Hey everyone, I hope you’re all staying safe and ready for another month of lockdown. This is a peculiar time. As a country, the general public have needed to take a step back and remain in our homes, helping our NHS staff, essential workers and volunteers to take the reins. This means for the rest of us, it places a level of uncertainty over what we should be doing with our newly found spare time.

Personally, I’ve tried to remain productive over the UK’s lockdown, but found myself slipping into a terrible routine of just sleeping and watching TV. So to help me, I’ve set up some ground rules to ensure I keep on-track for the rest of the time we’re in lockdown, which hopefully will stick with me into the future and just maybe, it’ll help you too.

• Sleeping better.

I’m a sucker for a long sleep in, while some of us are awaiting to return to work it’s common to fall into bad sleeping habits. Going to bed too late and waking up towards the afternoon can often leave you feeling lethargic and unmotivated. It’s all psychological, you naturally feel more energetic and sometimes even happier during the day than you would in the night. Why not use it to your advantage, getting up earlier to spend that important time completing tasks and enjoying the sunshine.

• Making a distraction free zone.

You know what they say, clear space clear mind. Working from home can be difficult when you have a house full of distractions, everything is connected to the WiFi pinging constantly, TV is on in the background and everyone is talking about Bojo’s next update. What you need is a certain place or time in the day where everything is turned off so you can fully concentrate (i appreciate this will be harder for the others). For example, I use my dining table as my work space. It’s still in my living room but I only sit there for when I want to work, creating a sense of productivity that I wouldn’t achieve anywhere else in my home. It also helps if you keep the area organised. (another post soon to come on this)

• Never too late to learn something new.

It’s important in times like these to keep active, don’t worry I’m not talking about exercise (although it is a very good idea). I’m referring to keeping up your mental fitness. Being out of work for so long can turn your brain into mush (not literally), keeping it active by learning new skills can really help with your productivity. Whether it be a new language you’ve always wanted to learn or an online course to further your existing skills, it’s something that can give you a little boost when isolating to help your thinking and reasoning. Also, what we learn during lockdown can benefit us for when we eventually return to work, providing an edge over your colleagues.

• Breaking up the days.

The days are getting longer. As we approach into the summer months, it’s good to break up the day with a nice relaxed walk. A simple stroll around your town can help split the difference between the morning and the afternoon or evening. Doing so can provide a well deserved break after a few hours work, or set you up for a chilled out evening. It’s also an amazing time to see friends and family outside, while maintaining your social distancing of course. It’s an easy was to sneak in a little exercise too.

• Don’t forget.

We’ve rambled on a while about some ways to keep productive during this lockdown. However, like most things, its important to have a break from work, and instead do anything you want. These are our cheat days, where all you need is to stay in bed binging netflix eating junk food, or playing Warfare with friends to finally get a win (I’ll get one eventually). Making time for being social with friends and family is also equally important for your mental health as well as exercise. Bringing our world closer, helping everyone to get through this time.

Thanks for reading.