Ways to Recreate Normality & Keep a Healthy Mind During Lockdown.
When we were initially told we were going into lockdown, I was worried. I wouldn’t be coaching tennis, playing golf or going into the office. I enjoy my jobs and to top it all off, we were being limited exercise for an hour a day. It was always going to be hard, but I needed to recreate normality for myself as much as possible.
My Normal Life
Before lockdown, 3 days a week I would be coaching 6-7 hours a day. The other 3 days would consist of 3-4 hours of tennis coaching and 6 hours of office work at the golf club. Sometimes I would even do a lesson at 7am before going into the office. I’m used to cramming things into my day, and I’m used to using a lot of brain power. It might seem strange, but I always feel like when I do more in my day, I have more energy.
an active family
Fortunately, being a tennis coach, I have lots of mini tennis equipment at home and as all my family play golf, we have lots of equipment for that too. In the first few weeks I set up some tennis and golf competitions in the garden and everyone joined in. We used my mini tennis net and played some matches and we were chipping into different length buckets for golf. We even recreated a Masters themed hole during Masters weekend (see the pic below).
We’ve had quizzes on Wednesdays and Saturdays, BBQ’s on Sundays, played board games, done puzzles and go for regular walks.
bounce back
Most days I’ve been fine, but some days I would feel like I had hit a wall. I would wake up feeling like I didn’t need to get out of bed, felt like I didn’t have the energy to do anything. I had a few really lazy days and quite frankly, felt S?!% about them. We don’t know how much longer this lockdown will last so I decided I couldn’t let myself get down. I needed to write myself down daily routines and just wanted things to feel like normal.
Below are a few tips I would give to anyone during lockdown which helped me bounce back:
1.write a plan
Write yourself a properly structured plan. You need to keep a routine as if it was part of your job, your everyday. Mine, for example, looks something like this:
8:30am Wake up, Shower & Get Dressed
9am: Breakfast – Smoothie & Cereal
10am: Run around the block followed by Circuits in the Garden
11:30am: Play some Tennis/Golf in the Garden
1pm: Lunch – Chicken Salad Baguette, Water
2:30pm: Walk the Dog
5pm: Play some Board Games/Quiz
7pm: Dinner
7:30pm: Rest, Watch TV with Family
10pm: Sleep
It might seem like a lot to fit in to one day, but that’s what I need and that’s what I like. My brain needs to be kept active and I need to be kept occupied. Plan your day as you wish.
2.spend time outside
This is the best April on record in decades! Make the most of being outside whenever you can. Go for walks, sit in your garden, walk the dog, play mini tennis/golf or other games. Whatever you prefer, get out of the house and get some Vitamin D!
3.plan Fun Activities
You must make sure you have fun. Ensure you have a fun activity to do everyday. I also like to put a fun activity towards the end of the day so it’s something fun to look forward to in the evenings.
4.Avoid Being on your Phone/Watching TV
You wouldn’t sit on your phone or watch tv while at work so why do it now? It’s very easy to get stuck into binge-watching on Netflix or sitting on your phone all day. It won’t make you feel good so try to avoid it as much as possible.
Hack: Get someone in your household to hide your phone so you can’t go on it!
5.Keep Positive
It’s normal to have days when you feel down. It’s about getting back up, bouncing back. I’m someone that likes to have a joke and have lots of fun. I like to make people laugh. So if I’m moody or down, it can affect other people’s mood too. We’re not all in the same boat as we all have different circumstances, but we are all living similar, limited lives at the moment. Just remember, every day, we are one day closer to this pandemic ending. Keep positive.
Stay Safe.x
