Shocker… It’s Another Coronavirus Post: Lockdown Take Two

When the first lockdown was announced back in March, besides getting a couple of weeks off of work, how much did we really think would change? The last thing we all expected was that locking down would result in us mourning years that we hadn’t experienced yet. Just over 7 months later (or what feels like 7 years of our lives), the world is a little bit closer to a vaccine, but no further away from the virus.

We’ve transitioned a lot over the past few months, from early stages of lockdown when everywhere shut their doors, to limbo lockdown, where flying around The Smiler is allowed, but seeing your Grandparents isn’t. Early days of lockdown head shaves and home skin fades became professional cuts in July when hairdressers and barbers were allowed to reopen. Love is Blind became Normal People became Tiger King became Sunset Selling became Emily In Paris. Joggies and a hoodie are here forever. All things musical theatre are f****d, and youths are finally allowed back out with their friends while laughing at millennials creating cringey content on TikTok.

I don’t know about you, but in my household family politics are still going strong. My mum takes the role of Prime Minister and has strict guidelines for lockdown. Weekly family meetings take place where we discuss important topics such as: who will clean what room in the house, what needs to be bought in the weekly shop and most importantly who’s taking control of finding the weekly Netflix series. The dishwasher is a topic I’d rather not mention at the moment… it has caused a lot of controversy. But on a more serious note, I think lockdown has brought a lot of families a lot closer together. One thing in particular I have enjoyed about lockdown is how creative everybody has become. I for one would never have started my blog if it hadn’t been for lockdown. As England and many other countries around the world begin to step back into a second lockdown, I thought it was the perfect time for a lockdown related post. Here is a list of my top 5 lockdown activities:

1. New Hobbies/Skills: I know during the first full lockdown everyone went a bit wild with this, myself included. It seems I wanted to come out of lockdown a bilingual small business owner/ marathon runner. In fact, I came out of lockdown having accomplished none of this. But who cares, it’s all about finding something to do to keep yourself busy and happy. Start something new, read a book, watch a series, complete an online course, learn to cook, make a bucket list. For the next lockdown I am going to start my own small business (let’s see how that goes).

2. Home workouts: I like the idea of a home workout, now instead of driving to the gym to sit in the car for about 30 minutes thinking about the fact I don’t have a Grace Fit or Krissy Cela body (the body I expect to have from eating chocolate while sitting on the sofa 24/7). Instead I can sit in my garden feeling the exact same way. A much nicer setting to feel such sadness. But seriously, I’ve really enjoyed being able to do my workouts from home when I have a spare 30 minutes. The only thing to worry about is my neighbours catching a glimpse through the window of me attempting to hula hoop. Not to worry though, they have most definitely already heard me singing in the shower, so the bar I have set for myself is already pretty low.

3. Zoom Socials: Honestly the zoom quizzes and game nights did get a bit boring after a few weeks, but the fact we haven’t done them in so long now helps to bring the excitement back. The worst part of a zoom social was actually talking, in big groups it’s hard to not constantly talk over one another; everyone is fighting to speak during the only exciting thing that has happened after being locked in the house all day.

4. Set Goals: Productivity is about progress; break your long-term goals down to daily actions and you’ll see small improvements. The one thing you don’t want to do during lockdown is to rush around and complete everything you want to do in the first few days then be left with an abundance of time on your hands and not a lot to do. You can make your own list of goals and things you would like to achieve.

5. Act of Kindness: Nobody knows how people are coping with lockdown behind closed doors. One thing I think is important to do, particularly during this time, is to be kind. Do something nice for someone. It won’t be forgotten, and hopefully the person you are kind to is kind to someone else so that is has a domino effect.

Although globally we are all very far apart, it feels like we have never felt so connected. Nobody is an expert on this, not even Karen. It’s a struggle to believe that the virus is here to stay. No bonfire night displays, no Christmas markets or NYE celebrations to look forward too. Instead I’m spending the rest of the day, weeks, months or even year, sat around in the house, working and living from home. When I think back to what I thought lockdown meant for the world when it was first announced; the current reality doesn’t even come close. Hospitality workers are losing their jobs, while big businesses are paying off investors. Multiple politicians have been accused of breaking lockdown rules, yet nothing major has really happened about it. Pubs are allowed to open, but they aren’t the same when you can only sit at a table with your own household. You can go to a restaurant for dinner, but you have to be out by 6pm. The older generation are locked in houses, and more often than not, alone. We’re all getting older, and the question on everyone’s mind is: what happens next? I stay in Scotland so currently I’m lucky enough to be avoiding a second lockdown (I don’t doubt for a second that it will happen soon). Stay safe x