet (except at a Christmas ad on the TV which doesn’t count) so I’m counting that as a win!

If you’ve got any tips for staying sane during lockdown 2 let me know, I’m always looking for ways to stop me going stir crazy…

Em xxx