After spending so much time inside, the idea of returning to normality might seem intimidating. Luckily, there are plenty of changes you can make to your day-to-day routine that will help you build confidence so you can re-enter the world ready to live your best life. Terry Sidford offers a few of her own.
Diet
You’ll be amazed at how quickly a change in diet can affect both mind and body. An inclusion of healthy food in your daily intake can reduce mood fluctuations, according to Aetna, and can even help with depression and anxiety. If you’re getting back into the habit of exercise, then it’s worth coupling your workouts with energy-sufficient foods like bananas, eggs, or avocados. Not only will the food itself help improve your general health, but cooking is a constructive skill and has destressing benefits after a long day.
Exercise
It’s not always easy to get back up and onto the treadmill after so long spent indoors but, if you exercise smart, you can build your way up to exercising hard. Les Mills points out that the key is starting with small changes like parking a little further away after work or beginning the day with a few push-ups. With a baseline of discipline, you can then begin to add some heavier cardio and eventually some core workouts. If you’re comfortable with the risk, many find that a gym membership helps spur them into taking action with their fitness - you can find one locally using an online directory.
Another possibility is creating a home gym, outfitted with some basic equipment like resistance bands and weights. Whether you have your home gym in a spare bedroom, the basement, or a space in your garage, be sure to let in as much natural light as possible, which does a lot toward optimizing a positive workout environment. This will require keeping the windows clean, so search online for “best window washers near me” and use Angi.com to read up on customer reviews and get a few quotes on costs. The average fee for window cleaning is $2 to $7 per windowpane.
Relaxation
After enough time spent indoors, anyone would begin to feel a little stressed and neurotic. That’s why it’s worth setting aside some time to focus on relaxation and re-discovering your center. The methods for doing this are not always so conventional - if you don’t vibe with yoga or meditation, you could try one of many different therapies available (e.g., art therapy, sand tray therapy) or mindfulness techniques to help combat the negative effects of constant exposure to screens/social media.
Career
Often, a major source of our stress is the workplace. If you’re so busy trying to keep on top of deadlines, it can be difficult keeping up self-care too. But the truth is, many of the major stressors are not entirely necessary and can be helped through tougher negotiations with our line managers or, if you are a manager, changes to your team dynamic. Wherever you are in the company hierarchy, it’s important to know your limits, give yourself time off and enjoy vacation days when they’re available.
In some cases, the problem is endemic to the job itself. It makes sense that so many of us end up in roles that we feel we’re unsuited for - if this comes at a serious detriment to your day-to-day wellbeing, then you may need to consider a change in career entirely. Doing this can mean starting again from the bottom of the ladder or even studying for new qualifications. If you’re unsure of where to start, try looking at the available courses online - many of these can be taken remotely and are free or at a reduced cost due to the pandemic.
Surprisingly, a return to normality is making many of us feel incredibly anxious. If you’re someone who is suffering from post-lockdown anxiety, don’t worry - you’re not alone and, with a few minor tweaks to your daily routine, there’s no reason why things can’t get better fast.
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Speaker, Author and Professional Coach Terry Sidford encourages you to give yourself permission to tell your own story, stand tall, be proud, lead with confidence and not feel alone. Contact Terry today!