Lockdown 2.0: 7 lessons from the first one to put into practice now

As I am writing this, several European countries have officially announced their second lockdown. Although we all expected it, the news still came as a bit of a shock. You’d think that by now we’d have all got the hang of it, but to be fair, the first lockdown does seem like a distant memory.

But still, this time we’ve got a clear advantage compared to the first one - we’ve already been there before!

So it’s time to learn the lessons from our not so distant past to make this second lockdown a little more bearable. Here are some of the lessons I learned last time around which I intend to put into action for the second lockdown.

Lesson 1: Not planning is planning to fail

This is the story of my life. I am very impulsive and I hate planning though I know it’s something I need to work on. This is especially true during confinement. Unless you prepare and put plans into place, next thing you know, you’d have spent 3 months locked down at home with no control over your days.

I am not talking about making crazy unrealistic plans, but at least be in better control of our time. Some practical things we can implement easily include creating weekly goals, daily journaling or even starting an accountability group with friends to make sure you keep each other in check.

But remember, don’t put- too much pressure on yourself and most importantly don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s.

Lesson 2: if you don’t make time for yourself, nobody will

Let me start by addressing a massive misconception about life in lockdown: the idea that you need to over socialize. In my case, the first lockdown was spent over-communicating to the point that I didn’t carve out time for myself.

Between Zoom calls, WhatsApp, Instagram, emails I drowned under a sea of messages and calls. I hit a communication overload. Don’t get me wrong, I love keeping in touch with my friends and family but still. Like everything in life, balance is key.

I think it’s important we all make sure to consistently keep a few hours of our days to ourselves. Be it for relaxation, podcast listening, reading, or whatever activity works best for us. In my case mornings are mine, I try to wake up early to make the most out of this time to be alone and focus on me.

Lesson 3: MINDFUL NETFLIX WATCHING

More and more I think there should be an option on Netflix to lock your account once you’ve exceeded your daily allowance. Netflix can be a real-time waster if not used wisely. Restricting yourself to a number of movies or episodes of your favourite show per week will be a real lifesaver for this lockdown.

Here are some other tricks to help you be more conscious about how you are using Netflix:

Choose the show before going on Netflix. We are all guilty of spending more time looking for shows rather than watching them. Picking your movie in advance can prevent this, and save you a lot of tie.
Don’t just follow Netflix’s suggestions. Try and think about what you really want to watch. Select the shows you want to watch mindfully. Make sure to pick movies that won’t negatively impact your mental health, especially now.
Remember you are the one in control of Netflix, not the opposite

Of course, don’t get me wrong I am all for watching some Christmas movies on a chilly evening. It usually gets ugly when one movie turns into an entire day in front of the TV. Instead, this time can be used for self-care, or to disconnect altogether.

Lesson 4: Thinking confinement will change

As I am writing this I feel like such a party pooper but let me explained. Most of us probably told ourselves in the first confinement that by the end of it we’d have totally reinvented ourselves.

If anyone reading this blog post actually did, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to be proven wrong.

But basically, if you hadn’t written a book, or started your own company by the end of the confinement it felt like you had totally failed at life. The thing is, even though confinement means more time at home, it doesn’t have a direct impact on our level of productivity. So, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. We are all going through a lot right now.

As much as I am all for planning and trying to make the most of our days, as per lesson number one, I also don’t believe confinement will magically change us.

Lesson 5: News fatigue is real

Watching the news during the first confinement was a huge mistake. Let me repeat it for those you at the back, it was a HUGEE mistake. The more I watched the news the more anxious I got. Staying away from the news altogether is a must during your time at home. Instead, I replaced news with podcasts, books, music.

Lesson 6: Maintaining a work-life balance is everything

If you are fortunate enough to still work during the confinement, this is a big one. I was lucky enough to work from home, however, one thing I noticed was that I struggled to draw the line between work and time out of work. Because your home turns into your office it can be tough to switch off. I also felt like booking time off work to stay home was a waste when actually this is quite the opposite.

During the first confinement, I took close to zero holidays. This time around I intend to try and be more mindful of taking some time off here and there to allow myself to rest and relax. I am also committed to not overworking myself and learn to call it a day when it’s time to stop.

Lessons 7: stop Focusing on the things we can’t control

During the first confinement, many of us focused on all the things we couldn’t do whilst at home. But what if instead we focused on all the things we actually had control over. Or even the things we are not missing out on like taking public transport, spending hours commuting to work, etc.

Confinement can be a great opportunity for introspection, time alone and for and foremost to learn to be grateful for what we have instead of dwelling on the things we can’t change.

Stay safe!