Day 1 - Monday, 23 March 2020
Today, as Australia is going into lockdown, it’s time for us to embrace the change in our social life and the opportunities that come with it. Times like these force us to slow down, to feel the (uncomfortable) feelings, and to surrender. And it is in these moments of uncertainty when we can choose how we want to feel. The challenge is to not let uncertainty turn into fear. Rather, focus on what you can do right now to change your state. Here are some suggestions:
It’s time to slow down.
It’s time to reflect.
It’s time to write.
It’s time to paint.
It’s time to listen.
It’s time to enjoy the little things in life.
It’s time to appreciate the beauty around you.
It’s time to be curious.
It’s time to learn something new.
It’s time to have faith.
It’s time to trust.
It’s time to love.
It’s time to surrender.
It’s time to embrace the power of Now.
It’s time to live in the present moment.
It’s time to walk the path of the spiritual warrior.
It’s time to heal.
It’s time to grow.
I keep following my morning routine:
5:30am: get up
Meditation and prayer (10-15min)
Card reading
Journal about the day before and writing down 3 things I was grateful for
Listen to positive affirmations
Personal development: Read or listen to a recording
Then, I turn on my computer to check my emails. I read newsletters, check in with my Arbonne team on Facebook and fine-tune my daily activities. I prefer to do any kind of writing in the morning because that’s when I am most alert.
After a short lunch break, I reach out to people on my contact list to ask them to have a look at Arbonne. In times of unprecedented concerns, I can offer an opportunity that can change people’s lives – financially and health-wise.
Then, I turn to some online learning. I signed up for a 10-day SEO challenge to improve my knowledge about SEO copywriting. I am halfway through.
Afterwards, I listen to a recorded Arbonne training, and later in the evening, I review my Italian knowledge and progress on Babble (great app for languages).
In between, one of my dancer friends calls and we have our daily chat. We decided to stay in touch to keep up our spirit and check in on each other. It’s now a week that I had my last dance lesson, and I miss it already. Thinking about how long I won’t be able to have lessons and enjoy socials makes me sick. I started practising my steps and routines in my living room knowing that it won’t be a while until I hit the dance floor again with my instructor.
The yoga studio offers all members free access to their online yoga. I decide to give this a go from tomorrow on. My daily exercise will include either yoga at home or going for a walk in nature. Luckily, we can still enjoy the outdoors, alone, of course. I have been going for walks by myself for years, as I find it a wonderful time to wander and wonder, so nothing changes on that front.
The day concludes with our Monday night weekly training call at 8:30pm. Before I go to sleep, I think about how I can structure my days at home in a meaningful way to stay positive in these times of change. Staying healthy and positive is all we can do in the coming weeks. And who knows how long our isolation is going to last.
Day 2 - Tuesday, 24 March
It is only the second day of my new normal, and I feel I have been in isolation for weeks. I start my day as usual with my morning routine. I miss my dancing and exercise already and decide to try one of the online yoga classes that my studio offers for free during the time they are closed. I have been practicing yoga for ten years but was never really into sitting on my mat in my living room. Times have changed, and I turn on my laptop. Scrolling down the page, I am surprised how many classed there are. Yoga for Dancers catches my eye. It takes a while until I find the best position for my laptop to be able to watch the instructor and follow the exercises. 20 min later, I feel content that I explored this online exercise option and did something for my body. I decide to incorporate online yoga in my daily routine.
The morning passes with some copywriting work, emails and critiquing a couple of pieces from fellow memoir group writers.
At lunchtime, I feel the urge to go outside. I need a change of scenery. I have been living by myself for two years and never had any issues with it. Suddenly, without social interactions, feelings of loneliness and sadness creep in. I slip into my walking shoes and head to the beautiful harbour foreshore in Clontarf. I spent many hours at the Spit to Manly walk and have always enjoyed being surrounded by the lush greenery framing the winding pathway with rocky stairs climbing up to the Balgowlah Heights headland where magnificent views across Middle Harbour await the curious wanderer. After an hour of walking, I feel better.
I return home with the certainty that this was my only outing for today. After a quick lunch, I return to my desk for a couple of hours. I chat to my dance teacher who has lost his job the day before and spent two days lining up outside Centrelink getting a claim number only to find the server not responding when he tried to lodge his claim online. I feel for him and try to cheer him up a little bit. Only a few weeks ago, he started teaching me international ballroom with the goal to dance with me at ProAm competitions. I can’t wait to get back to the dance floor and work further on my dancing goals for this year.
The 6:30pm news officially end my day and I spend the rest of the evening in bed reading, wondering how I am going to cope if this lockdown goes on for months.
