Are you prepared for a second lockdown?
If you are reading this and the title and picture lands for you as a pragmatic reality of our future, you probably also suddenly feel a little “down” right now.
Today’s post, then, is not about being prepared physically and functionally, but being prepare mentally and emotionally.
First, will a second lockdown happen? My answer is “yes”. A few days ago I wrote: “Prepare for things getting worse, then hope for better“, predicting that (here in the UK) we will go back into a full lockdown and soon.
Events seemed to overtake my thinking almost right away, as within two days the UK Government started to talk about this. Now, as they have repeatedly done, I predict they may waffle for longer than they should, it looks like a second full lockdown may happen.
So, what can we do now to prepare, particularly on a mental and emotional level?
To begin stimulating your thinking on this topic, take a look at a post I wrote two years ago called “Proactive Resilience“.
After reading that, just as you can and will create a plan of action for physical needs for yourself and those you lead, do the same mentally and emotionally, whether it be around diet, exercise, rest, communications with those close to you.
Whatever it is that will support your mental health through a second lockdown, prepare and plan in advance as much as you can to have it in place.
One particular area I recommend you focus on is routine, rhythm and regularity of communications.
As an example, during full lockdown my sons (who live overseas) and I had a daily Zoom call. Only a few minutes, but at the same time every day. It meant a lot to each of us to keep that in our routine, to talk every day. Now things have eased, we talk about once a week or so as before, but if it gets back to lockdown the daily call rhythm will be something we reinstate.
Talking daily to my sons forms part of my Proactive Resilience plan, part of being prepared.
I encourage you to act now on your own proactive resilience plan. As per my earlier post, prepare for worse. It may never happen, but be prepared as it may do.