We are empathising with all the people going through lockdown right now. For those who are losing jobs and business - we understand that it's tough facing endless restrictions and having an array of uncertainty clouding your mind. However, to help ease the pain, we are big believers that we are the creators of our own atmosphere. We can't decide what happens around us, but what happens within us is our own making. By working on our mindset, we can help ease a lot of the worries and anxieties we face day-to-day.
There is a simple secret to the happiest people in the world; they don’t have the most of everything, but they ensure to make the best of everything! We have always lived and learned by this. The world is full of wondrous things, endless opportunities and boundless possibilities, even when we are locked inside. For those of us who have food, water, internet, good health, enough funds and a roof over our head... we challenge you to rethink that being in lockdown isn’t all that bad. We also have opportunities to make zoom calls to loved ones, internet shop anything we may need and can’t go and get, and a library of knowledge with everything and anything online. You can read all the books, write, create, watch all the movies, clean all your clutter... yeah when you think of all of these activities, being locked in isn’t all that bad!
We truly believe that it’s our choice to see and appreciate all that we do have, what we can make of it and how we choose to spend our time. This is a time for creativity, growth, rest and inward healing... and for those of you who are struggling with the rules placed upon you, we challenge you to a week of re-thinking and re-setting your mind to a place of embracing it instead!
One thing that is proven to increase our happiness and step in tune with our inner self, is to write a journal. We suggest you start yours today!
Here are some more ideas to put on your Covid Bucketlist...
Refreshing and Upcycling your Wardrobe
Now is the perfect time to declutter and clean your closet! Recycling and Upcycling are the best ways to clear up the stagnant energy in your room. To do so you need to organize yourself so you don't miss any unnecessary piece of clothing or accidentally give away a special item. So first things first, you need to create 4 piles, one labelled Must Stay (your favourites), one labelled Maybe/ Zoom Party with the items you are not sure about and will need a fashion show for your friends to help you decide (Zoom fashion show), one labelled Friends (the ones you know your bestie would love to have) and one labelled Sell/Charity. Perhaps you would also like to alter some of your old pieces and give them a new life or a refresh! Now that you are set up, you can start this expedition and I am excited to hear all about this new, light and refreshed you at the end of this journey.
Try a new exercise class
The internet is full of exercise classes and a lot of free ones, so let’s shake it up to something you've never tried before. Have you heard about Piloxing? Have you ever tried Pound? It’s a Drumming inspired workout! What about Chris Hemsworth's workout program that's so widely discussed? Why not Zumba? Let's change up the routine and try something different for this week’s exercise. Try Chris Hemsworth's workout with this free trial or this Glo yoga free trial. 
Build Something for your Home
Let's get crafty and DIY something for your lovely home! It's time to construct something with your hands - a piece of furniture, refurbish that old chair outside, make those floating shelves you have been dreaming about, reframe that scruffy mirror you were going to put in the bin or restore your bike. I love painting old furniture, it refreshes the look of the house and it changes the atmosphere of that dull room. Need some inspiration? We have got your back! Watch Crystal Bailey build some bookself arches.
Learn a dance routine
There is nothing that gets the feel-good endorphins flushing through your veins like moving your butt to a good song. And most of us could do with some new dance moves for when lockdown is over. Why not try a dance class for a week where you learn a routine? YouTube is full of free ones - and don’t give up, a little practice a day goes a long way!
Learn how to dance Salsa with this beginner tutorial. Here are some extra tips:
- Find your favourite style of dance
- Choose a choreography
- Set aside some time from your day (30 to 60 min for yourself)
- Doll up yourself (yes, now is the time), dress up, do your hair and put make up on.
- Turn the volume up and start moving those hips!
Plant something edible
Without plants our existence would be extinguished, having plants in our house brings us closer to mother nature and even better, planting something we can eat helps our wallets. Often we try to cultivate all at once with every plant we dreamt about, but why not buy and care for only one plant this lockdown so to not overdo it. Strawberries, tomato, basil and mint to make the perfect mojitos. One plant needs a max of 10 minutes of your time per week. Here are some tips on how to manage house plants. In case you are a plant killer we found a little selection of plants that are almost impossible to kill:
Pothos, Aglaonema, Jade Plant, Asparagus Fern, Chinese Money Plant, Yucca, Air Plant, Spider Plant, Peace Lily, Aloe, English Ivy, Dragon Tree, Calathea, Rubber Plant, Bromeliad, Kalanchoe, Ponytail Palm, Philodendron, Crown of Thorns, Christmas Cactus, ZZ Plant, Snake Plant, Schefflera and Dieffenbachia.
Cook something you never cooked before
Make your own plant based ice cream, that homemade cheese your grandma used to make or that dumpling recipe you have been meaning to try except that it takes too long (did you know that cooking is a form of meditation too?) You can freeze what you make for that not-so-distant day when you don't want to cook dinner. Here are some fun cooking masters for you to learn from like Gordan Ramsay who has some yum recipes, or try going vegan for a week with Rainbow Plant Life.
Study one film director
Ingrid Bergman, Wes Anderson and The Coen brothers are some to name a few.
There are some incredible directors out there, go back and watch some of the most renowned classics of all time (Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, The Godfather). A film made before all the modern day special effects and it was all about the story. Alternatively, choose your favourite movie and check out some earlier work from the same director.
Design your very own Cocktail (preferably with an overly grandiose name)
Without any recipe, open your drinks cabinet and pull it all out, with your partner or flat mates or just with the best company - yourself! Then start testing and trying potential combinations. It’s such good fun! This is your time to nail that signature drink of yours to pull out at your next dinner party once the restrictions are lifted, you can even easily dry your own fruit garnishes - check out how here!
Write down your Bucketlist
"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage." - Thucydides
We don’t always realise our freedom until we no longer have it. Covid has certainly taken away freedom for us all, but this is a great time to take a step back and look at your life. Are you living your desired life - what are your actual dreams and desires? Writing them down is one step closer to turning them into reality. We have the perfect book for it, go check out our Bucketlist Journal here.
Start learning something you are interested in
Learn a new language, drawing, pottery, calligraphy, watercolour painting, roller skating, writing poetry, playing the guitar, start your own business or even learn something as easy as shuffling cards. Spend your lockdown dabbling into something that's always tickled your fancy but you've never really made time for.
You can often google 'free classes' and get some great content like online guitar lessons with Justin Guitar and How to Learn Guitar Without a Teacher from Beginner Guitar HQ, or learn how to make ceramics, Skillshare also has some great resources like this Watercolour painting course.
Update that technical skill that always annoys you
We all have one thing - something we wish we knew better on the computer, on the phone or how to fix that electronic that is been sitting in the corner waiting for you to learn how to repair it. Now is the time to sit down to dig deeper and learn - we promise less stress in the future! Here are some tutorials we found interesting, how about learning CSS or AI tools?
Volunteer
Find something you are passionate about, learn a new skill or add to the ones you already have, whilst meeting likeminded people. Search in your local community areas; some people need help to do their grocery shop or to walk their dogs or even just someone to talk to. You can make someone’s day or week a lot more joyful just by being there - after all, giving is receiving. Volunteering with Oxfam is a good way to start!
And of course – Journaling
Now is the time to really get in tune with yourself, especially in restrictive times like the one we are living in - and there is no excuse not to spend that 15 minutes per day (or week) actually noting down your thoughts and feelings.
Aligning your ideas and externalising your fears, stresses, goals, happiness, gratitude and intentions creates space in your mind, reducing overthinking and transforming down days into energised and motivated ones.
Light up a candle or some incense and write down all that you need to let out, and if you struggle starting, and don’t know what to write, we have a few options for you.
- If you didn’t have to worry about money or people’s opinions, what would you do with your life?
- What was your childhood dream and why? What happened to that dream and why?
- How do you spend your time? On a weekday? On a weekend?
- What is the next thing you want to learn? And to what degree?
- List all the things you think you SHOULD do, that you don’t want to do
- Or the opposite: what you SHOULD NOT do, that you do. Why?
- List the top 5 people you admire, and why?
- Who is your favourite person in all the world and why?
We hope this Covid Bucketlist has inspired you to change your mindset and mix up the routine this lockdown! You can come out of it with some impressive new skills ready to take on the world. Remember it's also important to slow down and have that much needed break, you deserve it babe! We look forward to making even more bucketlists once the restrictions have lifted. Stay safe in the meantime xx