Lockdown isn’t over entirely, but things have eased up and we’re in what I like to call “Lockdown Limbo”. We go out, we see friends, but it’s a bit weird when we don’t know how to say hello to each other without hugging and we attempt to socially distance whilst still being sociable. It’s a bit tricky really.
But the bulk of lockdown is over, at least for the timebeing. (Fingers crossed we don’t get a second wave, kids.) And it got me thinking about how I’ve changed as a person since BoJo enforced staying at home back on 23rd March 2020. Because there have definitely been a few revelations and learnings over the last 4 months.
What I Learned From Lockdown 2020
I can save money quite easily when I want to
In the pre-COVID world, I pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck. We were fine for money and y’know in a comfortable situation all round, but there was no money left at the end of the month. I actually made it one of my goals for 2020 to pay off our credit card so that in 2021 we could start saving for our eventual wedding. But to be honest, I didn’t really know how to do that.
Enter lockdown 2020.
Josh was put on furlough and I had reduced pay (even though I was working full time), so we were both on 80% of our normal salaries. But somehow, we managed to SAVE money during this time. I expected things would be tight financially but without buying coffees and Pret lunches and beers down the pub with friends, we managed to completely pay off the credit card this month! It just goes to show that I can save money if I want to. (I also think manifestation helped but that’s another post.)
Most work can be done remotely
I think we’ve all come to this realisation during lockdown – most work CAN be done remotely. So many companies are anti-remote-working but I’m hoping that most will have come round to the idea after we’ve proved we can keep going throughout this pandemic. And let’s face it, it’s so much better for work/life balance.
Where you live is important
I am for sure a homebody (despite loving to travel). But normally my house is used as a base. I work all week and Indi is in childcare, so we just get a few hours there in the evening. And then at the weekends we see friends, go for coffees, go to the park… y’know normal stuff. Well, normal pre-COVID.
So when we were all house-bound, I kind of realised that where you live is actually really important. I mean for a start I had a toddler and no garden, which was an experience. It was fine when we could go to the park over the road, but when they were closed and we couldn’t venture further away, it was tough.
I also realised that what my space looks like, does affect my mood when I’m there all day. I think it’s why I became obsessed with house plants and bringing a bit of nature inside. That and attempting to decorate a little. It just matters that your house feels like a good space, y’know?
In uncertain times, I need comfort TV
I think it’s safe to say we’ve all watched more TV than usual throughout lockdown. And I say that as someone that watched a lot of TV to begin with. But what I noticed is that when coronavirus was at its peak, I just couldn’t start anything new. And I couldn’t watch anything a bit stressful. Y’know like thrillers, murder mysteries, and the like.
Sure if there was a new season of something I’d already watched, like The Politician or RuPaul’s Drag Race, I’d watch it. But I spent most of my TV-viewing time watching what I like to call “Comfort TV”. It’s the shows I’ve watched a million times like Gilmore Girls, The Good Place or The (US) Office that kept me going. Easy-to-watch comedies where I know what’s going to happen (maybe it was because it was the total opposite of the pandemic where we had no idea what would happen?)
Getting outside is important to my mental health
I’m not great at exercise. And I very rarely go outside unless I have to. But during lockdown, when we were allowed an hour outside each day, I made full use of it so I could take Indi round the block. And honestly, it made such a difference to my mood. Just going out for that hour of walking and breathing in the fresh air made all the difference to my day.
Since Indi went back to childcare, I haven’t been doing the walks and I can see the difference. I’m trying to get back into taking those walks each day, even if it’s only for 20 minutes, because I think it makes a big improvement to my mental health.
Social media is powerful
We’ve seen some pretty massive social movements throughout lockdown, all whilst we stayed at home, using the power of social media. The biggest of course was the wave of support for Black Lives Matter following the death of George Floyd. And although the visible support has subsided since, I sincerely hope some changes have been made for the better. Personally I’ve looked at how I’m raising my daughter through the lens of BLM and made changes to her toys and books to reflect lots of different ethnicities and religions. But I’ve also seen businesses and brands take important action, which kinda shows how effective social media can be. Let’s also not forget that Markus Rashford got summer holiday meals for kids in poverty via the power of Twitter. Got BoJo u-turning and everything.
The Nintendo Switch was a good purchase
I bought the Nintendo Switch for Josh for Christmas last year and had no intention of using it, except for the odd festive MarioKart sesh (I’m not very good at it). Then lockdown arrived, I downloaded Animal Crossing and promptly got obsessed. I’ve not gone a day without playing it since I bought it back in April, and it is now how I wind down for half an hour post-Indi’s bedtime. It was definitely a good purchase (even though Josh doesn’t get a look-in now…)
How to make the most amazing cookies
Like the rest of the world I took up baking in that first section of lockdown (is it just me that identifies which section of lockdown we were in by what activity was taking the world by storm?). I baked banana bread which was a la mode at the time, then brownies and shortbread. But the creme de la creme of my month of baking was these insane chop chip hazlenut cookies I made using a recipe from The Anna Edit.
By far the best thing I’ve ever made and will now be my go-to thing to bake.
DIY is not as hard as you think
I’m so proud of myself for learning a bit of DIY during lockdown. My dad normally helps us out with putting shelves up and all that jazz, but I stepped up and learned how to do it myself. Well, with my dad on video call! But I can officially use a drill and put up shelves and I am basically a strong, independant woman that can do anything. And y’know what, it’s not actually that hard.
I’ve also attempted painting walls and love how much my house feels like a home now! Which is good, because I spend a lot of time in it…
But purple hair is near-impossible
Oh yes, there’s my other lockdown project – dying my hair pastel purple. I thought fuck it, I’m not seeing anyone, let’s just go for it and bleach my whole head, what could go wrong? Well, a lot actually. I messed it up a bit, spent a month using toners and purple shampoos to get the yellow tones out, before dying it a whopping 6 times to try and achieve the lilac hues of dreams. I didn’t ~quite~ get there. I got close, but the dye just wouldn’t stick to the ends, which just weren’t light enough.
It also washed out very quickly, so I’ve moved on to experiment with different colours… what shall I do next? Silver? Pink? Peach? The possibilities are endless.
Ok that’s all I can think of for now, but I’m sure there’s more. It’s been quite an eye-opening experience this lockdown thing, huh? Are there any lessons you’ve learned during lockdown 2020?
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