Bored AF? I wouldn’t call it boredom, but I’m not really in the mood for planning trips or big events. While some of my friends or the people I follow on Social Media are thinking about where to travel when confinement is over and we are free to fly, I struggle to picture myself in a crowded touristic spot. I am not the only one, right?
We were practising social isolation even before the UK was placed in a lock-down, leaving the house only for the essential and not meeting any of our friends. You see, while, in the UK, things were quiet, deaths by Covid-19 in Spain were growing at alarming rates. With all my family and friends in lockdown, we got very concerned. In a matter of days, I went into panic mode and started to cancel all our travel plans and get ready for isolation.
I was meaning to take my time off work and in confinement to update this blog with fresh new content. I had run out of excuses not to blog about my trips. However, reality hit hard. Once I had all the time in the world to blog, I felt like there was nothing I felt like sharing. The closest I’ve done is to update an Instagram story a day. I’ve saved them all stories in a highlight called it ‘Lockdown diaries‘. Yes, I’m super original!
So, the first thing I’m going to do is….
To actually update my blog more often
Yes, I really want to create a content calendar, with some planning on what I’m going to write, some nice images, etc. All I need is to stick to the plan once I’m back to work. I always struggle to find the energy and the time to blog after a day of work. However, I really miss blogging. I used to blog in my early 20s and I totally abandoned it for Facebook and, more recently Instagram.
I also recently got rid of my Spanish Twitter account. I love reading about politics, but Twitter is a hateful place and I’m not really in the mood for those visceral tweets that make me angry. Is it just I or Twitter is full or resentful people? With Twitter gone, I’ve got less time for memes and more for blogging. Yay!
To go for a walk every single day
One of the perks of living in Macclesfield is the number of amazing paths and natural areas. You don’t even need to drive; there are lovely path walks just about 5 minutes from our home. I’m often too tired or too lazy to go for a walk after work and I’m definitely not a morning person.
Nevertheless, I’ve been going out for a walk or a run almost every day for the last month and I’ve loved having some time not to think about anything, away from my iPhone, iPad, computer or the telly.
Besides the walks, I’ve been doing some 5-10 minute video workouts at home and playing with my old Wii Fit. If you’ve known me for more than two minutes, you must have realised I’m not the most active person. This is precisely why I want to keep a routine.
To read more books (and to watch less Netflix)
Back when I was living in Madrid, I used to devour books. I remember reading on my way to uni and then, back at home, keep reading for hours. Then, when I moved to the UK, I moved to study English on those gaps and I, somehow, lost the habit of reading before bed. I blame it on Netflix.
When I’m tired, I tend to consume easy content (this is, re-watched movies or series), rather than reading a book, which requires more energy, especially when I read books in English and I’m tired. Still, when I travel, I always carry a book or my kindle. In the last two or three years. Being off work, I’ve used my free time to catch up with my readings and I’m absolutely obsessed with Patria, a story about two families antagonised because of the Basque conflict.
To spend some quality time with my family and friends
I’m all about travelling to see my family, but living in another country means than we often have to decide whether we go to visit my family, my in-laws (on the other side of Spain), or we go on holiday somewhere else. It’s tricky and we sometimes feel guilty we cannot spend as much time as we’d like with family and friends.
For once, I’m absolutely looking forward to spending some time with my family and relaxing with a glass of Toro red wine. Video-calls with my friends aren’t the same as face-to-face, especially if all they’ve done for the last 45 days is staying at home. I had two family trips planned before the lockdown was enforced, so we can always travel and enjoy each others’ company when it’s allowed.
So, these are the for top things in my list. If we can get something good of this nightmare that’s the Covid-19 pandemic is that most of the things we are worried about (eg. having a new car, cool furniture, stylish clothes, the latest iPhone…) aren’t really that important.
What do you plan to do when confinement is over?
No Comment