Now that the majority of the UK is in a state of lockdown, you might be struggling to find ways to fill your time. Whether you’re struggling for activities to occupy yourself in the evenings or weekends, our team have put together a list of things that they’re finding useful to occupy their mind throughout lockdown.

1. Routine

It’s always important to find a routine that works for you and, once you’ve found that routine, it can be difficult to break. The lockdown situation that we find ourselves in has caused a lot of us to have to break our routines but it’s important to get into another one as quickly as possible in order to make you feel a bit more at ease and to help you adjust to your new situation.

Setting an alarm for the morning and deciding on simple things like what times of the day you’ll eat certain meals can be a great place to start and can serve as a great basic structure that you can gradually add to.

2. learn a new hobby

With all of the new free time, why not use this opportunity to learn a new hobby or skill? Our team are currently using the extra time to learn a new language, do some painting or simply spending some more time reading.

One of our favourite online courses at the moment is the British Sign’s discounted sign language course which allows you to spend anything from £3 to learn the invaluable skill of sign language. Click here to find out more

But remember, while it’s great to learn new skills, please don’t feel the pressure to write a novel or even take up anything new. This time is a difficult and challenging period and it’s important to not put too much pressure on yourself to achieve anything spectacular if you don’t feel up to it. So, if you’re not up for learning something new, take stock of what you already love doing and try to dedicate some more time to that.

3. Arrange a time to speak to friends and family

Now more than ever, it’s important to keep in regular contact with friends and family. Regular calls, texts, and messages can help to keep you both up to date and feel socially stimulated.

So, just as you would under normal circumstances, arrange a time in the week to jump on a call or facetime a friend! You can bake, watch TV together or adapt any of your normal activities for a digital hang out.

Not a fan of digital hangouts? How about writing a letter or a postcard to a friend or member of family? It can be a great way to let them know that you’re thinking about them and it can be a lovely surprise for them to receive.

 

4. Cooking

Cooking can be a great opportunity to fully focus on something else and take your mind off whatever might have been causing you to worry or stress. So why not take the opportunity to cook some new recipes?

Supermarkets might be causing some stress right now and cause you to worry about not being able to get what you have in mind but why not think of this as an opportunity? Take a chance and try cooking with ingredients you find for a new challenge!

5. Exercise

Whether it’s star jumps in your bedroom or a yoga tutorial on YouTube, working regular exercise into your new daily routine will help you to maintain your mental wellbeing. So take to the streets, your garden or even your bedroom and get your blood pumping in whatever way works for you.

Did you know that we’re currently running a challenge for you to run around your local landmarks for a 5k, 10k or half marathon? Click here to find out more about how to enter and stay physically fit through isolation.