Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. In today's video I thought I would share with you the
self care tips that have been helping me through this very strange time of being in quarantine.
I don't know about you guys, but my emotions and my anxiety has been so up and down since
this all started, but there are a few things that I've been doing at home that have really
been helping me to manage so I thought I would share them with you today. Of course, feel
free to add your tips into the comments down below and I'd also just be interested to know
how are you guys feeling. How are you coping. And if you're new to my channel, please consider
subscribing. I post three times a week and I would love to have you as a viewer. All
it means is you'll get a little notification in your email box saying that I posted a new
video. And before we jump in as well, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all the
key workers to everyone on the front line.
You are doing an amazing job and I cannot wait for this all to be over and for the celebrations
that are going to happen. And for you guys to continue to get the recognition that you
truly deserve. So my first tip is to get up and to get ready in the morning. Yes, it is
very tempting to stay in your pajamas all day long. You have nowhere to go and you might
not even have anyone to see, but you will feel so much better if you actually get ready
in the morning. It doesn't have to be proper clothes. I've pretty much been living in lounge
wear and in gym wear the entire time that we've been at home, but I'm trying to keep
up a morning routine for myself and for the kids. So I'm making the beds every morning
and I am washing my face.
I'm doing my hair. Some days I put on makeup, some days I don't, but I'm pretty much getting
ready every morning and I feel a lot better for it and more productive. The next tip is
a big one for me that has really helped and that is to disconnect or to go off grid if
it all feels too much. The new stories were really affecting me and making my anxiety
go sky high. I was getting news notifications on my phone. I was reading fake news on Facebook.
There's been so much on all the WhatsApp groups that I'm part of and it's just all been a
lot. There's just so much sadness going on at the moment. Some days I have needed to
just turn off from it. Mute anything that is not making me feel good. Not watch the
news just for a little bit. Just to turn off from all the stress and from the fear.
Now as human beings, it's actually difficult to do that because there is something inside
us seeking drama and seeking the negative, so we actually internally want to hear those
stories, read those stories, but it was making me get really, really stressed out. So on
those days I've just been completely turning off. My next step is to get active and to
eat healthily. Now for my first week of isolation, I was just stuffing my face with all of the
food in the cupboards and I was moving less because we were indoors, but then I thought
if I'm going to be in isolation, well maybe I could work out, eat well at home and walk
out at the end of this looking and feeling great. So since then I've been doing an at
home workout five days a week. It's normally around 20 minutes and it's been really fun.
There's so many great free ones on YouTube. I've been loving the Lucy Wyndham-Read workouts
and also the Pamela Reif workouts. Or you could just join in with the kids Joe Wicks
P.E. lesson as well because they are actually quite hard to do. Or maybe you could take
up running. I did the Couch to 5K app. And I would totally recommend it because it takes
you from being a real beginner and then at the end of it you can run a full 5K. But whatever
you do just get active. Move around a bit more because it's funny how actually doing
exercise gives you more energy. Another tip that has been keeping us sane is scheduling
time to speak to friends and family. We've been using FaceTime, Zoom and Google Hangouts
as well. And we've actually scheduled so that once a week we have a call with all of Matt's
family.
Once a week we have a call with all of my family and on a Thursday I've been catching
up with all of my girlfriends at the same time, so just grab a coffee and have a catch
up and it's so nice to connect again. And we've also set up some calls for the boys
to speak to their friends and it's so nice. You see them light up and they really enjoy
speaking to their friends and feeling normal again. I also love an at-home pamper night
and let's face it, we need it at the moment because the salons are all closed, but a couple
of nights a week I've been having a bath. I've actually been just heating up the boys
bath water and adding a bath bomb, but that's fine. Whatever works. You can have a candle,
some bubbles, maybe do an at-home facial, which is so simple to do, just cleanse as
normal then do a really good scrub and face mask and it will do wonders for your skin.
And while we're talking about skin, why not use this time at home to give yourself the
ultimate skin care and not wear any makeup? I've only been putting makeup on about three
days a week and I can really tell that my skin has been loving, being able to breathe.
My next tip is to clean or organize something that you have been meaning to clean for ages.
Now I mentioned in a recent cleaning video just how much this has been helping me through
this strange time. I feel I've achieved something. I feel I have a bit more purpose. And what
I would really recommend to you is to write a list of all the things you want to get done
around the house and try to tick off at least one every single day.
We have tackled our garden and we've jet washed the front drive, we've done our loft. There's
so many things that we are achieving while we're at home. And if you struggle to get
started, a really good tip is to set a timer on your phone for 20 minutes and just clean
for those 20 minutes because it doesn't feel like a long time. But you would be amazed
how much you can get done in just 20 minutes. And once you get started, you probably will
actually clean for longer. And while we're talking about improving your space, why not
do a little project like upcycling something just by cleaning something or by repainting
some furniture. You can give it a new lease of life. My next tip was to read a new book,
but personally I find it very difficult to find the time to actually sit down and read
and relax, but I love to take in audio books or podcasts while I'm cleaning or doing other
things around the house.
So I would totally recommend downloading some audio books or if I could recommend some podcasts
to you, I would recommend the Giovanna Fletcher podcast. I love that one. Also, Shagged. Married.
Annoyed. Is a really funny one. Also Book Club, which is a BBC Radio 4 one. And Scummy
Mummies are hilarious and also Happy Place by Fearne Cotton. I also really love the Blinkist
app. It condenses books down so you can listen to the highlights of an entire book in just
15 minutes. And I really enjoy listening to that, especially while I'm getting ready in
the morning. I can read an entire book or basically just the highlights, but it's great
especially for self help books. My next tip is to practice gratitude. Now this is a really
big one for me. I feel the more grateful you are the more things come your way.
So I like to write down a few things every day that I am grateful for and it can be something
as simple as your health, your kids, you've got some food in the fridge, it just gives
you really, really good vibes and puts things into perspective. My next tip is to have an
at home date night. Now I am actually seeing more of my husband than ever at the moment,
but I miss him. I miss conversations with him and just having time alone with him so
why not once the kids are in bed, put on some candles, make a nice meal, have no phones
or screens and actually talk to each other. Or if you are actually self isolating away
from your partner. I have seen the most adorable things online of couples actually having virtual
date nights together and it's really lovely to see.
My next tip is a really fun one and that is to make a quarantini. Now, my mom took a picture
of a cocktail she made and sent it to me and said, "Look at my quarantini." And I just
thought, I love that so much. Now I'm not a massive one to drink at home, but on the
weekends I'll have a glass of wine. But lately I have been making drinks that I wouldn't
normally have. I've recently discovered pink gin, so I've been having a little pink gin
with Slimline Tonic and some lime, and it has been so nice. It makes me feel like I'm
on vacation or something, and there are so many great ideas on Pinterest of cocktails
that you can try at home.
My next tip is to take up a new hobby or to learn a new skill that you have always wanted
to do. Maybe it's learning a language, maybe it's singing, maybe it's dancing, maybe it's
cooking. There are so many amazing courses that you can do online. I recently downloaded
an app called Simply Piano, and the boys have been learning piano from it. It listens to
the notes they're doing. They can follow along with the lessons and it's been incredible.
They are coming on so, so much just from this little app. (singing)
We've also been loving doing TikTok dances. I feel I'm really bonding with the kids by
learning these little dances with them and it's just really fun. Anything that will make
you smile is going to make you feel good. Or maybe you even want to set up a side hustle
or a business. I get so many messages saying how people would love to set up a YouTube
channel or a branding company. Well now's your chance. Maybe you can do something in
the evening or alongside your work. Make a couple of videos, take a few photos, something
that sets you on fire and makes you feel good. And for the kids, we've also been trying to
make some special memories for them. There's so much sadness going on at the moment that
we're trying to make it so they look back at this time with some nice memories.
So we've been doing family game nights, learning TikTok dances, as I said. We've also been
letting the boys stay up and do the Clap for Carers, which I know is something that they
will remember forever. I've also seen some great things online of people setting up tents
in their garden, camping out in them. Making it like they're on holiday or on vacation.
And we've been doing little things, we did tie dyeing with the kids the other day. Now,
did I really want to tie dye? No, I didn't really want the mess. Did they have an amazing
time? Yes, they keep talking about it. They keep wearing the t-shirts. So yeah, it's been
really special doing some things like that. And my last tip is one that I am sure you've
already been doing and that is to watch a new TV series, whether it be on Netflix or
on Amazon Prime.
And I have a few recommendations for you of ones that we've recently watched. We recently
watched The Stranger, that was really good. We watched Safe. Also, I really loved Stranger
Things. But a few of those are a bit dark so if you're having a day where you're feeling
anxious or fearful, just watch a really feel good one. And a really feel good Netflix series
that I really have been loving is Anne with an E. It's basically a takeoff of Anne of
Green Gables. Matt doesn't enjoy it, but I love it. It's just... I love it. It's great.
I've also been loving so many documentaries. The Taylor Swift one was brilliant, the Justin
Bieber one on YouTube, it was great. Coldplay documentary was also really good and I enjoyed
the Tyson Fury documentary as well. I also enjoyed Dead to Me, Dirty John Crown and Sneaky
Pete as well.
So those are 10 recommendations from me. And I would love to know yours in the comments
below because we are running out of things to watch. I've pretty much just started watching
Friends again because I just know that's easy watching. It makes me feel good. So there's
my tips and I really hope you enjoyed them. I think the main thing is to do things that
you really want to do and to maybe use this time to be productive. But yes, thank you
so much for watching and I'll see you in my next one. Bye guys.