Live your life on lock-down!

Posted by Mark Woo | MAR-26-2020

We are only a few days into the UK’s “lock-down” and already we are seeing government advice being ignored and members of the public refusing to see how devastating this pandemic will be if we don’t all just do as we’re told! The measures put in place have been laid down to protect the public and save lives. The government are using terminology and language formerly used only during wartime. This is serious people! The message is clear:

“STAY HOME”.

At GPD HQ (currently the dining table), we are finding this a particularly difficult time on all levels. We were due to marry in Croatia this May, but this crisis has meant we had to postpone indefinitely. The subsequent stag and hen trips have been cancelled and equally, we are finding it difficult to make any concrete plan for the business with the ever-changing landscape.

Now, more than ever, we are having to all pull together to find ways to stay positive, stay focused, and stay healthy. We’ve decided to share with you the actions we’re taking to survive lock-down!

Stick to a Good Routine

With the majority of our team working from home it’s tempting to have a lie in and take a detour from our regular routine. However, as any physiologist will tell you, routine is essential for us to be at our best. It gives us structure, keeps us in good habits, and helps us to stay focused on our goals.

Make a daily plan, setting yourself tasks that you want to achieve. During lock-down, it is important to find a balance - with a good mix of work-related task and other non-curricular activities to help you relax.

Plan your daily exercise, challenge yourself to take up a new hobby, do some DIY, or even sign up to some online learning. Time is something we now have in abundance, so we have a unique opportunity to broaden our knowledge/experience. Stick to timescales. Get up at the same time you normally would on Monday to Friday. Have your meals at the usual times and set a bedtime. Having enough sleep, a minimum of six hours per day, boosts your immune system up to 25%!

Eat Healthily

With the restaurants and pubs shut but “Just Eat” still going, it’s tempting to binge on our favourite take-away and although treating yourself will lift your mood temporarily, eating too much of foods that are high in fat and salt are ultimately damaging to health. Try making your own fake-away, let’s face it, we now have plenty of time to cook at home. Follow @theleancook on instagram for healthier versions of some of our favourites, like chicken biryani!

Now that we are only permitted to shop for essentials, plan your meals for a week. Plan your favourites for the weekend. This gives us something to look forward to, it’s the little things like this that will keep us going!

Being at home makes it difficult to avoid temptation so try to avoid filling your cupboards with biscuits, snacks and treats. Prepare a fruit platter that you can attack throughout the day and try to stick to your mealtimes.

Stay Active!

This is an obvious one and goes without saying, but with the likes of Joe Wicks, The Body Coach, providing PE lessons for the home schooled and some of our #TeamGPD influencers offering routines and advice to keep you going, there really is no excuse.

We are starting our “work” day with a circuit routine. Our friend Andy Pye at Trail Run West-Midlands is posting routines on his facebook page to keep you motivated with exercises to support your running, and while the weather is like this, you can even exercise in your garden. Who needs the gym?

We are still permitted (for now) to exercise outside once a day, so make the most of it whilst we still can. Walk, run, skip, jump or cycle, the choice is yours!

Stay Connected

Staying in touch with our family, friends and colleagues boosts our mental health and positivity. We’ve been having a daily catch up with our team using zoom, setting our daily tasks and most importantly just checking how everyone is feeling.

We’ve carried on with plans to socialise with friends and family from a safe distance using apps such as facetime, whatsapp and houseparty. If you’ve got a drink in your hand, it’s just like meeting at the pub but without the queue at the bar!

Plan for the Future

Remember, this isn’t forever! It will come to an end, so when it does, be ready!

Work-wise, we are putting together ideas for new products and services, and thinking how this may change our business model in the future. Planning helps us to stay focused and optimistic, there will be new opportunities that arise from this period.

Plan your social life. Fingers crossed, we will still have a few months of Summer left when this is all over, so plan trips with friends, plan BBQs, and for us, re-plan our wedding!

Plan your races. Maybe don’t book them right now, but put them in your diary. You can still tailor your training plan, indoor or out, focused around your A races. Having things to look forward to gives us a sense of hope, a reason to carry on doing the things we are doing.

Limit Exposure

We live in a time where we can access information 24/7. We’ve found ourselves watching hours of repeated news items, just in case we’ve missed anything! This only leads to heightened levels of anxiety.

Select a specific time of day to watch the news and add this to your routine. The daily press conference from the government provides us with all the latest updates to keep us safe.

Think of the positives

Like most of the Nation, we are saving approximately two hours per day by not having to commute into the office. With all of this extra time, just think what we can achieve?

As a result of this situation, our workplaces will change. We will see employers placing trust in their workforce, allowing remote working more frequently, this can only help to improve our work-life balance in the future.

People will talk more! We are so used to sending an email or message as we think it saves time, but we are embracing the face to face contact through the use of technology. We hope this continues past the pandemic.

Keep living

Just one final thought from us, remember that our lives are not on hold. We are still living.

Look after yourselves, and each other!

…oh and remember…wash your hands ;)

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