Habits that changed the way we now inhabit.
What an overwhelming 4 months it's been! We went into lockdown on the 17th of March completely anaware of what the future holds for us. We felt the excitement of working from home, the opportunity to spend more time together as a couple and reconnect or do all the activities we never had the time for and the list goes on. One thing we didn't know for sure was how long this situation will last for. Up to this point, it seems like UK is taking longer than any other country to recover -which makes sense- and four months later we are almost right back where we started.
A lot of things in our lives have changed during this time not only because of Covid-19. No matter how anxious we were at the beginning, there was only one thing we could do; keep on living and moving on with our lives as planned. Since before the first signs of COVID-19 around the globe, we took the wise decision to incorporate some new measures in our day to day lives as part of our awkward transition moving towards 'adulthood'. It's all about self-care this days! What are these new habits that we have adopted to mark the entrance in this new phase of our lives?
Put our finances in order~
Getting financially stable was one of the first measures we implemented, since before we started planning our wedding. This was over two and a half years ago now. We usually don't plan ahead for our future this far, yet this was a sincere decision thinking long-term and setting our priorities straight. Also, the willingness of stepping into this new chapter as newlyweds more financially independent and without having to sacrifice much -in case things change in the future and we need to make a move, buy a bigger house, a car, and so forth- was always there.
Sometimes we let what consumes our mind to control our lives. Years passing by and we are still wondering when the right time will come. Am I ready to take this new step? Will I ever be ready to become a parent? Will I do great at this new job? At some point I decided to stop my thoughts from eating me alive and let things happen at their own time. I just had to set new goals and be ready to welcome any changes coming my way.
All things said, we tried to find ways to drastically cut our spending, without affecting our quality of living remarkably. We postponed moving to a bigger house until we have a better understanding on where we see ourselves at in the near future. We agreed on a low budget tailormade trip instead of a multi-thousand honeymoon package which helped save a ton of money and decided to slow down traveling and be cautious of our expenses in general. Being financially self-dependent for many years has helped understand the value of money and the difficulty that lies in pursuing a good job position and by extend land on a higher-paying job. The quarantine has actually proven to be liberating in this case, as it's also helped our savings to grow fivefold on a monthly basis.
Adopting a healthier lifestyle~
Wellness was never our thing, so about 6 months ago we decided to take some time to reflect on what could work better for us. The lockdown enabled us to improve our sleeping habits and to establish and maintain a healthier diet, but has unfortunately also reduced significantly the amount of our daily excersice to the minimum. We started aiming for a good 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep daily, making it our top priority. Though, the most difficult part throughout this time was learning to cope with the new anxiety related to Covid, but that's a totally different story.
In addition to this, just before the lockdown started I personally took the decision to stay alcohol free for a while -which wasn't the greatest of decisions considering the stressful period that followed. Wine not? My blood type used to be wine possitive as a huge wine lover. Still up to date I have not regretted my decision to give up drinking for a year. I wouldn't say I am a huge coffee drinker as such. I most likely wake up by the smell of coffee rather than the amount of caffeine involved, so it wasn't that hard for me to reduce my daily caffeine intake either. I am kinda missing my daily tea routine though, but hoping to get back on track with it during the colder months of autumn.
As part of the process of preparing ourselves for a potential pregnancy in the near future, we started boosting our system with a good mix of supplements including vitamins B, C, D, E, Selenium and Zinc and for myself Folic Acid too. Within the frame of turning towards an 100% additive and paraben free lifestyle, we stopped using all chemical products, from hair and body products to certain essential oils and perfumes, to cleaning products and anything applicable to our bodies. We also decided to stay away from high-risk Zika virus countries for a minimum of 6 months to a year before start trying for a baby. The sacrifices we make for those we love :)
What's worth keeping in mind while undergoing changes like the above is that they are not a one time goal but a lifelong journey. That's why we should never impose ourselves into adopting new drastic measures, but the turn towards this more healthy way of living must be a knowledgeable decision that will inevitably become necessary.