Continuing to find positivity in lockdown 3.0

Lockdown 3.0!  Another reason to focus on you right now.  Although we’ve been here before, it doesn’t make it any easier on our mental health. So here are a few ideas we've been discussing with our job hunters to help them stay, or find, a bit of positivity.
Staying positive in lockdown

This is a guest blog post from Morgan and Lucy, representing our partners, Brand Recruitment

Lockdown 3.0!  Another reason to focus on you right now. Although we’ve been here before, it doesn’t make it any easier on our mental health.

So here are a few ideas we’ve been discussing with our candidates and clients to help them stay, or find, a bit of positivity.

Waking up: 

Our clients often tell us that within five minutes of waking up in the morning they what sort of day is ahead of them. This feels like an opportunity: so waking up with purpose is something we’ve been working on.

Some quick things we’ve been doing at home: 

  • Routine: After talking to friends on video in our PJs at 14:00 more than once, we’ve decided daily routines have been core to helping us! 
  • Goals: We’ve found it’s important to have goals for our day that push us- but definitely not to overdo it. We’re not saying learn Latin before March, but we are saying don’t stop at ten minutes of reading your new book a day. Setting achievable but challenging goals, made us feel good and got us in a creative zone.
  • Gratitude exercises – Waking up and writing 5 bullet points for what I am currently grateful for pushed me to start the day thinking not all things are bad. Lucy is a big fan of writing down her daily goals. 
  • Exercise – Morgan’s more of a hit work out kind of girl, whereas Lucy’s more into yoga and daily walks! 
  • DIY – Lucy got obsessed with knitting, whilst Morgan became pretty expert at redecorating
  • Hobbies – both of us found there were countless hobbies we had both wanted to do but ‘time got away from us’ pre-Lockdown, so we’re really pretty damn fulfilled right now
  • Gardening – whether it’s keeping your mint plant alive or growing an indoor forest, most people we know have dabbled in the world of green thumbs
  • Rest – it goes without saying that treating yourself to a lay in, or seven, can make a world of difference!

But what about at work?

It’s easier to feel a little more positive when you’re doing things you enjoy without the stress of work. So let’s not forget how we can feel more positive with work. 

  • Bubbling – Our best advice when it comes to WFH is to create your own personal creative bubble. Because right now your house is your work, social space and downtime zone. 
  • Smells –  Some people have even said that different smells create different environments mentally. We’re yet to give this a go yet I’m sure Lucy would love this one! 
  • Spaces – We’ve found creating two separate environments helps you focus during work. Doing this helps you to get the best out of yourself creatively and helps switching off at the end of the day. 
  • Breaks – Of course, during the working day, don’t forget to take breaks. Breaks refresh the mind, replenish your mental resources, and help you become more creative. Evidence suggests that taking regular breaks raises workers’ level of engagement which, in turn, is highly correlated with productivity.
  • Food – Now moving on to our favourite thing – food! Huge correlation with moods! Hopefully you’ve all spent the festive holidays overindulging. But how do we continue the great feeling food gives us, post-festive season when we’re in those holiday blues, facing Lockdown 3.0?  We’re both big advocates for eating fresh. Whilst we can’t agree whether it should be a cauliflower steak or a beef steak, we agree you can get a lot of joy from good food. Food is our fuel, and if we want to feel fresh and positive, we need to eat fresh, colourful, enriching foods. Salads might not get you going but swapping out that doughnut for a bowl of strawberries and blueberries will give you more energy and likely make you feel a lot fresher.
  • Home cooking – We’ve also found we’re cooking more than ever, being creative in the kitchen and this should not slow down. Making your meals from scratch gives you a break away from technology but also shows you exactly what’s going into your body. This is a great opportunity to learn a new skill and find healthier alternatives to what you love. Don’t forget healthier doesn’t always mean more expensive. Shop smarter not harder.
  • Don’t feel guilty – Last but very much not least, if you don’t feel like doing anything that is ABSOLUTELY fine. Guilt-free Netflix binging is what we’re alllll about!  It’s okay to re-watch the whole of Gossip Girl with an endless stream of ice cream – embrace it, get yourself wrapped up on that sofa and chill out! 

We all need to wind down too. Rest restores our mental capacity so we can be more creative moving forward. Plus we don’t know about you, but we feel like we’ve done a good day grafting when Netflix says, ‘are you still watching?’. 

Stay positive, stay healthy, get creative and don’t forget to stay connected during these next few months! 😊