I’m not going to sit here and pretend that all is good and I’m just chilling, with my tootsies-up on a stool, a cocktail in my hand (an espresso martini, if you will) and smiling that annoying smile people do, knowing that I’ve defeated the dreaded furlough for another day.
No, nope, nada. I wish that was the truth but it’s not even close. Think more: I’m sitting on my chair in the dark wide-awake (because 2am is the new lunchtime), I’m cradling a cup of hot chocolate (to try and soothe my soul as only chocolate can) and I’ve got a bazillion thoughts going through my head as I sit and stare into the dark without even realising any time is passing. And my eye twitches.
Yeah, that paints a better picture. More realistic. That was me for the first 4 weeks of furlough, for sure.
Having been on furlough for four, maybe five weeks now (this wasn’t for your reading pleasure, this is because I genuinely don’t remember how long I’ve been on furlough) I’ve decided there are some nifty things to know in order to survive this time that helped me to get out of the eye-twitching mood and into the hey this-isn’t-so-bad mood with no work. Without going outside. Without seeing other human beings (your spouse does not count).
I thought I’d share my hints and tips with you as a sort of handbook for furlough, in the hopes that it’ll help you pass the time more easily. Just think, soon you’ll be back at your desk, in your office, being productive, with no free-time. Ah, the good old days.
Hide your phone
This one may sound counter-intuative to socialising with people and keeping your mental health a-float, but I’ve found it actually helped to hide my phone at certain times of the day so that I would do other stuff than just sitting and scrolling through all the socials. Because, let’s face the honest truth here, that’s not being social, you realise that, right? I can literally feel my brain-cells dying for all the time I spend looking at my screen, and enough is enough. Hide your phone, do something productive, go back to your phone with some pride.
Don’t schedule, list
This has taken me the whole of furlough to learn, but to make your days more productive, don’t schedule and timetable everything you want to do, list! I finding listing allows for flexibility. So what if I didn’t wake-up at 7am exactly? I can still get everything done that I want to get done. The whole day isn’t spent playing catch-up on everything I failed to do whilst I slept-in until 1pm. Also, it feels so good crossing stuff you’ve done off a list. Go on, try it.
Wake-up in the MORNING
This one has been hard the last week. I’ve definitely struggle to wake-up in the AM, even sometimes the early PM, but that’s okay if this happens to you, too. Treat yourself and your body to those extra hours of sleep. You’ll never get to sleep that long again, EVER. That’s scary. Just, maybe try and wake-up in the morning and have some sort of morning routine, to help your sanity. Sleeping lots is good, but so is being productive with your day. It’s about balance.
Make an exercise routine
This sort of goes with my previous point of listing what you want to get done that day, but this is a lot more specific. Plan (I like to do weekly plans) of what exercise you want to achieve that day, and do it. You’ve heard it a billion-times before, but moving your body really does make you feel good. You feel productive and accomplished, and it’s pretty good for you, too. It doesn’t even have to be strenuous. Yoga is always good, or going for your allocated one walk a day. Chill, relax, move your body, you will never regret exercise.
Make talking to people a priority
When you haven’t hidden your phone, and your mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed: STOP. Actually communicate and talk to people. Answer those messages you read 3 days ago. Send a message to someone new that you might not have spoken to in ages. Actively communicate with people rather than just clicking on a button and ‘liking’ a post. You’ll feel so much better for it.
Acheive one thing every day
This one, this is for all you out there that get the anxiety of starting something, the anxiety over doing something, if anything. I know, because I have it, too. I had this massive plan of posting everyday on here, on my blog, you know, my thing, but I got so anxious over it (for no reason whatsoever), that I never published anything and here we are, two blog posts down and 5 weeks later. If, like me, you feel this anxiety, it’s okay. You don’t have to do everything in one day, just, you know, do something. Something that’ll move you towards your goals and make you happy- even if it’s just taking a shower. You don’t need to come out of furlough with new skills and a new language, you just have to get through it with your sanity in check. I find that the best way of doing this is just to do something everyday, however small.
Let me know if you have any other hints or tricks for surviving furlough. At the moment I’m not feeling too bad about not having been at work for so long. I’m following what I’ve said above, and just trying to make the most of each day. My goal today: get out of bed. AND I DID IT YAY. Now, I can chill and feel accomplished. What makes you feel better?
Until tomorrow.
My Paper Lungs 