How To Stay Positive and Motivated During The Covid-19 Lockdown
02 June 2020
Social distancing measures have impacted the lives of each and every one of us in the UK. For many of us, seeing friends and family helps us feel positive and is good for our wellbeing, so working from home or having to stay motivated with limited social interaction has meant adapting to a whole new way of life. Here are a few tips and strategies we’ve pulled together to keep you motivated during this unusual time.
1. Stay Connected
Luckily, social distancing only limits our physical interactions, so we can still contact friends, loved ones and colleagues and there are plenty of ways you can stay connected.
If you’re staying home, why not organise a morning catch up with your friends or colleagues, whether it’s over the phone or via video, to help boost your mood and positivity? Or have a daily wind-down where you chat about any challenges you’ve faced in the day? You could even pull together some quiz questions online, or get creative and set up your own.
There are now plenty of video calling apps you can install on your mobile or desktop device to get started. What’s more, if your employer offers employee benefits through Vivup, you can even spread the cost of new tech to help you along the way in the Home Electronics staff benefit.
2. Plan Your Day
If, before lockdown, you travelled to work and performed different tasks at a set time, adjusting to a life with different deadlines can prove challenging. Many of us are working from home or have had our routines changed, so sticking to a daily plan can prove helpful. You can do this by keeping track of day-to-day tasks, like your lunch break and your sleep schedule.
A good idea for keeping yourself busy and productive is to write up a to-do list or plan of tasks you’d like to get done, and plan when you will do them. That way, you’ll have something to look forward to and you’ll know what to expect from each day.
Other ideas for your routine could be picking up a new hobby, reading a few pages of a book each day, or simply taking a few minutes to walk around the garden. Take time to do something that you enjoy and that is meaningful to you.
3. Limit Stressful Activities
Negative news can be quite difficult to avoid – because it’s everywhere. This is the biggest thing that’s happening in the world at the moment, but it isn’t the only thing that’s happening.
Try to limit how much media you consume. It’s important to note that you’re in control of what you watch and read on the internet or television, so set yourself an allotted space into your daily routine, and move on to doing something you enjoy afterwards.
If you feel as though you’re becoming overwhelmed by things that are going on, there should always be someone you are able to talk to, whether its a friend, family member or if your employer offers the Vivup Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), you can access 24/7 support, where you can talk to someone confidentially about anything that’s worrying you.
4. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique that you might actually use without realising – but if you’re experiencing overwhelming thoughts, it’s a great idea to pick up the mindfulness skill as a part of your routine. Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present and aware of our surroundings, without being overwhelmed by our reactions to thoughts.
Quite often when we are isolated and thinking a lot about a specific topic, it’s difficult to think about anything else. Many mindfulness techniques start with taking stock of how you physically feel, and pull your focus away from anxiety.
Mindfulness can be thought of as a toolkit for the brain, that will help you to tackle distressing thoughts, break them down and figure out a way to deal with them.
If you’re registered on Vivup, you can find out more about supporting your mental health and wellbeing by accessing your benefits here or if you’re an employer looking for ways to support your employees, get in touch with us today on 01252 784540 to find out more.