Are we nearly through the nightmare that the last twelve months has brought us? Who knows? The constant changing of the goalposts by following the virus makes it very difficult to prepare for what the rest of the year has in store for us. It’s hard to imagine what life has to offer when we get back to living our lives as normal. Things out of my control consume my mind. Will our business reopen so we can do our jobs? Will we get back to training? Will we be able visit our family and friends? Travel? All parts of our lives that we love, but have been unable to do for pretty much twelve months.
I needed something to break my cycle of negative thoughts. Something to fire me back to my normal state. I’m sitting at the kitchen table doing a google search and there it is appearing on the screen. “Keep Calm and Fake it till you make it”. I used the theory years ago playing football but had not seen it being used in a long time. What a perfect remedy it is for where we find ourselves today. As we prepare to face the reopening of our society let’s get ourselves going. I noticed after the first lockdown in 2020 after about four weeks returning to work and normal life the energy of both myself and the team at work began to fade. It actually proved to be a very difficult period. We loved being back at work but struggled because like everyone our lifestyle during the lockdown was more sedentary than usual. To use the sporting analogy we had no preseason.
We now need to prepare for what is ahead. We need to get our routines, our habits, our energy aligned to what will be needed when we return. How do we do this? Well we fake it until we make it. Not silly stuff, practical exercises and routines that were our normal in the past but as our life has changed we have let these things slip along the way.
Get up Early
For me this is the most important thing. It sets my day. The famous line that there are not enough hours in the day will become no more. Get up, get your meditation, your reading or your exercise in early and that leaves the rest of the day for the normal daily routines. The organisation of your day becomes so streamlined and everything else flows.
Put your Work Clothes On
If you have a uniform and are operating from home and on video calls start putting on your work clothes. Psychologically it helps to get you into the headspace for work.
Watch what you Eat and Drink
“You wouldn’t put diesel into a Ferrari” was once said to me by a coach in describing how important it is to fuel your body with the right food. Food has a direct link to our energy levels. It fuels our bodies to move and fuels our brains to think. Our motivation, our focus and our energy are all stimulated by the food we eat and drink. Hydrate well and try to eat as much naturally produced food as possible.
Align your breaks as you would do in the office
This gives you an eating schedule which may have slipped over the past year. It will also help prevent you from grazing throughout the course of your work day.
Regular Exercise
Our motto here at The Movement and The Leisure Complex during the course of the past year is ‘Walk, Run, Cycle’. Whatever exercise you can do and fit into your day let’s do it. We have provided classes online every day for the past twelve months as a fitness vehicle for our loyal customers. By no means have we pushed these on anyone. We are just encouraging Movement in any form during your day. The physical and mental benefits of exercise are just extraordinary.
Keep a Journal
A journal to record your day or even a “to do” list for the following day is an excellent way to check in on yourself and reflect on your day. It is also a great way to prioritise important activities throughout the day.
Enjoy the Daylight
As the evenings get brighter get out and enjoy the daylight. The natural light has so many benefits from improving your Vitamin D levels to improving your sleep. It also gives you a much needed break if you are one of the many working from home.
Go easy on yourself
Guess what? There will be days all the above go wrong. That’s fine, it will happen to everyone. Don’t compound one bad day with another. Reset yourself and try to be better the next day. You have to allow yourself slip ups. That is life. Dust yourself down and go again.
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