My take on staying sane in lockdown

So, as is probably common knowledge to most of you, South Africa is currently in its third day of lockdown and us Nambians in our second. Plus, the majority of us were already social distancing at least a week prior to the official lockdown pronouncement (shame on you if you weren't). As such, we all have a LOT of time on our hands and for some people this can be a very challenging time. Not having a set routine every day, not being able to go out and about your business as usual, not being able to go to class and see your friends - these can be difficult things to get used to when you are deprived of it for weeks on end.

What's more, 21 days of lockdown seems like a bit of a utopian fantasy. There seems to be this notion that after these 21 days the virus will be completely under control and the more than 660,000 reported cases will suddenly disappear and we'll all be able to venture back into the streets again. Being the ever-realistic realist I am, I don't see that happening. Therefore, here are things you can do to make this indefinite number of days stuck at home a bit more bearable - and even highly fruitful.

1. HOME WORKOUTS - I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH

Doing home workouts for about 1.5 to 2 weeks now has made me realise that if I ever had to give up my gym membership, I could happily do it. At first, I was rather concerned about my motivation disappearing completely once I no longer had a properly equipped gym where I could go work out. However, I have been exposed to a myriad of home workouts on both Instagram and YouTube. I haven't had a single day where I didn't know what to do. And these workouts can be KILLER if you choose the right ones and make sure to properly exert yourself to feel the burn. I recommend creating a lockdown workout split that consists of at least 4 days of working out and 2-3 active rest days, where you do something light like yoga, stretching or other forms of mobility exercises (again, there are tonnes of ideas for these on YouTube and Instagram). My main source of inspiration for home workouts has definitely been Instagram - I recommend checking out Natalie Bally (@nattbfit on Instagram), Becca Sills (@beccasillsfit on Instagram) as well as Kelly Yager (@klynneyager on Instagram). They post the most amazing home workouts, most of which are HIIT-oriented, which require very little to no equipment. For live yoga flows, bodyweight workouts and tips on stretching and mobility, check out Shona Vertue's Instagram (@shona_vertue) and YouTube - she is BRILLIANT. Also, a really good app for HIIT circuits is IntervalTimer - so much easier than using your stopwatch and timer on your phone. You just set up the workout time and rest times and how many rounds and the app does the counting for you, you don't even have to touch your phone.

2. USE THIS TIME TO HEAL AND BECOME MORE CONSCIOUS

Something that is very underrated during this whole situation, is taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Make time to do things that connect you with yourself and the universe - that can be painting, sitting outside in the sun and listening to the noises in the garden, having a cup of tea, meditating before bed or as soon as you wake up, keeping a journal, listening to online church services if you're religious, to name but a few. Again, Instagram has been so helpful to me in this regard. One of the best accounts I have come across this year is that of Dr Nicole LePera (@the.holistic.psychologist). She is a psychologist who advocates self-healing and consciously creating a new version of yourself. She posts about trauma, projecting trauma and lived experiences onto others, being conscious of your ego, reparenting your inner child and it's truly helpful. She also has a lot of YouTube videos on future-self journaling, which I'm thinking of taking up soon. Good books to read for awakening to your purpose and gaining an elevated level of consciousness are A New Earth and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz (ANY of his books would be good for this), The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

3. BE PRODUCTIVE - CATCH UP ON SOME WORK (boring but necessary)

Quite a number of people mistake the lockdown period for somewhat of a holiday. Although it is in fact a really good time to rest, take a break and unwind, you can't pretend like all your obligations and deadlines which existed previously have now just disappeared off the face of the earth. You still have to submit that essay, you still need to get your degree or finish your school year - and that unfortunately won't change. To have time effectively stand still for a couple of weeks, is an AMAZING opportunity to catch up on everything you've fallen behind with throughout the term. Update your class notes from your lecture slides and podcasts, make summaries on the work done in your various modules or subjects before classes got suspended and universities and schools closed. Use this time to be the studious and dedicated person you promised yourself you would be at the beginning of the year.

4. START THAT THING YOU'VE BEEN WANTING TO DO FOR SO LONG BUT DIDN'T GET AROUND TO ACTUALLY DOING

This can be literally anything and everything. We all have at least something we always want to do but life's busy-ness and demands just get in the way every single time. Maybe it's learning a new language (the Duolingo app is fantastic for this - I'm currently trying to teach myself some German), starting a YouTube channel or a blog, reading a book you've bought long ago but haven't had the time to even read the first page of, decluttering your room or your cupboard, updating your playlist, watching a new movie or starting a new series, learning about investing, becoming TikTok famous or even just painting your nails. Do it now. And then think of something else tomorrow. And repeat over and over again. When will you ever have this much time again?

5. HAVE FUN

Most importantly, remember that this lockdown is going to be either as miserable or as marvellous as you make it. I read this quote the other day that said something along the lines of how not using this opportunity to develop yourself would be an absolute waste of time and I couldn't agree more. You have literally WEEKS on end where you have nowhere to be and nowhere to go but HOME. Use it to do the things I spoke about above and more - play board games, watch Disney movies with your family, bake cookies and brownies with your mom, take beautiful photos of yourself, your dogs and flowers, devour insane amounts of food and knowledge, listen to old music and become a better person. Just enjoy it. It really doesn't have to suck, I promise. And everyone's doing it, not just you.

That's all from my side! If you've made it to this point, thank you so much for reading this blog post and supporting one of my tiny dreams and passions. Hopefully I can crank out another helpful blog post within the next week or so, seeing as I have a LOT more time to devote to this now. Feel free to tell me what you thought of this blog post and if you have any other ideas on what I can do for my next one. Also, I've attached some links to products that can make your lockdown just a

tad more bearable. Feel free to make use of them, thereby helping me to earn a small commission. Byeee