Well it has been over a month now and I am keen to see how we are all doing. Have we all pretended to have Covid-19 symptoms just so we can legitimately sit in a bedroom on our own and not have to interact with family? Have we all manically planted 30 tomato plants, 40 runner beans and a cauliflower? Have you accidentally patted your neighbour’s dog and had to run inside to scrub the skin off your hand?
Yup times are tough, hard and occasionally impossible to bear but it seems, according to the stats, that we are doing it, staying in and saving lives, so well done to us all.
Last month I mentioned a whole heap of things we could all do and get involved with and I really hope you gave some of them a go. I have done many things on the list: I am still watching the birds, my boyfriend has played some live DJ sets through LiveSet and I still speak to Lauren next door but I think we might be ready for a few more ideas.
One thing that I struggle to do is get up pre-9am. Why bother? Get up to go to the sofa and do what? I normally have a 30 minute morning routine: up, shower, dress, hair and make up, coffee to go, head to the train station, Virgin Radio and Chris Evans keeping me company. Simples.
Not so simple when you don’t need to have a shower, get dressed, do your hair, put make up on and it’s already too late for Chris Evans…..I noticed myself slipping further and further into a frame of mind of ‘get up and do what?’ and I really felt like re-establishing a new morning routine would help me. That is when ‘Fabulous!’ appeared.
It’s a phone-based app with simple life hacks, tricks and suggestions to get you up, out of bed and achieving immediately. It starts simply, for the first three days all you have to do is get up and drink water. Make that the first thing you do. You can drink your water whilst you wait for your coffee to ‘perk’ but whatever you do drink water first, for three days, then we’ll add another task.
It seemed so stupid, too easy; I can smash that – so I did.
Then it added breakfast. Drink water have breakfast for 3 days.
It seemed so stupid, too easy; I reckon I can smash both of these – so I did.
Then it added a third – exercise.
Now we are talking. I am hydrated and I have fuelled up with breakfast. I reckon I can do this one too – so I did.
Every few days the app introduces a new ‘habit’ and they are so quick, simple, easy and achievable. It seems silly not to do them but now when you add them all up I have a new 30 minute morning routine all because of this clever, lead you down the ‘healthy path of life’ app.
So how do I feel now that I do all these many little things, every morning, regularly?
Well I feel Fabulous of course.
So I am up, hydrated, stretched out, exercise under my belt – let’s engage the brain. I feel happy as I have just completed my morning routine, made healthy choices and achieved things already. What else can make me happy in these tough times.
Yale University are currently offering a free course via Coursera called ‘The Science of Wellbeing’. It’s a 10 week course. Each week consists of a total of approximately 3 hours of lectures, reading and journaling with a 6-8 question test at the end of each week. It dispels myths around what will make you happy, teaches (and proves to you) what really will make you happy and if you pass each week, at the end of the ten week course, for just £39, you can have a certificate from Yale stating you completed their course.
Now that would definitely make me happy.
Stay home, stay safe, (try to) stay sane.
Useful Links
If you missed the last blog you can check it out here.
This tells you all about Fabulous
Click here to check out Yale’s courses on Coursera