Four Walls, Four Ideas and Four Minutes

We are all stuck indoors for the most part and forseeable. Our freedom has been taken away for obvious reasons and our lives are pretty much set within our homes. It is a genuinely worry and stressful time, jobs are disappearing, companies are folding and it really feels like a movie. But it’s not. This is real life. Whilst we are in the unknown and stress is rising, I wanted to write a blog post to give you something else to focus on, to forget about what happening (I know it’s a hard ask), and just take some time for you today and over the coming weeks and months.

Within our homes, we have our comforts and we have our necessities. Our homes are an extension of our personality and at present they are our world. But being encased within these four walls doesn’t and shouldn’t mean our lives have to come to a standstill and all the plans etc you had go out the window. Yes, there will be some things that will be impossible to do right now. But there still is an abundance of things we can do and why not do it now, take time for you.

Whilst there is nothing wrong with sitting down to a box set and binge watching your favourite or new TV shows, sometimes you just want a break from it. Here are four ideas with what to do with your indoor time.:

1. Do an online course – there are thousands of online courses you can do, some may cost money but others are free. You just have to think of something, anything you want to learn and you will likely find it online. Maybe you want a new hobby and a course is a quick way to get started. Whether you want to learn about the stars in the sky, dinosaurs, how to write a book, economics, accounts, geology, history, fashion – you could probably name anything and there will be a course on it! Let your imagination go wild and write a list of all the things you want to learn. Instead of a course, maybe it’s an online video or talk such as Ted Talks where you can learn about a lot of different things Mars, Antartica or Philosophy as well as How to be a Great Leader! What about an online tutorial on YouTube maybe you want to know how to make pancakes or how to fix a leaking tap. You will never run out of things to find out online. Happy Learning!
2. Spring clean – yes I know it’s boring, however, think of how good it will feel to declutter that cupboard you avoid opening or the drawer that is stuffed full of paperwork that you promised to come back to in January. Now is the time to sort things out. You could try all your clothes on, have a fashion show and make piles for the charity shop for clothes that just don’t suit you or don’t fit. Stop holding onto clothes that you will slim into some day, I’m not saying you wont, but if every time you look at it, it makes you feel bad about yourself then say goodbye to it! You could pick a room do go through every couple of days and really gut it and deep clean it and make it sparkle. One website I love for tips and clutter free hints is Clutterbug. She also has a YouTube Channel.
3. Bake/Cook – This one is dependent on what supplies you can get, I know where I live flour is practically impossible to get right now. But if you can or have it, why not bake something you haven’t tried before. Maybe it’s bread or you want to give profiteroles a shot and learn how to make choux pastry. What about perfecting cake decorating. Maybe you want to add to your cooking repertoire and cook food from another country. The smells and delights that come from this are really satisfying. Then once all this is over, invite your friends and family over for a feast!
4. Own Entertainment – What? Well, given that sometimes you just want to be silly whether with your kids or like me, as an adult 😁 make something up. It could be an obstacle course around your house for you and your family or pets, maybe you want to create a domino run around your house or a marble run. You can use anything to get this going provided you have (obviously) dominoes or marbles. Check out the videos for inspiration. You could do anything really, from playing hide and seek in the house, to building a fort and spending the day in there – maybe it would be fun to work from home in it. 😀 Enjoy coming up with your own creative ideas.

Four Minutes

Grab a pen and paper, set a timer for four minutes and do the following:

• For the first minute write down a list of all things you want to do but can’t right now.
• For the second minute write next to them if they can be adapted or not.
• For the third minute write down ideas for those that can be amended, what could you do to make these work for indoor/garden situations?
• For the fourth and final minute pick one idea, and build on what you have written, what else could you do? What would make it work?

From there put it into practice, see what works and what not so much, learn as you go and amend as necessary, there is no such thing as a bad idea, what matters is you give things a go.

These are just some ideas for you to think about. You will no doubt have your own ideas. This situation is difficult and there is so much stress and pressure on us all at the moment to be positive but it is not easy. Please be kind to yourself, you can only do so much and maybe some of the above can help channel your anxiety or stress into something practical or helpful for you.

Stay safe going into this week. Be kind to you and look after you.

Love Emma xxx 😍