How To Thrive in Lockdown (even while Homeschooling)!
How To Thrive in Lockdown (even while Homeschooling)!
On Monday evening the UK went into it's third lockdown and families everywhere are back to the world of staying home and having to get back into homeschooling again.
My daughter only started school in September so, apart from a couple of weeks when her bubble had to isolate, homeschooling is new to me. Of course, having to find a way through the day and week with a little one in tow is not new to me.
As a Mum for almost 5 years the emotions lockdown brought up for me were definitely not all new. But they were more intense. Can you relate?
I felt nervous and worried as I thought about what socialising, learning and development my daughter would be missing out on.
I felt anxious due to the huge responsibility it brought about in me to make the time the best it could be for her. How could I make it a valuable 6 weeks for her? How could I manage her emotions and confusion over it.
I was cross that the decision was made so late that I'd already started to prepare her for returning whereas I could have acted as if it was planned and meant to be rather than the chaos of will it or won't it happen that we experienced for a number of days.
I was frustrated about all the emotions I would need to manage and all the sadness she'd have about what she will miss out on. Thankfully my daughter was not back at school yet due to an inset day but my heart goes out to all those children who went in for one day only to be told that they couldn't return the next. Surely that could and should have been avoided.
Finally, I felt truly and deeply sad. Sad for all the keyworkers that are relentlessly working so hard in all of this. Sad for myself and all of you Mums out there that are trying to keep a harmonious home life throughout all of this.
So I wanted to help by sharing my coaching practices with you
I figured the best way I could help is with my coaching expertise. I plan to use my coaching techniques and exercises on myself to ensure I don't just survive but really thrive in this lockdown. I'm excited to use the time to learn more about myself and my relationship with my daughter.
So here's how coaching can help you thrive this lockdown:
Step 1 - Get all your negative thoughts and emotions out
Journal or meditate. Go for a walk and mull it all over. Phone a friend and have a chat or a rant or even email me at [email protected]
You may find you feel better just by doing this. But there's more. Let's keep going.
Step 2 - Take a step back from the thoughts and emotions you've uncovered
Our beliefs around being a Mum and what we think is expected of "a good Mum" and a homeschooling Mum affects our energy levels and how we show up for our children each day. Our thoughts and beliefs create our reality and if you are holding onto a lot of negative thoughts and beliefs such as "homeschooling is too hard", "I can't do all of this" or "lockdown is going to be awful" you'll struggle to keep your mood, patience and energy levels high.
But don't worry, you can change your perspective. There are a few ways in which you can do this:
Think about what you would say to a friend if she told you she felt how you did.
Use positive reframing whereby you put your negatives in the left column and then find a positive to add to the right column for each statement
Practise being a positive Pollyanna and think of all the positives of lockdown to balance the negatives
Get a gratitude attitude and think of all the things you do have. Welcome lockdown as a time of opportunity to grow and learn something
Surrender and trust that good will come of lockdown
I hope you've found this really helpful. I'll be posting more on this subject very soon.
In the meantime, if you'd like to know more, download my 5 step guide at rebeccahogancoaching.com
It's designed to help you transform your mindset. To work out what thoughts and beliefs you need to work on so that you can dramatically improve your day to day reality. If you want to feel empowered in your day to day life, get rid of the high emotions and dramas of family life and experience an amazing relationship with your family, my guide will help you with just that.
Or if you feel ready to find out how coaching can help you on an individual level get in touch at [email protected]
Wishing you all the best,
Rebecca
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