Find the key during lockdown

It’s been SEVEN DAYS since we shut our doors at CFL, no doubt there are a few of you starting to go stir crazy and climbing the walls (That’s why we want to keep you as active as possible with our daily home workouts and LIVE ZOOM classes!). “This train don’t stop!”.

During that time we’ve all experienced significant changes to our lifestyle, daily routines, relationships, which of course are absolutely necessary in taking a collective responsibility to keep our communities safer.

Thank you to all the key workers, who put themselves at  immeasurable risk, whilst continuing their essential roles so that the rest of us can stay at home.

The new restrictions are likely to affect each of us a little differently, for some it has been a case of moving their office to home and still trying to work a conventional day, without being disrupted by the dog, kids, partners etc.

Remember this classic on the bbc a few years ago …

For others, who may not be able to work from home, the complete loss of routine has been challenging enough. Given that we don’t know how long these measures will last, it’s definitely a case of “get comfortable with the uncomfortable”, and staying positive during a time when it would be very easy to slip into a negative mindset. We can take encouragement from the ‘super humans’ who are routinely put in high pressure, uncomfortable situations and yet still thrive, for example our emergency services and military personnel.

There aren’t too many people that will have experienced the degree of isolation that astronauts do and so it many be useful to listen to their top tips;

1. Acceptance of a higher purpose – For astronauts this is to improve human understanding of space, whereas for the average person right now, it has to be save lives by quarantining. When the going gets tough, having a higher purpose is what keeps you on track.

2. Human interaction – For those that live alone, it is important to maintain daily interactions using whatever means you have available e.g. phone, face time, zoom. For those that are at home with family, work on communicating effectively and being patient with one another.

3. Stay disciplined – Normally our work, school, university schedule provides structure and daily routine in our lives. When this is removed, It is very easy to slip into a lethargic, negative spiral. It is important to replace that structure. Plan your day with activities / tasks! Try and maintain regular sleeping hours.

4. Reward yourself – Set yourself a target (for example; tidy the ‘junk room’, file your paperwork, do the gardening) and reward yourself for completing it. Take pride in whatever tasks you are doing. Use your reward to do something you really enjoy and look forward to.

5. Get Creative – How many times have you said “I’d really like to do that, but I don’t have time”? Well …. this is your chance. Plan times in your day when you can learn new things and get creative; read a book, paint, begin learning a new language, play an instrument, etc etc. You are only limited by your own imagination. If your house is chaos with 2.4 children, get them involved as well, get creative together!

You can read more on isolation tips by clicking on this link.

Stay safe team and remember stronger people are hard to kill!

Credit: RedCircleCo – making gyms better