I’m sure I’m not the only one trying to use this isolation time to get back to the things I’ve neglected or “not had the time to do” when normal life got in the way. But we all know the expression about the best laid plans... Well, needless to say, I haven’t been that successful.
However, it’s a Sunday, the day of rest, the day of chill, the day of eating Yorkshire puddings the size of your face, and more importantly, the day I start getting back some semblance of organisation in my life. So without further ado, I present my 'five things I want to achieve by the time isolation is over'... whenever that may be!
1. Post more on this blog. That means book reviews, thought pieces and whatever else takes my fancy. Now to post the reviews that means I gotta read the books too this is a double whammy goal!
2. Complete at least one Open University course. I recently discovered that the Open University has a whole host of free courses on a variety of topics and from what I can gather, they seem pretty informative. There's a whole host from beginners to advanced, with some taking a couple of hours and some taking 20+. I enjoy the process of studying so it'll be nice to learn something new and also force myself to think further than just deciding which room in my house to visit next.
3. Look after myself. With all this time on my hands, there's not really an excuse not to spend some time putting on a face mask and painting my nails. As I write this my hair is reaching nest stage and could probably fry a chip or two but next week will be the week of the grand hair wash. I'm also eyeing up the baby feet foot mask that been in my cupboard for months, if you can't have grimy peeling feet in lockdown, when can you!?
4. Cultivate my social medias. This sounds so millennial and so awful, I know. First world problem, woe is me story coming up: I am a social media (especially instagram) fiend and I have several accounts all dedicated to different things: my personal, my theatre blog, my podcast, my bookstagram and it's hard to maintain them all! So whilst it may not be helpful to anyone but myself, I'm going to set aside some time to properly post, especially on my bookstagram which has fallen veeeeeery short.
5. Socialise. I don't mean breaking the lockdown and sneakily seeing pals (you know who you are!!!) but instead, using the vast array of contact opportunities we have. I've recently got into the HouseParty hype and it's pretty excellent (think facetime but with virtual games and friends randomly popping in to say hi), and in a way everything seems a bit more sociable than before. We're all at home and the likelihood is that we're bored so why not take advantage and chat about anything and everything. My friend Amy has also been doing a daily instagram live quiz and many people are doing workouts, yoga sessions and q&a's, there's so much to fill your days with!
So there are my five goals, however in saying all this, it's also fine to not do anything. You don't have to be productive or try and become your 'best self' during this time and it's more than fine to nap and veg out. But if you're like me and love a list and a bit of productivity, why not come up with five goals of your own. In fact, I'm gonna tag people to do this!! Look at me all spontaneous! I don't really know anyone in this world but I tag: Hayley Sprout, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Thoughts From Jasmine & The Haughs.
Time is all we've got right now so use it how you want! Stay safe, wash your hands, don't hoard loo roll!
until next time,
olivia xoxo