“Careful what you wish for” should probably be my guiding mantra. After many days and evenings of fun with friends in previous weeks, I decided that I would make no plans for bank holiday Monday and stay indoors. I had a lovely time on the sofa, with the TV, books and biscuits* for company. I even found the inner peace to do a few lifemin tasks I’d been avoiding. Lovely.
* there was less biscuit ‘company’ towards the end of the day
However, I might have planned things differently if I’d known that I wouldn’t actually leave the flat again for the rest of the week, other than to empty the bin (big day, that was). Between work and the miserable end to August in London, I’ve had neither the time nor the desire to venture out.
Not that I haven’t been enjoying myself - it’s been a fun week on the freelance front, just a bit intense. I can see that I’m going to have to adjust my internal clock to join my colleagues on Central European Time - apart from struggling with the early start, I keep arsing up lunchtime. At exactly the time I’m thinking that it’s time for a little something, it’s time to start the afternoon’s meetings. This needs attention quickly. I didn’t leave corporate life so that I could continue to eat lunch over a computer keyboard.
On the subject of food, I’ve been making a game of trying to get the food in the flat to last the week, carefully monitoring levels of fresh veg and treats alike. But supplies are dwindling. As I type this, I am wondering whether lettuce would work as an alternative to spinach with spaghetti. Every day has been like an increasingly bizarre episode of Ready Steady Cook. Or worse.
Away from nutritional concerns, I need to keep an eye on my back (is that physically possible?) and being largely motionless all day is not ideal. Like an enormous number of WFHers last year, I tried to combat the sedentary hours of bad posture with jogging - until I finally overdid it and injured myself. I’ve made time to get the yoga mat out this week but it’s not exactly aerobically effective, is it?
However, an early start means an early finish. So if I can just sort out my bodyclock, and get over my aversion to grey skies, there’s still a couple of hours of daylight available in which to burn some calories off. All I need to do is find a low-impact form of exercise that isn’t swimming. (Because swimming is a faff. Not even the combined power of the Olympics and Paralympics can make me want to get in the pool.)
What’s odd is that all of this harks back to Lockdown 1 - finding ways to build activity into our days. I was actually pretty good at it then, even though I was still in full-time employment and my workload was bonkers. I allotted myself specific breaks and forced myself out of the house. So, why, now that I am master of my own destiny, is my self-care slipping? I have a list of potential reasons:
I have lost the art of creating a routine
I am still subconsciously rebelling against routine
I hate going outside in the cold
Well, I better get to the bottom of it quickly. Soon it will be dark by mid-afternoon and then what? Joe Wicks workouts in the lounge? Actually, I think I just found the motivation to go outside....
Main photo by Erda Estremera via Unsplash
Give these a spin
Rather than continue to witter on about the perils of my new indoor life, I thought I’d recommend some lovely/clever/useful newsletters I’ve discovered recently.
Flow State
Need some new noises to work to? Try Flow State - several times a week the writers recommend instrumental albums by lesser known artists. They provide links to listen on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and Tidal - one click and you’re away. So far my absolute fave has been Büşra Kayıkçı, a Turkish pianist and composer based in Istanbul. (She’s also an architect and a painter - some people, eh?) Not every suggestion has gone straight to the top of my playlist (I have a low jazz threshold) but all recommendations are guaranteed to be non-distracting.
What Happened Last Week
Ever struggle to keep up with world news? Ever feel ashamed to admit that you don’t really understand what’s going on? Or think that you’ve missed something crucial but now it’s too late to ask? Berlin-based journalist Sham Jaff has got your back. Her easy-reading, friendly and entertaining digest explains the most important stories without patronising readers. Accurately described as “for people who would like to read the New York Times but don't”, it’s ideal for anyone who, like me, has almost given up on reading the news recently because it’s all got a bit much.
Eat Voraciously
The holy grail of recipe emails: daily dishes that guide you out of your comfort zone but that, crucially, are easy to assemble and won’t require you to buy much. (Unless you’ve been, for example, under self-imposed house arrest for a week. Ahem.) Voraciously is the Washington Post’s food website but, as you may or may not know, the Washington Post has a paywall that caps free browsing at just a couple of articles per month. However, the email newsletter is completely free and includes all the information you need.
Photos by KOBU Agency, Subhash Nusetti and Fidel Fernando via Unsplash
Stationery corner
This one’s for all my writing chums