To stop and reflect: lockdown and the transition to ‘normal’

When the Prime Minister first implemented lockdown messages across the U.K. on the 23^rd March, most didn’t know how long the lockdown process would drag on.

As weeks turned into months, it became clear that lockdown wasn’t just something to bear, but that positive habits had to be formed in order to cope and understand what was quickly becoming the nation’s new way of life.

I asked some Empoword Journalism contributors about the sorts of positive habits that they formed during lockdown as a way to give their days more structure.

Katie Williams, 25-year-old graduate from Stirling, spoke about how she had been attending lots of webinars and completing some online courses to learn new skills and stay motivated.

Eilidh Stewart, 16-year-old Student, turned to Duolingo, using the app every day to build up her Spanish.

The opportunity to upskill and get involved in lots of career related activities is definitely a very positive thing to have come out of lockdown. Organisations have had more of a reason to focus on facilitating virtual activities which has meant that they have often been better able to get their messages out to a wider audience.

As well as the opportunity to focus on career development and upskill in these ways, an increasing number of people have been able to dedicate more of their time to home exercise and wellness.

“With our worlds’ ‘narrowing’, self-reflection became something that could no longer be as easily ignored.”

Katie Wheatley, 19-year-old Student at the University of Sheffield, spoke of how she “started exercising at the beginning of lockdown” as a way to feel good and do something that she knew would benefit her health.

Madeline Raine, 22 year-old Student at the University of Newcastle, has been carrying out daily yoga exercises to help her mood and outlook on things.

It seems fair to say that despite the various challenges that lockdown life has brought the average person, lockdown has also led to various gains. With our worlds’ ‘narrowing’, self-reflection has become something that can no longer be as easily ignored, causing us to implement habits that perhaps wouldn’t have been implemented in normal circumstances.

As life slowly goes back to a new ‘normal’, we must remain conscious of the risk of returning to our old ways.

Will people remember what they’ve learnt during lockdown, or will it all be forgotten now that life looks that extra bit recognisable again?

Various contributors have expressed their concerns about not being able to keep up with the positive habits that they have developed in recent months.

“The implementation of these habits even if they were temporary has helped to shift mindsets.”

Katie spoke about how, when her exam season arrived, she felt “too drained to work out after a day of revision or an exam” which she feels has proved she “won’t keep [daily exercise] up post-lockdown”.

Similarly, Eilidh spoke of how she already tends to miss a few days of Duolingo, also spending less time on the app.

Madeline noted that, in the long term, she hopes that lockdown has given her the boost to prioritise her own health and wellbeing more.

Whilst keeping up the positive habits formed in lockdown will be a challenge for everyone now that our worlds’ seem to be ‘widening’ once again, the implementation of these habits, even if they were temporary, have helped to shift mindsets – whether this be making our own well-being a greater priority, or taking the initiative to upskill at home.

It is this that will endure at the very least.

Amy Holliday 

Featured image courtesy of @adityaries via Unsplash.