The Lockdown Series - What I've Learnt During Lockdown
4min read
For me, going into lockdown wasn’t as much of a scary thought as it was for others. I’ll be honest I have used this time to my advantage, I’ve been super productive, I’m getting myself organised and I am thriving. That does not however, take away from the utter devastation that this global pandemic has caused and continues to leave behind.
But, for those that know me you will know I’m a glass half full kinda gal and I’d like to take the opportunity of lockdown to talk about the things I have learnt, both positive and enlightening. I encourage you to also think about the things you may have learnt or found out about yourself during lockdown.
1.I enjoy my own company
I knew this any way to be honest, I’ve always been pretty content spending time with myself, but lockdown has reconfirmed it for me. Whilst my boyfriend is still working (from home) I’ve been confined to the lounge and him to the kitchen, and I’ve been OK with it. I’ve kept myself busy creating content and learning a lot and I can happily say that in the 6.5 weeks of lockdown I have not found myself bored once.
2. How to not waste as much food & utilise what I have in the fridge/larder
This has been a big one for me, I wasn’t a huge waster before, but there were occasions where I would have to throw food out because it hadn’t been used and had gone bad. During the lockdown, I have planned meals much better to ensure I don’t waste as much. And I have bought a lot more frozen products - which are just as good as fresh I must add, to help with the longevity of items that do tend to go off quicker.
3. I spend A LOT of time scrolling
Now, this one is probably enhanced as I am literally at home all day and have all the time in the world to scroll, but I’m not too pleased about that! I actually want to use this time to create some boundaries and rule sets for myself when it comes to social media. My goal is to set some clearer time frames for when I can sit on my phone aimlessly scrolling and for when I should be using my time for better things. I love social media, but it sure aids in procrastination and time-wasting - 2 things that aren’t that great habits to have.
4. I take a lot of things for granted
Popping to the shops, or ordering things online for next day delivery are things I just accept I can do as and when I want. When the world shut down at the beginning of lockdown it took a bit of adjustment to realise that I can’t get anything I want at the drop of a hat. It also made me realise (although I already knew, I just chose to not ‘see’ it) how much of a consumer culture we live in. It’s pretty crazy really, you want it, you got it! But I have become a lot less ‘oh I want that, I’ll order it’ since lockdown and I plan to continue that way. I don’t NEED all this stuff!
Also just popping to see family or friends for a quick cuppa was definitely something I took for granted, and I will cherish those moments more when we are allowed to socialise again.
5. Going for daily walks has been glorious
Going for a walk in my local neighbourhood was not something I really did before lockdown, maybe once or twice before. But it’s been so lovely, there’s so much wonderful nature right on my doorstep. I will definitely continue once lockdown has lifted.
Some of the beautiful flowers found on my walks
6. We live a very close proximity lifestyle on this planet
Before COVID-19 I think we all just accepted that the hustle and bustle of cities and towns was just the norm. But really when you look at it, the realisation is that touching the handrail on public stairs, sharing personal space with others on the underground and just generally being very close to the strangers around us is pretty mental. I mean, I’m not really sure what the future will look like when it comes to this, but I know that hand sanitiser, masks and gloves are going to most likely be in our lives for the foreseeable.
I’m sure I’ve learnt and realised a lot more than the above as a result of lockdown, but they are my key takeaways. I am super intrigued as to what the future will look like, to witness and experience this global pandemic still baffles me every day. It’s fascinating but also massively scary, but if we can take anything from it, I hope it’s that as a world we will work through this all together. And actually, if it means we come out of this thing more intentional and sustainable then it can’t be all that bad.