Lockdown Pick-me-up- Savannah Collis

Current affairs Featured History Lifestyle Jessie Jordan January 21, 2021 0 Comments

This is our third lockdown now; the second which prevents us from going to school, we have more time than ever on our hands and yet we are struggling to get out of bed? If you share this feeling you are certainly not alone, most teachers, parents and students are feeling similar if not the same. I most definitely have been feeling this way and have been trying to get around these feelings of laziness and my lacklustre attitude.

Why is it that our motivation to accomplish even the most menial of tasks such as getting out of your pyjamas is missing? I personally am a creature of habit and rely on routine and normality which being at RHS I think some of you may relate to as RHS is made of a range of peoples routines; whether it’s choir three times a week or doing games once a week, and being in a lockdown has seriously disrupted this.

I have therefore devised a small list of suggestions and tips as to how to beat this and improve your lockdown experience which you can see below:

Establishing a schedule: This is particularly important as it gives your week structure and allows you even just to muddle through the week. It doesn’t have to be a complex schedule it may look something like this:

Make your schedule realistic so you can stick to it, it may be more to the minute than the one above or even less detailed, but it doesn’t matter as long as it works for you personally.
This also works well with To-Do lists, having a list to check your tasks off is also useful in keeping you on task.

(*A blank timetable will be added to the end of the article should you wish to screenshot and use).

Exercise: There is a multitude of exercise you can be doing and it’s really important that you get some exercise done as it’s really beneficial for your mental and physical health. It doesn’t have to be intense exercise; it could be a simple walk once a week or you could partake in the sporting challenges put forward by the sports department.

Taking time for yourself and away from your screen: Online learning entails a lot of screen time and workload may be stressful, this is why it’s vital for you to take time for yourself to relax and to have a break from devices. This could be in a range of ways, it could be writing an article for the bubble, reading, having a long bath or taking part in the Bubble’s ‘This week I…’ baking challenge.

Balanced diet: Making sure your taking on board the right amount/type of foods and a good amount of fluids is really key in helping you working at 100%. Drinking enough water will help you stay focused as well as hydrated and eating well will also help; this is not to say you can’t be partial to some cake or biscuits from time to time.

Getting enough sleep: Now I’m sure I’m not the only one that has had their sleep schedule severely contorted by lockdown. Knowing I don’t have to wake up at 6.a.m anymore to catch the bus does make watching that extra hour (realistically 3 hours) of Netflix far more tempting, however my body clock still wants me to be an early riser which is rather painful. Getting a good night’s sleep; easier said than done, is really significant in being able to be motivated, as trying to tick off your To-Do list while running on 4 hours rest is seriously detrimental. So, try if you can, to get yourself a sleep schedule and try and stick to it.

Give yourself credit: This is a tough time for everyone, we’re in a global pandemic and everything we’re going through is new to everyone. Be patient with yourself, this changing situation is a lot to take in. Reach out to people, stay in contact with your friends and spend time with your family. It’s absolutely fine if you’re doing this lockdown thing really well and you can get up every day and use this time to your advantage, it’s also absolutely fine to not quite have the hang of this yet and feel overwhelmed. It’s more than okay to be struggling and its perfectly alright to voice any worries or stress so cut yourself some slack and know that it’s okay to not be okay.

*Blank timetable: