7 Tips On Staying Motivated and Positive During Lockdown
While we’re closed, we believe it is important as ever to stay connected, inspired, and help each other. As each of us is impacted by the current health crisis, we enter a space where we can reflect deeply. While we’re closed, our journal will feature one member of our Floatworks family, where we’ll share what they are doing to stay well, be mindful, get creative, and find meaning in this moment.
Not too long before the coronavirus outbreak, we all had our hopes and dreams as well as plans for the rest of the year. Yet, it seems that life has been put on hold for an indefinite period of time. Some of us have adjusted to this unusual situation, whereas others might be feeling isolated or demotivated.
This month we decided to interview the team in Vauxhall to find out how they have been spending their time. We asked them how they stay positive and what habits are important for staying motivated in these strange times. We don’t know when we are going to be back to normal and for those who are still socially isolating, we present these seven tips.
1. Routine is key
Chris Plowman, our amazing co-founder, wants to share his secret with us. He says that routine is crucial if you want to stay positive and motivated. Chris is known as an early riser. He likes waking up early and recommends this video by Robin Sharma to those who want to follow his example. Every day he writes a list of things – career or personal life-related – he wants to achieve. According to Chris, creating a detailed schedule is a useful habit. This way, even if you forget to do something from your to-do-list, you can always keep track of what needs to be done and move it to the next day.
2. Your body is a temple
We should always remember to treat our bodies with the utmost respect like the ancients did. Everyone at Floatworks has their own routine that keeps them healthy mentally and physically. Yoga, stretching, meditation, cold shower – you name it. There are so many ways to stay fit. It is especially important to take care of ourselves in times like these. Tiago, the fabulous manager of the centre in Vauxhall, says that staying physically active is a great coping mechanism. He told us that he wants to challenge himself more and do things he doesn’t normally have the time for. For instance, Tiago has been doing a lot of flexibility training lately.
The mind is equally important because it is an essential part of the body. Nicole, who joined us just before the country went on lockdown, has been doing online courses about happiness and mindfulness. She says that keeping yourself busy with something that actually interests you is very important. “It’s stimulating for the brain and you learn new techniques to manage yourself during this challenging period”, she says.
3. Embrace your emotions
We need to remind ourselves that it’s okay to experience negative emotions from time to time. We all have experienced them because they are a natural part of life. After all, without sadness, we wouldn’t know joy. Our marketing manager Phyllis – and an amazing human being – who moved to Berlin just before the lockdown was officially announced, says that instead of keeping ourselves busy we need to “make ourselves happy”. She knows that it’s hard and unnecessary to stay positive all the time. Instead, she thinks it’s important to pay attention to your feelings. “Plant some trees and flowers, I feel happy when I see their growth”, she says.
Similarly, Andy, our social media manager, believes that staying motivated all the time is difficult due to all the uncertainty. “I’m trying to give myself the best chance of being in a positive state of mind and motivated by making sure I’m exercising regularly, eating healthily and getting regular good sleep”, he said.
4. Less is more
Minimalism, both in design and as an approach to life, is in vogue. Harite, the most peace-loving and Zen person at Floatworks, knows a thing or two about it. He says that the current crisis has influenced his way of understanding “what’s important and what has no value so I can focus on less”. One of the best ways to focus on less is to clean your house. In the words of Marie Kondo, if it doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it. By cleaning your house you can clean your mind!
5. It’s time to go offline/outside
Harite also recommends focusing on living in the moment. “I work on myself. I focus on the good. I reduce the information I consume online”. He said that instead of spending most of your time online, you can do so many interesting things offline such as writing, going for outside walks, and runs in the park. Tiago also says he’s addicted to the sun and naturally gravitates to outdoor activities. When the weather is good, he likes exercising outside in his garden.
6. Keep calm and read a book – or listen to a podcast
Even if you are stuck at home alone, it is impossible to feel lonely in a room full of great books. As you might know already, here at Floatworks we really like reading. For instance, Chris recommends reading Radically Happy by Phakchok Rinpoche – a book about finding the path to radical happiness. Victor told us that Utopia For Realists is a very inspirational book that everyone should read. Its message really resonated with him in times like these. Rutger Bregman, the author of the book, says that “if we want to change the world, we need to be unrealistic, unreasonable, and impossible”. Such an uplifting and motivating message that we need today!
A podcast is a good alternative to reading because it allows you to multitask. Andy recommends History on Fire, which is his favourite podcast at the moment. According to him, it is “for anyone who likes history without the boring academia”. For those who like philosophy, Victor highly recommends listening to Philosophize This – he always puts it on when he goes for a run!
7. Learn new habits or re-discover old ones
Time has become a precious commodity because we are always so busy. Now that we have more time, we should use it sensibly. For example, Victor has re-discovered his passion for playing the piano recently. He says it brings him a lot of joy and gets him in the state of flow. Similarly, Nicole believes that “getting creative can be super relaxing and can be as simple as painting, drawing, trying a different recipe, or writing”. There are so many ways to be present – at the end of the day art is another form of meditation.