The Positives of Life in Lockdown

We’ve really enjoyed providing ideas to help families like yours get through this period of ‘lockdown’. Whilst, as a nation, we’ve been lucky enough to get away with slightly more lenient restrictions compared to other countries – and have it make an impact on our infection rate – we’ve still been restricted and had the kids at home for holidays and now schooling.

There’s no denying, there have been tough days and it’s easy to lament on what we wish we could be doing right now and what we’re missing – because let’s be honest, we’re missing things we didn’t even know we needed in our lives!

But there are definitely some positives to come out of this experience… a quick search online for funny COVID-19 pictures is enough to break out a smile on a gloomy day.

There is also the positive environmental impact this is having on our cities, the reduction in commuting costs, what appears to be a general increase in people exercising, having everyone at home to help with chores and to enjoy family time, and the general sense of community as we all band together to get through this.

We decided to put it out to our team to see what their positives are from this experience. Most of our team are working from home and most of them have children! Here is some of them shared with us.

Your favourite thing about being in lockdown

• The fact I can wear my Ugg boots to work
• More family time; I’m feeling more present in my kids’ lives
• Being able to put dinner on earlier than 6pm after commuting home – makes nights with the kids easier.
• More time to dedicate to hobbies you would not otherwise do such as learning languages, researching/studying topics that interests you etc
• Spending more time with my family
• Less commute time means more time to just “be” whether it’s exercise, meditation or hangs with the fam
• More time to spend with the family, cook meals, and maybe get a cheeky sleep in thanks to no commute.

Notice a theme there? … More time! How many of us have complained about just never having the time to get things done and feeling like you’re always rushing. Well COVID-19 has given us the gift of time. Perhaps not in the way we would have planned it, if it were up to us, but we’ve got it, so let’s embrace, evaluate and enjoy it while we have it.

A hack you’ve learned to make life in lockdown easier:

• bulk buying so I don’t have to leave the house as much; small wins like gardening helps me feel like I’m accomplishing something; video calls with the extended family is helping me feel more connected; getting the (older) kids baking (baking kits) keeps them busy, teaches them maths and provides a continual source of morning and afternoon teas!
• Questions to help you change your perspective…

• Try and do something fun like playing board games, completing a puzzle or finding a local bush trail to exercise as it is quite easy to binge on Netflix or vainly scroll on social media.
• Work on the house if you can. Makes it a lot easier to cope with
• Get up at the same time every day, get dressed for work and do hair/make up. Keep the normal routine. Exercise is key.
• Keeping to routine as much as possible. Exercise when you would normally exercise, prepare and enjoy your meals when you’d normally do that. Work/school, dog walks, play time etc. Not only does it help keep life feeling mostly normal, it also helps keep the kids on track.

You might’ve noticed another theme here… being constructive, ‘doing things’. Sometimes when you get all this extra time, if you don’t use it wisely it could end up being more detrimental than effective. So being in routine and being productive with this time is a great ‘hack’ to thriving in a life in lockdown.

Something you’ve learned as a result of being stuck at home

• I do a heap less steps in a day working from home
• teaching is hard; I’m a natural hermit and am enjoying being isolated right now
• How to open the fridge!
• My children have short attention spans
• That social life, friends, family and liberties of going to places should not be taken for granted
• That I never realised how much I miss my friends and family.
• There is always something to do. Whether it’s cleaning out cupboards, re arranging furniture or spending time in the garden. We don’t always have to “go out” to have fun.
• I actually like being around people.
• Turns out I do like being around people. Also, you don’t have the little micro breaks of chatting to colleagues when you’re at home so you’re actually far more productive (or so it feels) and I miss the cue of my colleagues packing up at 5pm to tell me it’s knock-off time. Too often it takes a few minutes before I register – but I’d rather finish what I’m doing than be worried about that J

Fair to say, there are still things to be missed and lessons to be learned as we continue to remain in a restricted lockdown. But there is still plenty to be grateful for and how good is that day going to be the kids are safe at school or day care, or when they can have a play date, and you can have a wine with friends at your favourite bar, or do a workout with your PT in the gym, and did we mention, when the kids are safe at school?