Use lockdown to do ‘you’

"Where focus goes, energy flows" - Tony Robbins.

Unfortunately, a lot of our focus ends up getting caught up in the flow of other people’s priorities. Then before you know it, your goals remain unvisited. Again.

Contrary to recent beliefs, time is the most precious commodity, not loo roll.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day.

Employees of more than 140,000 UK firms have been covered by the Furlough scheme. This means that, in theory, hundreds of thousands of people have around 8-10 extra hours a day - give and take commuting time. Don’t quote me on that very vague figure (ref below).

I had a conversation with a loved one recently and he said that so many are happy to settle for 80% of the pricetag that they sell themselves for. And that’s ok - if that’s all that they aspire to. Strong words.

There isn’t a rule that says that you have to remain productive during social distancing / quarantine, but personally I feel that it can’t hurt to enrich yourself in some way during this time. Imagine you pick up a new skill that serves as the beginning of a new side hustle.

It doesn’t have to be all about making money either. If time is spent productively, so many people can create massive changes to their lives no matter their situation. Enrich, empower, come out of it with something in addition to what you went in with.

Think about the things that you wanted to do but never had time to - don't keep telling yourself that you can't - we have the world on our phones. And time on our hands.

Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas from Pexels

In general conversation, I’ve heard “there’s nothing to do” and “how am I supposed to do anything new when I can’t even leave my house”. Yet whole days are being spent on social media, consuming questionable information and fulfilling other people's agendas - making them Insta famous.

With that being said, we still can't forget that there’s the massive issue of a pandemic, an economic crisis, and people not being able to hug their loved ones. Don't be too hard on yourself - the fear of the unknown is easy enough to throw someone off the rails. How the flip can one focus with all this madness going on?

So rather than provide a list of motivational quotes with unicorns and flowers, I thought I’d share some ideas - some are obvious, but others may not be. Feel free to add ideas to the comments at the end of this post.

8 Ideas for self-enrichment during lockdown

1) Online course:

How’s that for a distraction? We still have the world wide web at our fingertips - how would you be reading this it you didn’t?!

I have seen so many free online courses - you could use this time to increase your profitability. It could be that short course that could enable talks about an increase in your salary, or just something that piques your interest.

Quartz released a list of 200 universities that launched 600 free online courses. See the list here. Some may have passed already though, but there are a few that I am interested in over the next month.

2) Reading/Audiobooks:

Did you know that reading/listening to the ideologies of successful people for 30 minutes a day can transform how you speak, act and approach situations?

Now would be a good time to read the biography of that person who you look up to or listen to a motivational podcast. Or even a feel-good fictional piece or comedy to put a smile on your face.

Photo by Oziel Gómez from Pexels

3) Set goals and work towards them:

If you have goals that you are working towards, what better time than now!

If you don’t yet have any goals, that’s ok too. We’re not all programmed to work in the same way. Maybe set yourself a small challenge, followed by another one. E.g. do 5 pushups, and then 7, then 10...

If you would like to set goals but don’t know where to start, check out my guide to realising and setting your goals here.

It’s one thing setting the goals - see my guide on how to take steps to attain your goals here.

4) Think up a side hustle:

I’ve heard the term ‘side hustle’ thrown around a lot lately. It’s not something that comes naturally to everyone and may require some research. Some people find that they excel at making things to sell; others thrive leveraging the internet.

Not everyone is creative - I know I’m not! I started off by visualising - how would I spend an extra 40 hours a week if I didn't have to go to work every day? I looked at lifestyle marketing and the opportunities that lie within. See the opportunity that is available here.

Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels

5) Learn a new craft:

Is there a craft that you wanted to learn? Now would be a good time.

Learn to knit, teach yourself calligraphy, get yourself an art kit. What do you have to lose? You may be better at it than you expected, and who knows - it could be the start of a new side hustle!

6) Start a diary:

You could document your social distancing experience in a diary. Not only will it serve as a venting mechanism for you to get any emotions out and on paper, but it will also be great to look back on in years to come. You could treat it as a time capsule for the 2020 Coronavirus experience. Think Anne Frank and the Holocaust.

If writing isn’t your thing, why not document your time using pictures. Just an idea.

7) Caring for yourself:

There's nothing wrong with caring for yourself (think life jacket analogy).

Have a self-pamper session. Meditate. Give yourself a mani-pedi. Get 8 hours sleep. Indulge in some aromatherapy.

Be strict with your news intake (constantly watching ‘breaking news’ can easily overwhelm). Only take in news from a credible source. Not memes on social media.

While we’re on the subject, it might be a good idea to limit your social media intake - it’s so easy to get sucked in, and drained.

8) Exercise:

There are so many free and low priced online PT classes available right now - think zoom, InstaGram, FaceBook. My InstaGram newsfeed is full of them.

Why not partake in one of the fitness challenges that are being circulated?

Or even download a workout app and track your progress.

Turn that 1-pack into washboard abs, and come out of quarantine like POW!

So...

My point is that 2020 doesn’t have to be a write-off. It has been tough so far, but it’s nothing that we can’t get through. Why not get through it and come out on top?!

It can be hard being stuck inside, but keep your eye on the prize and it can all be worthwhile.

Or you could sleep the time away. Whatever floats your boat. As long as you’re doing you.

In the words of Celine Dion: “Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.”

J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster (wikipedia.org)

Random link time!

In the spirit of staying at home, why not lighten the mood at the expense of celebs?!

Celebs get roasted with quarantine memes - check it out.

Keep up with my selfie shenanigans on my modelling profile on Insta: @althie_model

Subscribe here to receive notifications when my posts are published (usually monthly).

About the author [that would be me]:

I am a Senior Project Manager by day; by night (aka any other time), you can find me lifting heavy metal things (aka powerlifting), threatening to dust off my belt in the name of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (I will make myself re-worthy of my blue belt), or finding ways to get in front of a camera and labelling it as modelling in some way shape or form.

I put this blog together as an add-on to my modelling portfolio, and it reminded me of how much I love to write. I will continue to write as my model portfolio grows, just so that you can get to know the real me x

References:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52346685

• https://www.pexels.com/@gantas?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels

• https://www.pexels.com/@ozgomz?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels

• https://www.pexels.com/@andrew?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels

• https://qz.com/1120344/200-universities-just-launched-600-free-online-courses-heres-the-full-list/

• https://www.althiemodel.com/post/3-goal-setting-tips-for-2020

• https://www.althiemodel.com/post/2020-goals-focus-part-2

• https://althea-james.com/start/

• https://www.travelandleisure.com/photography/quarantine-instagram-captions-quotes

• J. Howard Miller's "We Can Do It!" poster from 1943 (wikipedia.org)

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