
9 Things you’d wish you did when the lockdown is over
Are you tired of the lockdown yet? Do you know what I think? I think that no matter how long this lockdown takes, a time will come when you will look back and wish you made better use of this time if you have not started doing so. Not everyone is tired of the lockdown. Some people are taking advantage of what we may consider a once in a lifetime opportunity. There has been an over-emphasis on the family bonding advantage this period avails those who are with their families. In addition to that, I compiled a list of other activities you may wish you did or did a lot of when the lockdown is over:
Sleep: “Sleep?”. “Did you say sleep? We have been sleeping all these while and we are tired of sleeping”. Well, not everyone has been sleeping. Some people are so overwhelmed with working from home, caring for kids, cooking, cleaning, worrying, etc. that they are not creating enough time to get quality sleep. When the hustle and bustle resumes, you will wish you got a lot more time to sleep. So, create time for extra hours of sleep and do not feel guilty doing it.
Clean and re-arrange your space: Imagine staying home for 6 weeks and realizing your wardrobe is still as disorganized as it was at the beginning of the lockdown and all these while you have been screaming “I’m bored”. You should try re-arranging your kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, drawers, living, and bedroom, basement, even giving your car a thorough COVID-19 extermination wash. You would wish you spent your free time doing any of these when the lockdown is over.
Manage your phone space and storage: If you find yourself on many chat groups, chances are your phone has many unwanted videos and pictures. Also, if you take a lot of pictures or screengrabs with your phone, now is the time to take some hours to delete unwanted media. Dedicate 15- 30 mins a day to make it easier if you have a lot. Another thing that needs clearing is your email inboxes! Recently, my Gmail storage got exhausted and I had to subscribe to the cloud for extra storage. To think the major culprit is unnecessary email correspondences from websites and stores I visited in the past. Go to the bottom of each email and unsubscribe/opt-out from the notifications you no longer need. See the image below.
Explore possible hidden talents: There are skills you have always felt you could improve on or even acquire if you had the luxury of time. Like baking, cooking a particular delicacy, drawing, painting, sewing, writing, learning to play a musical instrument, singing, or even acting! You can take this time to explore and you will be shocked at how skilled you are! When the lockdown is over, this skill could become a major source of income for you and if not anything, you would have passed time while having fun creating memories.
Exercise: There has been a prediction that after the lockdown, so many people will develop bone/joint-related ailments. This is because the movement that involves our body parts and joints has generally reduced. Now is a good time to exercise or take occasional walks. It’s also a good time to burn the extra calories you’ve been looking to get off. I saw a joke recently, it read “we expect three types of people after the lockdown, people who lost weight, people who gained weight and people who are expecting babies!” Haha, choose your geng*.
Strategize: There’re many changes you have had the intention of making for a while now. It could be in your life, relationships, business, education, career, etc. But life has been moving so fast so much you have never really had time to plan and strategize on your next line of action. Now is the time to do that. Write your business plan, choose your business name, edit your resume. If you don’t, you may look back months from now and wish you took advantage of the lockdown.
Rest: It is easy to mistake rest with sleep. Although both are interconnected, they are different. Have you ever slept for 8 hours only to wake up not feeling well-rested? Yes, that’s because rest is not just about when we sleep. Rest is a state of being that nourishes our mind, body, and soul. Being in a state of rest takes deliberate effort. It means stopping all physical activities while making a conscious effort to declutter your mind and nourish your soul. One common way to rest is to lie on your bed doing nothing. You are not sleeping, and you try not to think about anything especially negative things, this helps declutter your mind.
Enrich your mind: You can achieve this by reading new books and watching good movies. Now is a good time to read all the books that have been recommended to you over the past few months or years. You will be glad you did when the lockdown is over. And for those who love movies, need I say more?
Nourish your spirit: If you are a spiritual person, now is the time to invest quality time in prayers and meditation. Imagine 6 weeks is over and you have not bothered to spend quality time praying, fasting, or meditating during a lockdown that kept you at home for a stretch 6 weeks? Everything about you needs to be replenished, your body, your soul, and most importantly, your spirit.
I am sure there are many more points, feel free to add them in the comment section below.
Thanks for reading and remember to share.
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For me, it has to be enriching my mind, strategizing and nourishing my spirit.
Way to go Samuel! You got this.
Nice write up ,I wish I was doing any of this
Thank you. And it’s not too late to start. One step at a time. You got this.
It has been self development and getting my products out there amidst taking care of my children.
Way to go!