As a self-proclaimed self-care queen, you wouldn’t be crazy for assuming that an indefinite period of time trapped in the comfort of my own home would be a circumstance that I’d long dreamt of. And of course, there’s some truth to that! Since finishing uni and for the first time, having to balance a 9-5 with family time, my relationship and the shadow of my former social life, not a single day has passed where I haven’t wished I’d found that extra 15 minutes to do something else.

But up until now, isolation and the emotions that it has thrust upon me has left me at times, feeling as though I’ve just dived off a platform to glance behind me and panic at the lack of bungee cord, to then look forwards again, anticipating sudden collision with the world when in fact I’m free-falling into an empty space of nothingness. I’m relieved that I’m safe for now but the anxiety that it could all change in the blink of an eye leaves me feeling on edge.

The abundance of time that many of us now find on our hands is tricky to figure out how to use wisely. The reminder that isolation ‘isn’t a productivity contest’ is plastered all over social media right now as a warming reminder that if getting out of bed is all you can muster the motivation to do today, then that’s okay. Some of us thrive with structure and need routine and to do lists to make it through the day in one piece, while others enjoy the lack of pressure allowing them to do exactly what they want, when they feel able to do it.

I’m someone who is a mixture of both. This is my sixth week in isolation and it’s only in the last 24 hours that my creative senses have began to tingle. At the beginning, I found it much harder than I’d expected, to know how to fill my days. But a couple of weeks in and I was slowly allowing myself to come to terms with the fact that if you wake up some days and just can’t be arsed, that’s okay - you haven’t failed isolation! I then came up with an achievable system to give myself an optimum balance of focus and escapism, which so far is working.

Every day, I set myself three tasks (yes - just three!). They can be as small as making my bed or washing my hair, or bigger tasks like reorganising my wardrobe or going shopping and making dinner. I mix in tasks that I want to do (like reading, blogging or watching a film) with tasks that I need to do (like changing my bedding or vacuuming), this way, my ‘wants’ can be a reward for doing my ‘needs’ and I can go to bed of an evening feeling accomplished.

Some days I complete all three tasks, some days I manage to do a couple of extras and other days, I barely manage to even get out of my jim-jams. But so what... life is all about balance!

ANYWAY…

This is all just an incredibly long-winded way of announcing my new project with you! ‘MIND, BODY AND SOUL’ will be my new monthly blog where I will share all of my favourite methods of self-care which I have tried and tested during the last month, to help those struggling with ideas of how to fill all this time. And yes, you guessed it… I will be sharing ideas of how you can care for your mind, your body and your soul.

Keep your eyes peeled for April’s edition coming next week - "Baby pink hair and lavender tea..."

​

Charlotte x