MY TOP 5 WAYS TO PRACTISE SELF-CARE DURING LOCKDOWN

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I’m a natural introvert, so hiding away in winter, snuggled up with Netflix and a glass of wine is usually my idea of heaven.

Usually.

Turns out, the beauty of staying in is that I’m choosing to do so. Being forced to stay at home, night after night, week after week, doesn’t hold the same appeal.

The novelty has well and truly worn off.

All the things that usually bring me the fuzzy feels just haven’t been cutting it of late, so I’ve had to put some extra effort into my self care during lockdown (round three).

I’ve always found the simple pleasures bring the greatest rewards – so here they are, my top 5 ways to practise self-care during lockdown:

1: BREAKFAST BUZZ

One of my favourite daily rituals is my morning coffee. I used to grab an oat-milk latté every day, on the way back from the school run, but clearly that’s not an option at the moment.

So, I bought myself a Lavazza coffee machine with a built-in milk frother (half-price in the new year sales – woo hoo!).

Now, the first thing I do every day (after I’ve fed one over-excited puppy) is make myself a piping hot frothy coffee. Then I sit in the kitchen-diner, looking out the sliding doors to the back garden, and think through the day ahead.

I’m most definitely not a morning person, so those 20 minutes of tranquility – before the chaos of homeschooling, breakfast making, puppy training and post writing – helps me ease into the day with a clear mind (even if it doesn’t stay that way for very long!).

2: GET YOUR COMFY ON

Arguably the best thing about lockdown is being able to spend all day, every day, in casual gear.

This is the simplest of my ways to practise self-care during lockdown: after my shower I LOVE pulling on a pair of trackies, and the deliciously soft slipper boots I was sent last week from Bedroom Athletics (when I can find them, that is – the girls have taken quite a fancy to them too, and I often have to prise them off their feet first).

I get myself comfortable on the sofa, wrap myself up in a blanket, and open up the laptop to start the work day. I don’t think I’ll ever return to a desk and normal clothes again!

I’ve also invested some time and money into making sure my bedroom is my tranquil hideaway, a soothing sanctum I can escape to each night. In the morning I take a few minutes to stretch and gently wake myself up, quietly contemplating the day ahead and what I need to get done.

3: WALKING THE WALK

Gyms might be closed (boo!) but dog walks are still allowed. Handy, since we got our adorable miniature dachshund Frankie last summer, and walking the dog has become one of my favourite things.

No one is more shocked by this than me, since one of my iron-clad conditions of getting a dog was that walking the said dog was someone else’s responsibility.

Except – surprise, surprise – the girls’ fervent promises to sort the walkies every day (‘Please, Mummy, pleeeeeeease! You won’t have to do anything, please just let us get a dog!’) fell through after about a month, which left muggins here to take the lead (literally).

Except, now I kind of love it! It gets me out of the house and into the fresh air, and helps me clear my head so I return calm and focused.

Plus, watching Frankie bounding across the village green, his little legs a furry blur and those big ears flopping wildly, is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

4: COOKING UP A STORM

Pre-lockdown I really resented making meals; I’d never been that good at cooking and considered it a real chore. But then the world changed. One of the first lockdown decisions I made was to cut down on food costs and wastage.

I invested in a slow cooker and some extra cookware, and started cooking from scratch. And something weird happened – I found myself enjoying it.

And not just that – I found the process of cooking would distract and relax me. I’d bung in the air pods, put a show on Netflix, and get on with prepping, cutting and cooking. It was strangely therapeutic to combine a bunch of random ingredients, work my way through a recipe, and create something delicious.

I even discovered I wasn’t half bad at it. Revelation!

I won’t be on Masterchef anytime soon, but I can now whip up a yummy, nutritious meal I can be proud of. Not only is it strangely satisfying and one of my most productive ways to practise self-care during lockdown, we’re also reducing food waste and saving money.

5: PREENED TO PERFECTION

Lockdown can make it feel like the days are running into one, so the girls and I try to make the weekends feel special.

With salons completely shut we still got our pamper on – one of our favourite quarantine treats is to stock up on snacks, slap on a face and hair mask, and find a cheesy movie to watch.

The girls also love to run themselves a bath, turn on the battery candles (I know it sounds weird, but they’re brilliant! They’re wax on the outside, but are battery operated – so totally safe – and look really realistic), and sink into the bubbles.

Not only is it a lovely, relaxing way to while away an hour, it gives them a break from each other (and me a break from them!). Sure, it’s not quite as indulgent as a professional spa treatment, or one of those new-fangled beauty hacks (One day I’d love to try one of those IV Drip Hydration treatments you see on those television programmes, where nourishing vitamins fuel your skin and give you a healthy glow, while IV fluids ensure you’re hydrated and refreshed), but it’ll do quite nicely in the meantime.

Are these self-care ideas perfect? No. Is this exactly how we’d live our lives if we had a choice? Also no. But until we get Covid kicked and regular life can resume, it’s a pretty decent compromise.

These are my top 5 ways to practise self-care during lockdown – what are your sanity savers?

READ: ‘From Despair to Sweet Dreams – How I Conquered my Insomnia’

Images courtesy of Sincerely Media on Unsplash; Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash; Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash