What I have been-loving on lockdown #1

Just over four months ago this year felt full of promise and with goals set, intentions committed, and motivation discovered. I entered 2020 with an abundance of hopes and plans for how I wanted the year would unfold.

For me, my family and a few family friends, the year didn’t exactly start on the best foot with my mum losing her partner just days in. But once the funeral had passed, I was determined that 2020 was going to be amazing.

It’s hard to believe that this was only a few short weeks ago because in reality, it feels a hell of a lot longer and in the shortest of timeframes, the entire world has turned upside down.

It’s crazy to think that when John died, the coronavirus was a far-off worry and at the time, it was a news story that bore little importance to me or my life. Now, it’s the only thing that many of us are worrying about and you can’t go a day without thinking, or hearing, about it.

At the moment, I live with my grandparents and so we are on full blown, 12-week lockdown here in South Wales. We are 5 weeks into that (but 7 into self-isolation, as we did an initial two weeks anyway) and it’s hard to think that we are not even halfway through. And without speculating too much, it seems likely that it will last longer than the current 12 weeks.

I am lucky in that I work from home and am used to spend a lot of my time within the confides of my home office. But naturally the entire situation has already disrupted my bold 2020 plans. Certain plans and intentions have had to be entirely written off, others have had to be amended slightly and some are well on their to being achieved.

Because ultimately, and this comes from a place of privilege in having a roof over of my head, the lockdown has brought with it a whole host of polarising situations. In many ways, it’s been hard, but for me, there have also been positive outcomes too. It’s given us time to pause and take stock of what is happening within our own spaces, giving us the chance to reassess what we want and where we are going. For me, it’s given me the chance to revisit some of the things that I have loved in the past and helped push me into finally trying to do things that I’ve always wanted to do.

In that vein, today, I wanted to share with you some of the activities that I have been loving while on lockdown and the things that have helped me to feel like I am still moving forward.

Taking self-development courses |

If you know me, or you’re a regular follower of mine, you’ll know that I am OBSESSED with all things self-development. I love to learn and for me, there is no better way to pass the time. Since the start of the lockdown I have taken courses with some of my absolute favourite creators and via these courses, I have started to shift and change some of the self-identified important areas of my life.

Out of these courses and masterclasses, there are definitely three that have truly helped me to feel like I am moving forward.

Doing yoga |

If I visualise and picture the person that I envision future Kay being, she is most certainly someone that does yoga and yet when I have tried it in the past, I’ve always given up at the first hurdle.

At the moment, I am not someone that can do yoga easily but that’s the person I am working on being and as we all know, it’s only through aligned action that you can move from where you are to where you want to be.

Two weeks ago, I decided to start my own daily Yoga practice and instead of using one of the videos that put me off in the past, I chose to try the App Yoga Wave. A few days in and I could already feel the difference in my body and my mind and since then, I have committed to do yoga every single day. I honestly love it and it’s helping me in so many different ways.

Firstly, it’s helping with my fitness goals and is perfectly supplementing my daily walk. Secondly, it helps me to get really present every day and helps me to feel connected to my body. Lastly, it really helps me to feel like I am stepping into my next level and personally, for me, that really helps me to feel into those feelings and hence, manifest things a lot easier.

Lego |

I loved Lego as a child, but I always preferred the big buckets of Lego and was never much of a fun of the fixed Lego sets. But last month, while bored and looking something fun to do, I decided to order myself one of those Adult designed kits.

To be honest, it was by accident that I stumbled upon the Friends Central Perk Lego set but once I’d found it, I knew that it was the ‘one’

Honestly, this didn’t take me long to do and in fact, it was much quicker than I imagined it would be but, it was worth it. It took me around 1-3 hours over three days and it was a really fun way to kill a bit of time.

Reading |

Reading is my favourite hobby anyway, even during normal times, but I’ve been using this down time to finally clear some of the books that I have long wanted to read. For me, this has been the perfect time for self-reflection, and I have been ploughing my way through my ‘to be read’ self-development pile. I like to have two books on the go at any one time, one fiction and one self-development book.

Admittedly, I have stumbled on the current fiction book and although I am enjoying it, I can’t seem to get to the end. On the other hand, I am loving the self-development book that I am reading at the moment – the Success Principles by Jack Canfield.

If you’re interested in seeing which books I have read, which I am loving and which I am stuck on, make sure you go check out my Goodreads.

Nintendo Switch Lite |

It took me a few weeks to finally decide to order one of these coveted devices, but the truth is, I have been wanting one for a long, long old time. I actually tried to buy one at the start of the lockdown, but I couldn’t find one but when I saw that the coral one was about to be launched, it totally caught my attention. I added the date to my calendar and intended to order one on its launch day.

Somehow, I managed to entirely overlook this and by the time I finally checked, they had sold out, but I was really excited to see that they still had yellow one’s in stock anyway. So, I got one and I have been loving it!

I decided to get Animal Crossing (obviously) and I now fully understand the hype with that game. It’s so relaxing and is perfect for adding a little bit of down time into your day. I also purchased Mario Carts because it’s always been one of my absolute faves.

Watching Les Mis the musical |

It’s not something that I talk about a lot, but I love musicals and Les Mis has always been one of my favourites but I really, really don’t like the film. I can’t put my finger on why, because I do like most of the cast, but for me it’s just not the same.

Last week, I decided to rent the Les Mis concert on Apple and oh my god you guys, it’s so, so good. It features an absolutely incredible cast with Alife Boe, Michael Ball, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Matt Lucas all take a par in the performance.

Anyone who has seen Les Mis will attest to the fact that it’s a fairly heavy and long musical, beautiful but heavy and long, nonetheless. But to be honest, this didn’t feel dragged out or exhausting. I loved every single minute of it, from begging to end and it was well worth the money. We all loved it and it was an evening well spent.

Walking my dog |

I have a three-year-old Toy Cockapoo named Archie – he’s adorable – and my daily walk with him has been what is massively helped to keep me from experiencing cabin fever. Every single day, after dinner, myself and my mum take him for a long walk, and it’s become a staple of our day.

I love the outdoors anyway and getting out of the house at midday for a hour has really helped me to stay presetn.

Meditating |

I meditate every single day anyway but when the lockdown started, I noticed that my usual meditation was no longer doing it for me. That’s why I decided to give the Mindspo meditation course a try and their mantra meditation has completely changed my meditation practice.

I know use this method every single day and it’s much deeper than my usual practice, allowing me to kickstart my morning from a place of calm. I always do this process before my yoga and after my morning pages, allowing me to start my day feeling fully calm and aligned with future me.

It’s honestly an amazing, life changing practice and I urge you to go give it a go.

Audiobooks |

I have tried using audio books in the past and until recently, I hadn’t finished a single one and to be honest, I have no idea why. It’s a bit strange really, because I love podcasts, but I’ve never really enjoyed audio books in the same way.

Last week, I finished my first ever audio book (Holly Bourne’s Pretending) and I honestly really enjoyed it. I’m not yet a full audiobook convert, nor do I prefer them to actual books or podcasts, but I did enjoy finishing this one. Yes, I think that was partly because this is a really good book, but it was also that it was something different to listen to.

Working on some of my passion projects |

As I said at the start of this post, for me, the lockdown has offered the perfect opportunity for me to finally start working on some of the projects that I have been putting off. That means writing my books (yes, plural), finally creating that resource and other such tasks or goals.

Since being in lockdown, I have managed to write almost half of the two books that I want to get finished this year and it feels good to have this time to work on them.

Are they finished yet, no and I feel no pressure to rush them because each day, I am doing something to work towards my goals and right now, that feels good enough?

I hope you are all safe and I would love to hear some of your isolation stories. What are you doing to help your mental health? Are there any specific activities have you been loving? And what is your new normal

Let me know in the comments, I love hearing from you J