Lockdown Routine

Having a structured weekly routine is the one thing that I thought I definitely wouldn't miss since the lockdown was announced. I thought I would relish in the idea of having nothing set out and having the chance to just do whatever I felt like during the day. However, something which I have come to learn about myself is that I actually need routines in order to feel like I've had a productive day or in order to motivate me to begin anything in the first place. I've seen a couple other blog posts where people shared  their daily or weekly routines so I thought I'd share what I'd typically do in a lockdown day😄

7.30/8.00am - I like to start my day early(ish) so I set two alarms just incase I don't actually wake up when the first goes off. Most days I've been pretty good at waking up at 7.30. After I wake up I'll either sit with my guinea pig and watch something on Netflix or I'll read. Some days I just sit scrolling through my phone but this is something I want to try and not do as much. I like waking early so that I can spend a good amount of time in the morning just lazing around, and getting myself mentally prepared for the day ahead😄 However, between waking up and getting breakfast, I'm hoping to maybe start doing yoga or something, just so I can feel like I'm properly getting the day started.

9.00am - I wake up my brother so that we can go and have breakfast together. Recently my go-to breakfast has been Weetabix with chopped banana and some honey on top

9.30/10.00am - Round about this time is generally when I aim to begin some uni work. I've still got one assignment left plus I need to begin to think about what I might write my dissertation on so that I can sort out a dissertation proposal. It usually takes me ages to begin uni work though because I procrastinate and put it off. I've tried to not put so much stress on uni work just now though, so I've just been doing little bits at a time. One morning, on a day when the weather was nice, I took my laptop outside and worked on my assignment out the front of my house where the sun was shining and I actually got a fair bit done😄

*My dad was fixing my car which is why it's off the ground in this picture😄*

12.45/1.00pm - By about this time I make and eat lunch. My go-to lunch option at the moment has been bagels with hummus and chopped olives (sounds a little strange but I think it tastes good😄).

2.00pm - After lunch is usually the time where I'll either read or go for a walk. When the weather's nice, I like to read outside. On the days where I don't go for a walk, I've been trying to either draw, paint, play guitar guitar or bake (so far the best thing I've managed to bake has been peanut butter cookies - amazing!). Quite a few afternoons though have been spent rather unproductively (on my phone) which I try not to get too hung up on since it can be a little difficult to find the motivation to do things at times, especially when you can't actually leave the house to go anywhere.

4.00pm - By this time, my brother and I have been making iced coffees and watching YouTube. However, we've now been trying to limit ourselves to two iced coffees a week because I could feel a definite coffee addiction starting and I think it was also making my skin breakout (worth it though😄). On YouTube, we've been enjoying Emma Chamberlain's videos - newer and older ones.

5.00pm - Before dinner, I sometimes do a little more uni work or read or type up blog posts (I have so many drafts right now because I start posts and then end up not finishing them, but they'll get posted eventually I'm sure😄).

6.00pm - Dinner timeeee!

6.30pm - I sit with my guinea pig while either reading or scrolling through my phone or editing photos, sometimes watching some TV.

7.00pm - I do a kettlebell workout - one of my favourite forms of exercise. When the weather's nice, I like working out outside. I think I actually prefer working out outside.

8.00pm - Then I'll go for a bath or shower.

9.00pm - Most nights my family and I will get together to watch a movie. Recently we've been working our way through all of the X-Men movies which I've really been enjoying.

12.00am - Head to bed and try to get to sleep. I've been trying to remain strict with my sleep schedule because at the beginning of the lockdown I found myself not getting to sleep until after 3am every night and then sleeping in late which I don't really like doing because I like to feel as though I'm making the most of the whole day.

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This is what I aim for on my weekdays. When the weekend comes I don't specifically plan to do anything, I just see where the day takes me. Of course not every day goes according to what I plan to do but that's okay too. During this time I think it's important that you're just keeping yourself safe and happy - it really doesn't matter how you choose to spend your day.

Hope everyone is doing okay.

Bye for now, xo