AD-This is a paid post in my own words.
With summer bringing the relaxing of lockdown, chances are if you’re shielding or vulnerable you won’t necessarily be heading back to normal just yet.
It’s okay if you’re contemplating lockdown for a little bit longer (not forgetting of course that those of us with chronic conditions are used to spending time at home, lockdown or no lockdown, so I’m sure this post will be useful in the months and years to come!). I thought I’d share some of my favourite activities to promote mindfulness, self-care, and creativity at home. Why not give some of these a try?
1.Gardening
I’ve blogged before about how gardening has been a really good mindful activity for me. I know not everybody has a garden but if you do (we had a very small one until we moved late last year and now it’s a decent size) get out in it! We often think of gardening as extensive labour but you can start really simply. You don’t need to be a gardening expert, you can buy plants online if you don’t fancy visiting a garden centre andfind perennials, which are plants that grow whatever the weather (and are usually easy to maintain!). Alternatively, when services start to open up again, you might want to look into an allotment near you if you don’t have a garden! Hopefully we’ll have a lovely summer full of sunshine to make lots of gardening possible.
2.A spot of mystery
One thing I’ve really got into over lockdown is murder mysteries and escape rooms. I used to love going to actual escape rooms pre-lockdown (which seems so long ago!) but virtual ones are still a nice alternative. There’s something really freeing about popping your phone on silent mode and just focusing on solving a problem and it’s such a nice alternative to TV, along with providing such a sense of achievement when you’ve solved it! I’ve been taking part in online murder mysteries and escape rooms for ages now; they can be played alone or remotely with friends and family if you fancy socialising a bit. It certainly beats another zoom quiz!
3. Scrapbooking
Another offline lockdown creativity activity is creating scrapbooks and memory books. You might think you haven’t got anything to scrapbook, but you’d be surprised! I’ve already got a memory box for Jude, who is two soon, but want to start scrapbooking and recording some of those key moments! You can do this physically (very satisfying!) or digitally (ideal if you don’t have much space and don’t want to cause a mess!) if you prefer. Amazon is a great place to find scrapbooking resources and for digital products, using a site like Font Bundles, which offers a free fonts collection to help you to create a digital product of your own. Either way, having something to look back on during this unique time will be valuable.
4. Journalling
Another mindful creativity activity is journalling. I use Vibe and Flow’s manifestation journal. Manifestation is a little ‘woo’ for me but this journal is simply a really good way to reflect on your day, set goals and brain dump everything before you go to bed. Why not use this time to create a journal of your own? You don’t necessarily need to buy an expensive journal, a simple notebook can work just as well. Use google to find relevant prompts for you to follow-I’ve found everything from prompts for chronic illness to being a mum and developing a business.
5. Learn something new
At the start of the first lockdown, I wrote a post about all the free places you can find online self-development courses. I started to challenge myself to do 30 minutes of learning a day but I’ll be honest, I’ve completely stopped doing this, which I’m really disappointed in myself for!
I’d 100% recommend trying a new course and I definitely need to start it up again-you’d be surprised by how many free or low-cost courses you can find and signing up for free trials like Skillshare can be a good way to get started (just remember to cancel it when you’re finished!). You can choose from learning some practical, something creative or simply something just for fun!
I hope these simple activities have given you a few ideas to get creative and mindful when home during lockdown. Let me know which ones you end up trying!
