Thursday 16th July: About six weeks after finishing university forever.
With no assignments and deadlines resting heavily on my shoulders, I was convinced I'd be living the life of luxury. Knowing that the current job market was pretty much non-existent, I'll admit I was excited to finally chill out a bit and watch Netflix series and nap until my heart's content.
But no matter how many memes and TikTok's I saw of people falling asleep at 6am and watching countless TV series, I couldn't help but feel that this part of life had been romanticised. At least for me, anyway. For so long I thought that I knew myself and was adamant that I loved being lazy and craved nothing more than having no plans. Within two weeks I had cried enough tears over Thirteen Reasons Why and watched enough YouTube conspiracy theory videos that I began questioning my own being.
The novelty had worn off and I became desperate for some kind of structure and purpose in my life again.
Whilst the lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease, I haven't got a group of friends who I can run down the road to be with at the moment. Of course, my university friends have all returned to their part of the country, and my friends from home are actually anything but that...they're either across the UK or across the world right now. Obviously I have a car and I can still visit those in the country, but I didn't want to rely on others to feel positive and productive. I wanted to create a routine for myself so that I was making the most of my time and my mental health would stop struggling.
Listed below is a basic outline of how I spend my days Monday-Friday. On Sundays, I do try and plan my week using the sighh weekly planner, just so I know where I am and what I have to do in the week.*
Waking up, obvs:
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Throughout the week I usually wake up between 8am-10am. Of course this depends on how I've slept the night before and what I have planned on the day I get up, but I find the mornings I wake up earlier I tend to feel more positive and productive.
Breakfast:
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I'll be honest, I'm not a huge lover of breakfast. I'd be quite happy having a cup of coffee and waiting until 1pm to eat...promoting that healthy diet, of course. But I've got into a routine of working out every morning so I've learnt, the hard way, that a mug of Nespresso doesn't give me enough energy for a half hour HIIT session. I usually just have a couple of Weetabix, bowl of fruit or a piece of toast, because who really has the time for an IG worthy açaí bowl??
Exercise:
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After coming to terms with the fact that my lockdown weight gain won't disappear on it's own, I signed up to the Shreddy app and started doing their 20min quick fire home workouts every day. As much as I love working out I do like to get it done, so once my poor attempt of breakfast is ate and my dog is walked, I manage to drag myself into the garden for 20 mins of burpee and jump squat hell.
I was a member of Shreddy once before in October and saw the results I wished for (have I put the weight on since? mind ur business x) so if you're looking for the push to sign up, here it is!
Sit at my laptop for a few hours:
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Working out and showering always makes me feel a lil bit more alive, so afterwards I'll sit at my laptop until about 3pm. With no real work to do at the moment, sitting at my laptop every day really isn't an intense process unless I'm doing one of those Google Digital Garage courses. I usually just spend these hours scrolling through my Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn (how adult), reading other people's blogs for inspo and searching through every job website to exist:) If, like myself, you are also searching for jobs please remember the current situation of the country. It might take a few weeks or months longer than expected, but we'll all get there and start our career paths eventually.
Chill:
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Once I've received the self validation that I haven't completely wasted a day, I'll then sit n chill for a few hours. Unless its a trashy reality TV series (how many times can I mention RHOBH) it's rare for me to sit in front of Netflix for hours. For the rest of the day I'll either be napping, reading or playing animal crossing.
Cook:
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Before I completely relax for the evening, I like to cook for my family pretty much every evening. My brother is still doing school work & both my parents work, so it's only fair I cook for everyone when I've done a huge lot of nothing all day. A few of my favourites are garlic chicken, enchiladas and curry.
* I would just like to say that to say that not every day goes as I originally plan it. Take today for example, I currently have a stomach bug and have absolutely no desire to work out or job hunt...I will be spending the rest of the day in bed. The most important thing for me is listening to my mind and body, acknowledging when I feel the most productive and ensuring I always look after myself. (And if you have absolutely no desire to have a routine and live for the days you sit in front of your TV? You do you)
