Daily Tools – My Top 13 Thoughts…
1 Sleep is so important to allow the physical body to rest and repair. Try warm bathes, listening books, reading books, meditation apps, lavender & other calming essential oils in a body lotion or on feet.. Restrict your use of electronic media from phones to tablets to TVs, to allow your natural sleep hormones to build up and help bring sleep to your body.
2 Food and drink. Eat as well as you can, limiting sweet/snacks and drink plenty of water and liquid. I’m not an expert but I know this is important to my own wellbeing.
3 Find time for tools for calm. Such as doing some focused breathing before getting up. I’m lucky that my children don’t come and wake me up in the mornings anymore, so appreciate this might not be possible for those with young kidlets. I often talk about “when the kettle boils” as this is 2 minutes that you can do some breathing or repeat some positive affirmations “I am calm” “I am OK”. If you never fit that 20 minute meditation or yoga practice into your day then find something shorter to do and prioritise.
4 Exercise – not only will this burn up calories from the chocolate being eaten (or is that just me?!). It also releases feel good hormones which will help the body breakdown the stress hormones which otherwise will just sit in the body (remember fight/flight hormones). Plus walking outside will ground you and comes with benefits of looking for rainbows! There are also lots of online “lives” from Joe Wicks (too much for me) and cosmic yoga for kids on youtube, so try and find something you enjoy and commit to it regularly.
5 Having a higher vibration or energy will help you emotionally, mentally and spiritually. So find and watch a youtube video or FB video that lifts you up, will help. Also doing a daily list of gratitude will lift your vibration. There is so much to be glad or grateful for – from tea bags, toilet roll in your bathroom to chocolate, being with your children, your health, sunshine and blue skies, the internet, wifi, amazon, Netflix, email, video call technology, mobile phones. Just think of a few things each day and feel those positive energies
6 Presence – this is something I struggle with sometimes, I want to do things but the kids need school work or food and I forget to be fully resent. So whenever possible I leave my phone in one place and spend dedicated time with them. It might not be hours or even an hour, but its whatever they need at that moment. I aim to do this with out the phone so I don’t get pings or distracted. Then when I’ve finished I check in. I do similar things when there’s things I need to do for myself – whether work or self-care or meditation. I often set a timer so I know I can be fully present for a certain length of time. Trying to do one thing at a time is more mindful and calming, and we all need that!
7 Limit your news access and even social media. You can block people for 30 days, or simply move to another social media form – Instagram or I’m enjoying Twitter (@Tomallencomedy has a one minute daily video which is hilarious, also Noel Fielding @noelfielding11)
8 Routine, now I don’t enjoy establishing routines, but actually the kids are better when they are in place. So even if simply set around food or exercise – or school work this can really help. It can then change to help kids identify the weekend and school holidays!
9 washing hands – endlessly! My 9 year old daughter had red raw hands and so she now uses a lovely Aveena handcream and it’s made such a difference. She doesn’t seem to then do something that requires handwashing immediately after application – unlike me (why does this happen!).
10 Find time for play, whether with the kitten (who is fed up of us disturbing her!), children,
11 I love doing art and drawing – my daughter has even published 2 “Creative Cat” books on amazon. Mindfulness colouring or drawing or finding a 30 day art/ drawing challenge can bring a bit of calm and positivity to a day. PS Carys is even working on an Easter version! I’d recommend separate colouring books to keep your art less “scrawly” if it stresses you! Try and find something creative or mindful to do every day. I love mandalas and pencils
12 Create a “Wish list” jar – pop in notes with all the things you want to do when the lockdown ends. Mine so far are hug my parents, eat fish and chips, go to the beach, rebook our holiday, get a dog!
13 Stay safe – we’ll get through this together. In some timeline we are already through this situation and I doubt our lives will ever be the same again. What changes will you make from these circumstances? I will buy more responsibly, aim to exercise more and be grateful for freedoms of being able to go where I like everyday (even in the rain).
