So, the lockdown has been extended, understandably. We’re all doing the best we can to help support our NHS and essential keyworkers in the fight against Coronavirus by staying at home.
Whether you’re working from home, with children or not, homeschooling (well, attempting to!) or not, chances are you will have a lot more time on your hands now more than ever. The elimination of the morning commute, rushing to get packed lunches ready and then getting kids to school and yourself to work without hitting rush hour traffic makes for an extra couple of hours a day at least!
There have been lots of ideas being shared on social media recently, they all sound great in theory; learn a new language for instance is one that has been floating around! In reality although it would be amazing to learn a new language, and kudos to you if you are, for many people this is a period of time which brings with it lots of mixed feelings and adapting to this new way of life (although temporary) brings its own challenges.
Many of us are looking for ways to spend our extra time at home more meaningfully and so we got our heads together as a team (virtually, of course!) and shared how we are trying to make our lockdown time more productive.
Journal the current events
One of the main reasons we know so much about key events in history and their impact on people and their families is because they were documented. Keep a diary, a vlog or email yourself – it doesn’t need to be a daily thing, because, let’s face it some days go by the same as the last, but sometimes it’s good to get your feelings, a key event during lockdown (birthday, anniversary), a new dish you’ve cooked or an activity with your children.
There are so many different things you can note down and look back at in years to come. This period of time is unusual and has changed everyone’s lives, so why not keep a memoir of it all! Plus, if you do have children, it’s a great way of getting them involved too!
Odd jobs around the house
You’ve been meaning to put that shelf up for a while, or frame and hang some pictures. Now is as good a time than ever to do those odd jobs you’ve been putting off for a while!
If you’ve been meaning to print off some photos to frame, now is a great time to do just that. Alternatively, if you’ve got left over paint from a previous job and you were meaning to use that to refresh a small area or upcycle a piece of furniture or even redecorate a whole room – weekends are much more freed up right now and are a great time to get crafty!
Clear the junk
You’ve had that pile of mail sat there waiting to be checked and shredded or meaning to sort through your kid’s toys and clothes (why they still insist on wearing a t-shirt that’s two years too small is beyond us?!). Its Springtime in lockdown, no better time for a spring clear of clutter than now!
Spend as much or as little time every day cleansing your home of all the ‘stuff’ that you don’t use or need anymore. Save for charity or bin what is beyond repair; it’s not only great for your home, it’s quite a therapeutic exercise in itself.
Try new meals
You’ve been meaning to try that new recipe you saw on tv or in that cookbook you were given as a gift, but you never had the time!
Lots of people are using this extra time and lack of convenience to learn new ways of cooking, new meals and sharing these with their family and friends too (doorstep delivery anyone?)
Organise your emails
Anyone else’s inbox in ‘organised chaos’ status? Why not use this time to start re-organising. File and delete emails and take back control!
It’s amazing how much better your inbox will look and feel and how much lighter it will be too! Start by spending 20 minutes a day or every other day sorting through and you’ll be surprised at how much of an improvement it will make!
There are so many other ways of being productive, these are just a few ways that our team have been using their extra few hours during the week and their weekends to fill their time!