This week I’ve teamed up with Samantha Cutler from Whole Wellbeing Limited to bring you some top tips to help your wellbeing during lockdown:
- Be more mindful: try to be present in each part of your day. When you’re working, try to think of ways to minimise other distractions. When you’re done with work, close your laptop and put it away, to mark the end of your working day. You could also try to ‘zone off’ each part of your day, for instance going out for a walk after finishing work for the day, so you have a really clear transition between going from one role to the next.
- Take time for self care: do whatever works for you, but try to emphasise rest & relaxation. You can take 5 minutes out of your day to go through some breathing exercises I’ve saved to my YouTube channel by clicking here. The goal here is to calm our nervous system, and reduce our stress hormones, so if your go-to for self care is exercise, try to choose something at a low intensity such as Pilates, yoga, or going for a walk.
- Remember you can only control the controllable: be kind to yourself. When things happen that you have no control over, try to just roll with it, and instead focus on what you can control.
- Get a good night’s sleep: this gives our body a chance to rest & recover, and have you noticed how you’re in a much better mood when you aren’t tired? Have a think about how you can improve your sleep hygiene (I’ve previously written a blog on this which you can read here), and try to go to bed and get up at the same time each day to help keep your body in a regular pattern.
- Be physically active: choose a type of exercise that feels right for you at the time you do it. If you’ve been stuck inside all day and have energy to burn, go for a YouTube HIIT class, or out for a brisk walk or run. If you’re feeling stressed, try a more calming form of exercise such as a walk in nature, or a Pilates class.
- Find purpose: keep setting yourself goals so you have something to aim for. Whether it’s a fitness goal, or a new skill, such as learning to play a musical instrument or a new language. Give yourself something to aim for, and break it down to short and long-term goals so you wake up each day know exactly what you want to achieve by the time you get into bed that night!
I hope you found those tips helpful. Was there anything there that’s new to you, or you haven’t thought to try yet? Let me know how you get on, or if any of those tips have inspired you to make any changes to improve your wellbeing during this lockdown.