How to Not Lose Your Marbles During Lockdown

With everything that’s going on in the world right now, it’s understandable if you’re feeling more than a bit discombobulated. 

Maybe you’re suddenly housebound with kids to entertain and educate. You may also be juggling work commitments, while simultaneously attempting to keep the house from falling into complete disarray. 

Whatever you can do to keep yourself calm and positive will go a long way towards the happiness and health of your entire family.

Here are my lockdown tips. These are all tried and tested Project Me resources, and include what I’m doing to keep a healthy, balanced life during this unsettling time.

Project Me Life Wheel® Check-ins

This is so important. Go through each of your 8 Key Life Areas individually to see what needs your focus and what can wait. Having this scheduled ‘figure it out time’ means your brain is not in overdrive all day. Work out any challenges and logistics on paper and you’ll feel more clear-headed afterwards. Get the free Project Me Life Wheel® here. You can also get the spiral-bound Date With Me Workbook on Amazon which will take your check-ins to a whole new level.

My Personal Power Posse

My two girlfriends and I have been meeting up once a month since 2008 to go through the results of our Project Me Life Wheel® check-ins and share intentions, create our action plans and support any struggles. We’re moving this to two meet-ups a month now. It’s so important to surround yourself (virtually speaking…) with positive people to support your inevitable ups and downs. No complain-fests or pity parties; your Power Posse is focused on challenge solving or mindset re-framing – whatever is needed. 

Project WE Online Membership 

This is crucial for those who don’t have a solid Power Posse. The Project WE virtual community is where I check in daily and keep everyone focused on the good. We express our intentions and celebrate our wins, share resources and offer support. We also have monthly virtual Zoom meet-ups. Then there’s the Project WE membership site itself which holds all of the videos and worksheets for your 8 Key Life Areas. We have a brand new module next week from parenting coach Elaine Halligan on How To Only Ask Once (for better cooperation). With a super low pay-as-you-go monthly subscription, it’s like a gym membership for your entire life. Join Project WE here.

Free Project Me FAMILY ISOLATION KIT

• Design My Day – Filling this in every morning is a game-changer! I get tagged in more social media posts over this one than anything else. 
• Design My Weekend – Because weekends need to feel different to weekdays. Especially now.  
• Weekly Fitness Planner – Plot out how you’ll move your body each week.
• Me Time – Brainstorm what you’ll do when you have 5 mins, 15 mins, an hour to yourself. (So you don’t waste it on your typical time-sucks.)
• Chores Charts
• Rules & Rewards
• Boredom Buster
• Reading Chart
• Blank Charts for creating your own

+ so many more! Get the FREE Family Isolation Kit here.

Lockdown Food Survival Plan 

Family Nutritionist Julie Clark has created this incredible resource. The plan includes: • How to meal plan and only go to the shops once every 3 weeks. • Food swaps for those hard to get products. • Food journal to help you stay on track and avoid the emotional eating. • Lunch maker check list so the kids can make their own lunch. • Eat the rainbow activity. • 21 dinners, 10 lunches, 5 breakfast recipes plus 25 snacks to make and 21 snacks to buy. • Immune boosting programme – 7-day plan with recipes and meal plan. • 25 foods to boost your immune system. • Supplement advice. • Resources to help you and kids reduce stress and keep calm. • Bonus: healthy BBQ and homemade lollies. 

Get the Lockdown Food Survival Plan here.

Daily Meditations 

I begin each morning with a guided meditation in the free Insight Timer Meditation app. Right now they have several meditations especially around Covid19. Releasing fears, embracing change, connecting to love, self-care, boosting immunity. There are also beautiful sleep meditations, midday breathing breaks, and meditations especially for mothers. Join my Project Me for Busy Mothers group in the app. and say hi!

Tapping / EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique)

I’m a huge fan of Tapping for working through unhelpful emotions, from irritation and frustration, to anxiety and overwhelm. The lovely Zandra Spencer has produced some Tapping meditations specifically for anxieties during this epidemic, including around homeschooling kids. Find them here. And this is Zandra Spencer’s website for 1:1 sessions which I highly recommend.

Online Workouts

We’ve got to keep moving! I’m using a Project Me Weekly Fitness Planner to plot out how I’ll move my body each day, then doing a variety of online options:

My regular dance teacher AJ O’Neil has moved his in-person classes to Instagram Live @sitdownaj. He’s a professional choreographer, stand-up comedian and knows how to get us dancing and laughing. I attend as many of these as I can to raise my vibes and keep my body moving. 

A lot of parents in the UK are so grateful to Joe Wicks for running his weekday morning P.E. classes for kids on his YouTube Channel!

A shout-out too to Vicky Warr’s online ‘Bump & Beyond’ Fitness & Nutrition. Live video classes at home, targeted to mums specifically after pregnancy and for all stages of motherhood. Plus family-friendly recipes, meal plans and personal support from Vicky.

There is much more I will add to this post. But I will never hit publish if I don’t end here for now! Circle back for more soon.

Thank you for sharing this post with your friends and on social media / WhatsApp. 

EXCITING UPDATE: My High Vibe Journey programme is here to help you keep your personal vibes high during this pandemic and far beyond.

Please read the amazing testimonials from the women who’ve done the High Vibe Journey here.

In the comments below, let me know which of these lockdown tips you’ll try or are already doing, plus share your own. 

Sending love and positive vibes to you and your loved ones.