For many including myself, lockdown and furlough gave me the opportunity to try out many new things and to also tick off things that I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, but just haven’t had the time to prior. Now that we’re on the other side of lockdown, I thought I would try to continue some of the hobbies I picked up during lockdown and share with you what those are, and how I’m planning to keep them within my day to day routine.
A few hobbies I picked up during lockdown that i’m continuing post lockdown..
Lockdown and furlough for me gave me a lot of time. Time to reflect, time to work on myself and time to try out things i’d wanted to for a while, or had been putting off due to just not having enough time to do so. During lockdown I mentioned a few of these hobbies in my What I’ve Learnt Through Lockdown blog post and how overall introducing these things into my life during lockdown actually had a really positive impact on me and my overall attitude towards lockdown. Without these hobbies, I’m not entirely sure where i’d be mental health wise, but I will always be thankful that I put my mind to them and now that we’re somewhat back to normality (what even is that anymore) I still want to keep these hobbies as part of my life and routine.
Reading
As I’ve spoken about in a few of my recent blog posts, reading was one of the main hobbies I picked up during lockdown and previously was something that I only did when I was on holiday. Never did I think to spend thirty minutes to an hour of an evening after a long day at work reading instead of scrolling through my phone, yet here I am doing exactly that. During lockdown I would spend hours reading, especially when the weather was as beautiful as it was. I’d set up a blanket with pillows, a nice refreshing drink and a book to get myself lost in for a few hours. Obviously times are different now and I don’t have as much free time on my hands, but in an attempt to be off my phone less of a morning and evening I’ve found myself getting back into reading and I am LOVING it!
Home Workouts
With fitness and workouts being something that was a part of my routine, I had to adapt quite a bit during lockdown and completely switch things up in order to keep it as part of my routine. I have briefly mentioned here and there that home workouts was one thing that I really got into during lockdown all thanks to the guys over at FittAF who hosted weekly live workouts through their private Facebook group, which were a great way to get you moving but to also feel that community vibe that you’d get from the gym or classes. Even now, post lockdown I am still continuing with home workouts as I am yet to join a new gym here in Cheltenham and being completely honest I doubt i’ll be joining a gym for quite some time yet! I love the freedom of home workouts and I find that I enjoy them so much more than a gruelling gym session. Sure my overall strength isn’t as good as it once was, but my head space and happiness is 1000 times better!
Long Outdoor Walks
I think for most people, the daily one hour outdoor walk became the only bit of normality and constant that we had for a few months. I would go on daily dog walks with my family or I’d take myself on a walk just to at least get out of the house and to get some fresh air. It was also a really nice way to spend time with my Mum and Nan during lockdown, as it was the only way that we could see my Nan (at a distance of course) at times and even now, we still try to go on a dog walk at least once or twice a month as a way of spending time together. I think I took for granted what wonderful outdoor spaces we have and it allowed me to explore more of my local area that I didn’t even know existed before.
Running
As well as home workouts and outdoor walks, another hobbie I picked up during lockdown was running. Prior to lockdown I had begun to build up my running on the treadmill at the gym, but with going to the gym not being an option I decided to continue to push myself with my running by taking it outdoors. Similarly to the outdoor walks it really allowed me to explore more of my local area and I discovered some really picturesque running routes that made the run that little bit more bearable. As i’m sat typing up this post, I took myself on my first run in two months but also on my first run here in Cheltenham, and I can tell that it is definitely something I’m going to keep at even if the colder months are slowly creeping in on us.
What hobbies did you pick up during lockdown?
