As Aberdeen enters lockdown 2.0, I have started to question if we are living through Groundhog Day? Every new day feels as if it has been copied and pasted from the day before. I wake up, get ready and commute through to my spare bedroom for what feels like my 1000th trip on the ‘corona-coaster’.
If I transport myself back to March when the initial lockdown began, I had big plans. The washing basket was never going to be full, my to-do-list was going to be non-existent, and I was finally going to fix the pesky bathroom lock. It wasn’t long before I hit a wall, and I’ve been stagnant ever since. Motivation is low, and I have found myself longing for some normality.
While searching for ways to increase my productivity, I came across the trend of waking up excruciatingly early. A quick search on YouTube sent me down a rabbit hole of ‘4 AM morning routines.’ These clips portray an almost perfect morning filled with workouts, meditation, catching up on work and even a full face of makeup all before the sun rises.
It’s not only YouTubers who are advocating that early mornings are the key to getting that to-do-list ticked off. It has been an ongoing trend amongst CEO’s, business owners and those we look upon to measure our own success. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, rises from his slumber at 03:45 every day to answer emails. For a split second, I considered hopping on the bandwagon. I soon realised it’s nothing short of a miracle if I wake up to my usual alarm, never mind one which I would consider being the middle of the night.
If like me, you find yourself feeling guilty about not ticking off that to-do-list or fixing the bathroom lock, it’s time to be kinder to yourself. We’ve all been through a lot. Working from home isn’t easy, and there isn’t anything overly inspiring about staring at the same four walls painted in cotton breeze every day.
A method that can be helpful when the ‘corona-coaster’ reaches its incline is to concentrate on the 321 model:
- List three things you’re great at
- List two things you want to develop
- List one thing you promise to do
Using this framework to reorganise your thoughts is both a positive and actionable way to put things into perspective and celebrate what you have accomplished.
These really are unthinkable times. Our journey on this ride will end eventually and just like Aberdeen’s looping star, there will be some spirals, drops and declines along the way. Until normality resumes, take a break, appreciate the small wins and be kind to yourself – we’re all in this together.
