These past few months were definitely not what I was expecting when we started 2020 back in January and I can safely say Covid-19 has interrupted many plans both fun and career wise. However, it is still very important we stay at home to save lives for as long as possible to make sure we beat this! It is also a great reminder that no matter how organised we are; life will always throw lots of unexpected surprises our way. It is very easy to feel unmotivated during these times and this can lead to feelings of guilt that we aren’t progressing towards planned goal for the year.
This blog post aims to tackle these feeling and show you all just how amazing you are doing during lockdown, with a few hints and tips I have been following to make sure I stay positive and moving towards my goals still.
Just a small disclaimer first, I feel blogs like this can be intimidating at times, do not hold yourself up to anyone’s standards but your own. Everyone reacts to situation in different ways and that makes you no better or worse, as long as you feel proud of yourself you are doing amazingly! Remember, it’s the small steps that lead to big achievements. You got this!
I have personally struggled with the feeling of guilt during lockdown, I have felt I should be reinventing myself, I felt I should be coming out of lockdown with the body of a personal trainer and the mind of an enlighten monk with at least 20 job offers. I felt the pressure to use every moment to be as productive as possible. However, this is not the case. These feelings just stressed me out and I felt so overwhelmed constantly, as I felt I was not living up to the ‘expectations’ of lockdown. This was my first mistake. Where did these expectations come from? I realised it was the usual place…social media.
Now don’t get me wrong I love social media, it allows for such amazing opportunities, and gives such powerful platforms to tackle issues such as the ones we discuss in ‘Women in Work’ and has allowed me to connect with so many like-minded people. However, each day I was logging on and seeing ‘Lockdown Fitness Plans’, ‘Lockdown Diet Plan’, pictures of before and afters, examples of how to plan a productive day in lockdown and list apon list of ways to network and advance your career while still at home. Now initially these were great and of course I saw some great tips. But, as lockdown went on I started to feel mad with myself if I hadn’t workout, eaten healthy, applied for jobs and gotten through massive chunks of university work each day. I felt I should be at the same level as all the Instagram posts.
To be raw with you all this stress led to a few breakdowns and I had times where I just couldn’t make myself get out of bed, which of course just made me more overwhelmed as I had days where I completed missed my goals all together, which was extremely counterproductive. Something had to change…
I realised I needed to stop comparing myself to the ideals of Instagram and set personal goals which were doable for me. I also followed some new accounts with gentle, anti-pressure, motivating posts, my favourite is ‘Zombiefacesarach’ her posts of so positive and uplifting.
So that is where I am now. I set a few main goals to achieve each week, instead of daily, and allow myself to work towards them slowly and as stress-free a possible. I try to stick to a loose routine daily just to keep me in a positive headspace, but again if that does not work for you don’t force yourself. Going at your own pace is so important.
I try and start each day with a workout, each morning I facetime my friend and we do the same workout together. This not only allows us to motivate each other but I get to start each day with a catch up with my friend and that’s amazing. However, if one of us wakes up and isn’t feeling it we don’t put pressure on each other – we both agree it is fine to have extra rest days, and we never make each other feel guilty for having any amount of time off or changing the workout time to later if it works better. This way we are only working out if it is fun and we don’t ever see it as a chore. The rest of the day is always different, my main deadlines are over for university now and I only have my dissertation left (due in September). This means I try research little and often throughout the day and make sure to take breaks, to sit out in the sun, read for fun, watch extreme amounts of Netflix’s or play games on my switch.
Another key tip of mine is to utilize video chatting with your friends, the weekly quiz I do with my uni friends is the highlight of my week and it keeps my spirits high! Everyone is in the same position, so its important we use this time to support friends and allow them to support you, never compare accomplishments, just celebrate each other’s goals no matter how big or small.
I remind myself constantly that even doing 10 minutes of work a day is a great accomplishment during these times. The uncertainty of the future right now is enough stress in itself, so we must not add stress to our self by feeling guilty if we aren’t achieving the same goals we had at the start of the year. Instead of feeling like you will never get this time again to focus on long term goals – it is equally important you may never get this time again to just spend days in your PJ’s baking and ordering Deliveroo. Balance is always key and so is prioritising when you just need a break.
As we stay inside, stay safe and support our key workers, I hope you can all put yourselves first and stay guilt-free and ready for a positive rest of 2020. Remember if you ever need someone to talk to our DM’s are always open.
Girl, you are going to smash it,
Love Lucie (VP)
Post a Comment