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Lockdown Diaries • Week Two : Making new habits

Posted by Amy Smithcovid-19

Dog and their owner out on a walk
Marie wearing glow in the dark stars on a headband

Marie is back for her second week of the Lockdown Diaries – telling us what it’s been like to be a health-conscious, working mum in lockdown! In week 1 (which you can catch up on here) she focussed on getting a routine planned around home schooling, but in week 2 she’s setting some healthy habits for herself!

After a chilled weekend, and doing a few jobs I’d been meaning to get round to (organising sock drawers!) Monday came around. It was hard switching back to the routine we’d set the previous week; getting up, getting dressed, walking the dog, motivating my son into doing his school work (whilst doing my work!) and trying to keep it fun and healthy!  

Confession time; my snacking went out of control – I’d eaten everything and anything, including a few glasses of wine, and I’d not even left the house all day! But, it was only Monday – we could still make the rest of the week a success!  

As I set the alarm clock before getting into bed, I agreed with my hubby that it was my turn to take the dog out the next day – phew, that would get me out and active! 

An app tracking runs in a week
Tuesday morning

The alarm goes off…. I hit snooze… then I remembered how disappointed I’d felt for not keeping up my healthy habits yesterday. I heard the dog whining for her walk. The voice in my head shouted; “Get up! Stop putting it off! The only thing stopping you is YOU! Today you’re going to start Couch to 5k – no excuses, and don’t forget to wear 2 sports bras!!” 

15 minutes later, me and my four legged PT Betsy are warmed up and ready to go! She looks at me as if to say “you can run?!” Well, it is more of a shuffle, I’m no Paula Radcliffe in more ways than one, but I’m getting my heart rate up and getting it done! I’m red-faced, out of breath and feeling like I can’t do this. But I’ve got Jo Whiley cheering me on in my ear (the Couch to 5k app lets you pick a celebrity motivator!) and I love her even more than I did before, when she finally tells me I’m finished! Yay! It’s taken me only 30 minutes and I get home feeling proud but achy! A few stretches, a shower, and I feel energised to face the day!  

How to keep on running

The good thing about this app is that is asks you to set a reminder for your next run (they recommend every other day, so that you don’t go too much and loose interest). I also used a ‘Habit before the habit’ skill I learned from BeeZee Bodies; I set a reminder for Wednesday evening, to set myself up for Thursday morning – running kit laid out, phone and headphones charged, and my PT’s kit (ie: dog lead and poo bags) laid out by the door. I even gave hubby full permission to push me out of bed. I also told my colleagues my plan, so they could keep me accountable and ask me how my run was in our (virtual) morning catch up!  

Now I feel like I am in the right headspace to resume some of the healthy habits that I’d fallen out of. Forget organising cupboards, I’m going to embrace this time to organise a better me – meal planning, regular exercise and a routine that I can continue once we all go back to work and school too!  

 

Oh, and for anyone who hasn’t read Stu’s Blog….  I highly recommend – it’s helped me stay focused this week and given us ideas on what else me and my family can do during this time.