The Corona diaries
Why I don’t want lock-down to end
10 unexpected benefits from being forced to stay at home.
So after nearly four months, the UK government are easing their Corona virus lock-down restrictions, reopening pubs and clothes stores and encouraging people to go out and spend, in order to revive the economy.
During the first weekend of July, the people of the UK enthusiastically grasped the opportunity to socialise and get their hair done. But I did not join them.
I must confess that I am enjoying the lock-down and I am not chomping at the bit to get back into the outside world.
At the start of the lock-down, I too was mourning for all the things that I could no longer do, until I realised that for the first time in my life, I was fully in control of my days. I now wear whatever is comfortable, without worrying about whether it is acceptable for work. For nearly four months there has been no commute, no traffic jams or delayed trains, or office schedules or any social commitments to throw me off track, or make me break my promises to myself.
Before we dive back into the world as we once knew it, let’s pause and look in detail at all the blessings that being forced to stay at home has brought us.
1. I’M GETTING MORE SLEEP THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME IN MY ADULT LIFE
There’s no real reason to stay up late, (I’m not going out anywhere) so I am now always in bed before 11, and awake around 7am. Eight quality hours every single night.
2. I NOW HAVE A GREAT MORNING ROUTINE
Since my commute to work is now only a five second walk to the living room, I have more time in the mornings, so I’ve been actioning those healthy morning habits that all the self-help gurus promote. Now I start each day with gratitude and chanting, outdoor exercise followed by a cold shower, before allowing the drama of the outside world attack me.
3. I NO LONGER HAVE TO SIT AT A DESK ALL DAY
I’m working from home. I spend 8 hours a day on my lap-top, but unlike in the office, I don’t have to sit at a desk to do it. While going through emails and typing, I elevate my computer with a crate and stand — thus strengthening my legs and core muscles and burning more calories. When in Zoom meetings I sit cross-legged on the floor, thus opening up my hip-joints and increasing my flexibility. Such behaviour might be looked on as strange in an office environment, but at home I can arrange my workspace as I please.
4. I’M GETTING MORE REGULAR SUNSHINE THAN AT ANY POINT IN MY ADULT LIFE.
I miss the gym, but I still need to exercise, so I do it outside. Thankfully the sun has shined throughout the majority of the lock-down, so I get an hour of sunshine (or at the very least natural light) every day, which previously was not something that happened unless I was on holiday.
5. I’M DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS
With no gym equipment at home, I have had to learn to use what I have — the kid’s playground outside my apartment and my own bodyweight — i.e calisthenics. Pull-ups, press-ups, and tricep-dips for resistance training, and for cardio I’ve begun skipping, which apparently burns more calories than running. It’s my hope to be able to skip for 5 minutes non-stop before lock-down ends — a skill that I can continue to use post-lock-down, when on holiday.
6. I’VE GIVEN UP TV AND AM DIGGING DEEP ON YOU TUBE
As an only child who grew up in the 70's and 80's, TV was my constant companion. I found it strange, that as my own kids became teenagers they began to avoid TV, preferring instead to watch YouTube videos on the laptops in their bedrooms. Of course, I was familiar with YouTube before the lock-down, but would turn to it only for something specific, like a movie trailer or an instructional video. But with lock-down meaning more time in front of the TV, I discovered what my children already knew — that whatever your area of interest there are whole YouTube channels dedicated to it.
So, when doing yoga at home, I no longer had to play my one yoga DVD, but discovered the thousands upon thousands of instructional videos. And all the jump rope tutorials. And the thousands of Ted Talks.
But not just learning — also entertainment. I’ve finally caught up with all that celebrity gossip that I previously didn’t have the time for. Thanks to YouTube I finally found out why Jay Z and Damon Dash fell out; the secrets of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett’s marriage; why Megan Good and her husband abstained from sex till they got married; and how Lisa Bonet and Jason Mamoa got together. Not to mention the wonderful world of YouTube giant Joe Rogan. Thanks to YouTube I can by-pass the bullshit of those hour-long celebrity chat shows on TV and go straight to the talent. Like a 30-minute conversation between Jamie Foxx and Michael B Jordan, or Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. I now understand what my kids have long thought — that TV is so last century.
7. NEW KNOWLEDGE
As well as the yoga classes and celebrity interviews, I’ve become a knowledge junkie discovering the benefits of meditation; how to master your mind like David Goggins; Wim Hof’s breathing technique; the wisdom of Sadhguru; the science behind intermittent fasting, and Keto and Alkaline diets.
And thanks to Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sundays I’ve become more familiar with the work of Malcolm Gladwell, Eckhart Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz, Dr Michael Bernard Beckwith, Sebastian Yunger, Shawn Achor and Paulo Coelho. They just don’t have this kind of stuff on regular TV.
8. IMPROVING MY YOGA PRACTICE.
I’ve been practicing yoga for about three years now, once or twice a week. I used to just turn up to my gym and do whatever class was on the timetable. I had no control over the style or level or delivery. But by doing it with YouTube, I now have access to some of the world’s best teachers. I can choose what style, how long and at what level I want the class to be. And thanks to YouTube I now know that yoga is not just a series of postures to increase your flexibility. Rather the postures (or asanas) are just one of the eight arms of yoga, which I have also been familiarising myself with.
9. I’VE CLEANED UP MY DIET
I first tried intermittent fasting in 2018 and had great success with it, losing 10kg in a few months. I managed this without having to change what I ate, just the times that I ate it. I’ve been practicing IF through the whole of the lock-down. It’s much easier now, as I don’t have to fit my eating around other people in the office and a unpredictable commute home before dinner. But this time around, it isn’t working as well, probably because I’m much less active than before. So this time I can’t get away with eating all the junk. I really have to examine what I’m eating. I’ve investigated the dangers of sugar; the insulin response and how it leads to weight gain; fat storage and diabetes.
10. QUALITY TIME WITH MY CHILDREN
As I said, my now adult children have long lost interest in TV preferring instead to spend their free time secluded in their rooms watching YouTube. When I was a child, being forced to stay in your room was a punishment. Today’s kids view being forced to LEAVE your room as a punishment. And when you have the delights of XBox and social media, who wants to spend time in the living room with their parents?
But now we’re all forced to stay inside 24/7, coming out of your room for a couple of hours of family time is a nice break. My wife, kids and I have spent more quality time together during this lock-down than we have in years.
So I for one am continuing to relish what may be the last days of this lock-down and in no hurry for them to end. Don’t count the days — make the days count. Embrace the opportunity for growth. In the words of Eckhart Tolle, accept every situation as if you had chosen it.
