Things I’ve Learnt During Lockdown- And What I Have More Appreciation For

April has been the strangest month in most of our lives. I’ve left my house so few times its kind of scary, although I do need to use my daily exercise time more to go for walks. It doesn’t seem like things are going to change too drastically in the near future. But when the lockdown is over there’s still going to be a lot of protective measures. Even if not everyone follows them. Here are some of the things I’ve learnt during the lockdown, and some of the things I now have more appreciation for.

I’ve learnt during lockdown to appreciate a slower pace of life

Before Coronavirus engulfed our lives I definitely lived a pretty fast-paced life. I would generally be out a few nights a week with rarely a full weekend in. There would be trips into London at the weekend, gigs, meals out, cinema trips and so much more.

The situation has stripped that all from me. Shows, gigs and festivals I had booked have been cancelled or postponed. And even brunch or dinners out are a thing of the past. And I’m going to be honest my body and mind have been loving it. I’ve been taking everything a bit slower and my physical and mental health is doing so well because of it. Even when things are back to a form of normality I want to embrace the slightly slower pace of life. Maybe not spending both days out of the house at the weekend. Or having a few earlier nights.

I have a higher appreciation for exercise and gym classes

My biggest exercise downfall is a lack of motivation. I got into a pretty good routine over the start of this year going to a few gym classes a week. I found that classes were the push I needed to work hard as I had someone watching me. Plus if I booked on I would hate to let down the instructor by not turning up. There would be times I did legs, bums & tums and it would just be me!

Some new technology that’s been helping with my exercise

While I’ve not been doing too great at home I am trying to up my exercise more by doing a few home classes here and there. And trying to get out for my daily walk as much as possible. I’ve learnt during lockdown more than ever that exercise is fantastic for my mental wellbeing. I’ve been using the House of Marley Redemption ANC Wireless Earbuds* (£179.99) throughout my exercising to help me get in the zone. Ever since Luke got some wireless earbuds for his birthday I have been so jealous so these have come at just the right time. The earbuds themselves have got a 7-hour battery life (5 hours if you enable Active Noise Cancellation or ANC) so they’ve been lasting a long time. But the thing I love is that you can charge them in the case and there’s a 15-minute quick charge which gives you 2 hours of playtime.

As I’m not exercising for super long periods I’ve barely needed to charge these. They’re sweat-proof and weather-resistant so even when I got caught out in the rain during a walk it wasn’t a problem. But one of the things I love most about them is the ANC function. I live in a house with three other people and being able to shut that off and listen to my own music while I exercise has been a dream. I can imagine that on a flight these would be amazing to block out the sound of other travellers. I’ve been so impressed with them over the past month of use.

I’ve learnt during lockdown that give me a good book and a TV and I’ll be fine

Now that might seem really sad, but it’s true. During the lockdown, I’ve been reading so much more which is something I definitely plan on carrying on with. But I’ve also been loving watching more YouTube, binging Disney movies I’ve never seen on Disney+ and watching those shows I never had time to see before.

I did a whole post on entertainment that has been keeping me sane so I’ll try not to repeat anything. Since that post, I’ve read a few more books I’ve loved including You by Caroline Kepnes. I’d been meaning to read the book since the show came out and I’ve finally done it. There are definite differences between the two, and I do feel I lost some of the surprise factor as I knew what was going to happen. But I enjoyed it none the less. I also loved Girl Up by Laura Bates all about things to do with being a girl. It was funny, had pictures and different things to entertain the eyes and I found myself laying out loud to it so much.

TV show wise I binged Tiger King which was a great watch although crazy these people actually exist. Don’t F**k with Cats was a really interesting watch, again crazy that this was ‘real’. And I binged Quiz in an evening which was really interesting to watch about ITV’s ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’

Other things I have learnt during the lockdown

• I need to pay more gratitude to my friends and family. Not being able to see them physically has been tough and I want to show the people I love how much they mean to me
• Cooking and meal preparation isn’t that tough. Only being able to do one proper weekly shop has been quite nice and pushed me to meal prep a lot better. It’s also helped me to reduce our food waste a lot as I’m more meticulous with my planning
• There’s always time for a good skincare routine. My skin has been loving makeup-free days and a regular mask and treatment session. It doesn’t matter how busy we are there’s always time for skincare

What have you learnt during the lockdown? Is there anything you’ll be continuing after?

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