Self Improvement During Lockdown
The internet is flooded with tips about how to spend your lockdown time. Sourdough starters and guitar tutorials are positive ways to occupy yourself but are they contributing to your “bigger picture”?
We all have an idea of the type of person we want to be and the sorts of things that are important to us. However, the routine of normal daily life creates habits that may or may not be aligned with our ideal selves. The change of routine and lessening of external commitments provided by lockdown is a really good opportunity to review your lifestyle and habits and make some positive changes.
Making positive changes can help us manage the negative feelings that being in lockdown brings for most people but it is important to be realistic and focused. Trying to make too many changes or setting unrealistic goals can further contribute to lockdown hopelessness and dissatisfaction. Similarly, having an intention to change with no plan of action can leave you feeling like a failure.
Follow the below steps to create satisfying self-improvement during lockdown:
1) Think about the areas of your life: relationships; health; leisure and work. Which area of your life do you feel needs the most attention or is the most poorly aligned with your ideal self?
2) In that area, think of the positive habits and behaviors you have developed already. For example, if your area is health you may already have a good daily exercise habit, you might eat well and you might already be getting therapy for anxiety issues.
3) Now think about the habits and behaviours that don’t serve you as well in this area. Another way of identifying these is to ask yourself the Reality TV Show question: “If my life were on a reality TV show which aspects of my life (in this area) would I NOT want people to see?”
For example, you might drink more alcohol than you would like. You might forget to floss your teeth. You might have always wanted to start meditating but find it difficult to get into.
4) Once you have a list of the habits that you could change, order them in terms of priority. Find the habit/behaviour that you think would make the most positive impact on that area of your life.
5) Both good and bad habits have three parts: triggers, routine and rewards. Think about what triggers the habit/behaviour you want to change. It might be an emotion or internal feeling or an external factor like the time of day, being in front of the computer, or being with another person.
6) Once you identify the trigger think about the habit you would like to develop when that trigger occurs. For example: At 5pm on Friday I’d like to go for a walk rather than open a bottle of wine. Think about the things you could do to make that new behaviour easier. Accountability (e.g. organizing to meet a friend for a walk) and pre-commitment (e.g. not having alcohol in the house) are good ways to make the new behaviour easier to begin.
7) Now think about the reward for that change. Imagine what your life would be like and how you would feel about yourself if you made this change.
For example: “If I didn’t drink as much I’d get better sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. I’d start to lose some weight and it would be easier to stay active and improve my fitness. I’d save money, my friendships would deepen and I’d feel like I’m more in control of my life, more proud of myself.”
Write out these rewards and put them somewhere visible (e.g. on the fridge, on your bathroom mirror), ideally where they will be visible when your habit is triggered, to help you keep in mind why you are making this change.
You might also like to plan some short term rewards such as a star chart or a treat for yourself when you perform the new habit. The harder the habit is to change for you, the more important you have an immediate reward for making the positive change.
8) You are now ready to change this habit. Remember, behaviour change happens over time so even if you miss a trigger and revert to your old behaviour one day don’t give up. Reflect on what happened and use that information to make any adjustments to your plan going forward. Think about the ways in which you can make the new behaviour easier and the old one harder or ways in which you can change your routine to avoid the triggers.