"The days are long but the years are short", as the phrase goes...you hear this frequently as a new mum and it so fittingly describes 2020.
The first few months seemed to gain pace quickly and then all of the sudden we were thrust into the complete unknown of working from home, juggling kids, home schooling, endless cleaning and more, as the world transformed into one like we've never seen before. The first few weeks, months, I was running on adrenaline and then, like many others I started to tire and the exhaustion set in.
So, we find we're now running a marathon, not a sprint and managing our wellbeing has never been more important.
If the days have the potential to be long, have you thought about what's really important right now? What are the controllables and what else can you peacefully let go of? For now...
For me having worked full time with two young kids for the past 5 years prioritising what's important in life has been key, and these past few months have meant reprioritising and then reprioritising again.
Think about what's going to keep your stamina up as we get through these uncertain times, have you got the mood boosting ingredients of quality sleep, nutrition, movement and mindset? Right now, as we face into another lock down in Melbourne, home schooling and juggling all that comes in these crazy times I'll be focusing on two things:
- As much fresh air and movement as possible; good for the whole family.
- Keeping life simple; be kind to yourself, be kind to others. In the present moment. I'll offer some practical tips on both.
Fresh air and movement
I love a fitness circuit first thing in the morning, wakes you up and makes you feel happy, right now it's in my garage or driveway, kids are around me but put some music on and 30 mins later you can get a pretty good workout in all from the comfort of your home. If that doesn't work for you there's loads of online classes right now you can do live or on demand. Pilates, yoga and meditation online classes are also great for helping your posture, strength & mindset considering many of us are working from home and our work station may not nearly be as well set up as an office environment.
Next, we're bike riding, scooting, walking anywhere we can. Less time in the car & when we're out in the fresh air I find the entire family seems to be happy and I just love the conversations you get in with your kids. From random chats to eye spy, counting, reading signs, it’s home school on the go! We've done most our counting & numbers outside and my daughter is already asking if we can do more home school from the oval at the park where my 3 year old can run around while my preppy does her work.
Lastly, coats on, gumboots on we're just getting as much frequent fresh air as possible. At a minimum first thing in the morning, after lunch and before dinner playing outside, walking around the block, ball on the oval, gardening or hanging out in the backyard. Great for the body clock, melatonin and regulating yours and your kids sleep. If you're spending most of the day in meetings, do yourself a favour and buy some wireless headphones to at least get you standing and ideally, look at your schedule and plan in what meetings you could do walking. Tell the person your meeting and invite them for a virtual walk. Not only can you affect your own mood & movement but help your team mates out too.
Keeping life simple
Be kind to yourself, be kind to others. This again comes back to priorities, What's important and what seemed important but right now maybe no longer is. Make time for simple things you enjoy, notice more around you, listen more, help others out more. Empathy is is everything right now, no one is feeling this in the same way. And be kind to yourself, cut yourself some slack, take the pressure off. If you have a to do list I suggest you try replacing this with scheduling your time. Plan out your week, schedule when you're going to do things, be realistic with how long it will take and be satisfied when you've achieved what you planned for that day. There's nothing rewarding about a never ending to do list but if you schedule your time you can break free from this. And of course make sure what you're scheduling your time against fits your priorities, if you want to move every morning then create the space to do that. If you want to play with your kids or connect with a colleague fit that in.
We're running a marathon, it's uncertain, I have no idea where it will end up. But we can control our priorities, our wellbeing and make the most of these potentially long days to feel shorter, more fulfilling and maybe something we learn a lot from in the years to come.
Elise Venditti is an experienced Marketing Director, super mum and passionate about her own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.