Getting through lockdown tip sheet

For me, like others, going for ridiculously long walks with my Lab and discovering parts of the city (Edinburgh) that I hadn’t discovered before, as I’m always in a car being in a hurry for no reason.

Started to work out at home, a 20 mins HIIT session every couple of days - yes, like that wank Joe Wicks. However, my app tells me I’ve done 160 workouts, over 2551 minutes and lost 11,247 calories. Got me thinking though, would I be the size of Wales if I hadn’t bothered and carried on sitting about being a fat fuck.

Also, managed to catalogue all of my record collection on Discogs. Which was nice/hell.

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Been baking bread, not exactly earth shatteringly original but lasts us the week and don’t need the recipe any more, can do it pretty much blindfold, which takes some of the drudgery out of it.
Talk/video to my mate in Spain on an almost daily basis we have a right chuckle, he’s got into trading on stock exchange so pretty much talk about how much he lost the day before… expensive but hilarious, I told him he could hire a stand-up to come around every night, would be cheaper.
Vaguely staying sane I think.

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I’ve recently just found myself sleeping far too much. which I don’t like and I need to nip in the bud

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I was walking a lot but the last few weeks I seem to have lost the motivation for it. Need to try and pick myself back up again,. Like Piers I’ve found myself sleeping a lot, an easter weekend and I was in my bed every night before 10pm and not getting up early either.

Cooking on a Saturday, trying to make something out of my comfort zone and getting a bit chefy has been the main thing keeping me going.

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It’s gotten worse here in Brazil, so hard to keep a happy face on. Like others have said, my motivation to keep healthy has waned, but I’m trying to summon it back because we have a loooooong way to go still.

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@elzorro - it does work focussing on that stuff one hundred percent…

@ScottProper - i’ve just sorted all my wavs out haha so i’m with you. now on burning in cd tracks i like. this may take a while.

@gavin - they look ace!!

@piers - me too. i almost struggled getting up today but fought it, got up and went for a walk. felt good to get out.

@kickintheeeye same. i was doing about 12k a day and then just stopped and felt frustrated with myself. i guess you just need to get out and get it going again.

@mgg - I think we’re basically all in the same boat here. trying our best but its a struggle. definitely finding that structure is a key to feeling good.

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No tips from me sorry. I have gone full on crazy

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The staff of life has been a crutch for my sanity this whole time. Feel very proud watching my starter come roaring back now that the weather is good! Nice to coax a living thing thru the cold dark time and then have it flourish again.

Been digging deeper into the ruined/industrial/reclaimed natural spaces around where i live. Biking distance has gotten wider as i’ve gotten fitter, which opens up new terrain. This is an abandoned storage area for iron ore for a now-dismantled steelworks. It’s full of hundreds of red winged blackbirds at the moment, bouncing their weird shrieks endlessly off the mile-long walls. I’ve really enjoyed becoming more rooted in place during the pandemic, noticing interesting things on the 50th go-round…who says you have to travel far to see something new?


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Nice loaf!

What a lovely thread (but what else would you expect in this place? :slight_smile: )

It’s been work work work from home for me throughout, so very little change in the last year - although the day job can be pretty interesting most of the time, which is something to be thankful for (along with being able to still remain employed). My daughter was remote learning for a while, in recent months her school’s been alternating in-person and online learning days, which works for her, so that’s been good - for both of us, to be honest. My wife’s been back on site (hospital) for a while now. I get kind of jealous that they get to be out of the house, but TBH it could be a lot worse.

After several months of being unable to do so (structural work in the basement), I’m finally getting the brewing setup back up and running. We got them to knock an interior wall out while they were doing the basement, freed up a lot of space and managed to rejig things, so that’s been really exciting. Still need to get some final shelving up, but managed to brew over the long weekend for the first time in five months. Being 100% computer/desk oriented for the day job, it’s a joy to be able to do something hands-on that has a tangible end result at the end of it (which you can also share and enjoy with others - even in Covid times, you can drop off bottles on a porch!).

Two things that I’ve kind of let slide are the internet radio show (need to get back in the saddle with that soon, found it very hard to feel excited about it - or music, for that matter - but am feeling some mild stirrings again) and cooking (again, been getting back in to it of late, but we ended up going with Hello Fresh for a few meals every other week and that’s helped in terms of abdicating decision-making, and lifting the best ideas/recipies for ourselves).

I’m sure many others have done the same, but finding less obvious bingeable stuff on Netflix has kept me going (OCTB, Unit 42, Bad Blood,) and then going through the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe with the family, and more recently Superstore.

The Switch has also been a godsend in our house. We happened to pick up Animal Crossing just before everything went to sh1t over here, and that was yet more family fun. I got Rocket League as a birthday present and have spent more time on that than is probably healthy, but some escapist gaming fun has keep me sane for many an evening. I scored Yoku’s Island Express for next to nothing (Deku Deals is a site worth bookmarking!) and that’s been another enjoyable but surreal way to lose oneself for a bit from time to time. Just over halfway through now, and still loving it.

Things here in this part of Canada (Ontario) aren’t great right now, a frankly avoidable third wave is really starting to hit (literally waiting for a stay-at-home order to be confirmed this afternoon, after a lockdown-not-lockdown announced last week was rightly panned and has been utterly ineffective). Trying to avoid doomscrolling and focusing on what you can do to make a difference in your own situation is probably the best any of us can do.

Stay safe out there, wherever you are xx

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Animal Crossing for the Switch is fantastic. I got one of my daughters a Switch for Xmas but have probably played it more than her. How a game where you have to do chores (fishing, growing fruit & veg) to pay of your mortgage and buy nice things for your house can be so relaxing and fun, I don’t know but it really is

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That feckin KK Slider can do one, though. Hoped he would be Balearic. Sadly not.

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Haha, I must admit to finding myself partial to a bit of K.K. Reggae

Superstore! We’ve become obsessed by it. Every night watching an episode as a family has become a total staple of lockdown. It’s the things like that we will miss.

My youngest is big into that. I have enjoyed playing Mario Kart with him the last year. The last time I indulged in this sort of thing was Paperboy on the ZX :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Lucky we live in a small town on the coast… Hate sleeping in when not working, good sunrise spot 5 minutes from the house

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My youngest got totally addicted to Mario Kart in the first lockdown. Not as much family Grand Prix action now but I’m sure we will get sucked into it again when the new MarioKart comes out.

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This helps :smiley: I think sunrise was 06:35 this morning :sleeping: maybe tomorrow today was first of 3 days off work

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Stunning. It’s amazing the difference the sun makes to your mood

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Blessed where we live and very grateful. Still no bars or restaurants open here I think the Irish government are watching how things pan out over next couple of weeks in the UK, as most countries they seem to be making up as they go along…

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