(if that happens)
My erstwhile boss used to start every new financial year with a discussion about it being a new journey. Like every journey we need to pack our bag with ideas,habits that will be useful for the coming time and discard the things that are no longer needed. It has stuck with me even now.
When the COVID-19 lockdown ends and I crawl out from under the rocks, the whole world will have changed. And so shall start a new journey.
These are the 5 things that I want to pack in my bag when/if the lock-down lifts (I am not talking about sanitizers and masks- if you haven’t got that till now- do scroll up).
Here goes.
#1. Working Out:
It took me a while to even start working out. Having injured my knee (a fun Ligament Tear story) I felt super hesitant to even start. I also have a history of injuring myself trying to work out. I ‘hair-fractured’ a rib last year trying to do ab crunches. Yes. That happened. It hurt to laugh. Don’t care to repeat it.
Nevertheless somehow one day I shook the gathering dust on the bones and started with basic stretching moves. And then just did same the next day too. Then the day after that. No biggie. Then, as I got confident, I set the pace to move slowly from Stretches to Hands Elevated Push Ups. After 15 days, I graduated to 3–4 sets of 20 push ups. Since I am blessed with the body type that makes me look like a giant traffic cone, I have to do a lot of work with abdomen, but you will never catch me doing another crunch. However I have found doing double leg circles and churning the mill pose to be supremely helpful! So now I do 3 sets of 30*2 repeats each. Other than stretching the neck, upper and lower back exercises, and finishing off with a decent anoolom vilom pranayam. This takes about an hour.
Initially there was a “break-day” or two, but I found myself to be increasingly churlish and irritable, on those days. Now I find it much easier to Just Do It rather than to being a grumpy grump for the rest of the day.
It’s addictive.
#2. Eating twice a day:
Some people call it intermittent fasting, and locals call it “The Dixit Diet”.
I call it cooking only 2 times.
Because of the lockdown, my husband and I were working from home, in addition to taking care of our energetic 6 year old daughter. It used to take forever for both of us to cook, clean, eat, work, keep our daughter meaningfully engaged in 3 cycles and then finally wind everything down by midnight.
It only made sense to skip the breakfast in favor of an early lunch/brunch. No food in between because who has the time. And then eat only by 8PM at most, not only because we would be ravenous by that time, but also it allows for a lot of post-dinner free time. We’d use that to clean up and finish pending work without feeling bloated or acidic, no matter what we ate.
This is working out AWESOME because not only we get to eat whatever we want. We are both actually losing weight. Never has this happened that I finish almost every meal with ice-cream and still lose weight.
This routine has now fit in our life as well as the right piece in a large and confusing jigsaw puzzle.
I don’t think I am ever going back to eating 6–7 times a day. It just doesn’t feel right any more. The other happy side effect is less dishes to wash. It’s a win-win not matter how you look at it. This stays.
#3. Going Grey
This one is a special.
I have decided not to color my hair anymore. It’s a big deal, because as I have recently discovered, a lot of my hair has started to turn grey. The thought of hiding that and having to colouring my hair regularly in favor of me looking closer to my own age only to damaging the hair more each time, was never a comfortable thought. But I always chose that, better to blend in rather than standing out and being as is.
That is until I came upon #gombre resolution on Instagram.
Check this out:#Gombre and tell me if it doesn’t give you the feels to see all these amazing beautiful women being awesomely powerful being comfortable with their grey locks. I get the same feels when I see something patriotic or emotional. You WANT to be part of that revolution. And so I have decided to be.
It’s not like I have something against hair color. But it feels right to be something that I should want to, not something I should have to.
Let’s see how that goes :)
#4. Keep Learning
I think I will be an amazing illustrator. I just don’t know how to draw though. But I’m learning. I’m also learning to code again(Python) and I am finishing my General Management certificate course with IIM-Kozhikode.
In addition to that I am learning how to read better, how to write better.
With my daughter, I am also learning French.
I understand that once we return to our new normal lives, we may not be blessed with this kind of time, but I have tasted the freedom one feels when learning new things.
Maybe not the myriad things I have on my plate right now- but something no matter how small a quantum, but there should be a regular influx of new knowledge and skills in life. That’s the deal.
#5. Being a better spouse
There is always scope of improvement in this department.
Fights are easy when you have less time with each other and you don’t have to live with the immediate repercussions . You hang up. You go to work, or step out for a walk and find a different space to calm down.
Now there is no where to go. Fights and arguments need to be responsible. You have to be around and have to pick up the pieces and have to make peaces too.
Lack of options has forced my husband and I to be better listeners and better responders. No one is perfect, but we now make effort to acknowledge and accept.
For a million reasons and more, this is usually the most important relationship in our lives. Also most ignored and eclipsed- behind kids, work, jobs, social responsibilities and such. It comes last. Like ourselves. There is a complete segment and many books that can be written about it. But for me the resolve is to consciously continue on my journey to be a better partner to my husband than yesterday. And I want to keep that working on this. Just like in life, this point came in the last (even after #gombre) but that is how may be it stays relevant for the longest.
Do share what are your thoughts in the response box below, what would you like to pack in your ideological bag for #Lifeafterlockdown?
