Watch out for these bad habits during lockdown

Lockdown conditions have been hard to live through for all of us. Hopefully, there will be light at the end of the tunnel soon, but many people will be staying indoors for the foreseeable future.

While the number of new daily coronavirus cases is now quite low in Ottawa and across the province as a whole, caution is still the order of the day for many individuals.

It is easy to slip into bad habits when stuck at home for the vast majority of the day. Here are a few of the things to watch out for if you are still remaining in lockdown right now.

Binging on food, technology or television

While some people have revelled in being able to spend extended periods in the comfort of their own home, for others retaining some semblance of self-control has been very difficult.

The fridge is a temptation that is very hard to ignore and snacking throughout the day has become the norm for many, rather than sticking to a regular, healthy and balanced diet. When you factor in that a lot of us have been unable to get to the gym for a while because they have been closed due to the pandemic, trying to stay on track with your diet is even more important.

Food is not the only thing people might have been binging on during the coronavirus crisis, though. With many people having lost their jobs, it can be hard to avoid spending much of the day using technology, with social media a massive time-sink.

Television has helped to fill the hours as well but maintaining some moderation can be tricky for when people get addicted to a new series. We have all sat on the sofa for hours on end, glued to the latest Netflix show, but binging on television is not really good for us at all.

Derry Girls

Like with everything, moderation is the key. Watch Netflix, but not for hours and hours on end. Take that "are you still watching?" nudge as a prompt to get up and turn the TV off for a while.

Excessive gambling and overspending

Our finances have been all over the place through the coronavirus crisis. So many people have been let go by their employers while others are finding their bank balances are actually growing if they have been able to stay in their jobs. This is because their commute costs have been cut to nothing due to working from home, with daily discretionary spending also vastly reduced.

But, in a strange way, the pandemic has led to it becoming easier to overspend, too. Most of us are plugged into the internet for most of the day, being bombarded with online shopping adverts. It can be very easy to hit the buy button on something that you do not really need to purchase.

With casinos across Canada forced to close their doors because of COVID-19, online gambling has seen a sharp rise in activity in recent months too. The flexibility of gambling at online casinos can be a good thing but it is arguably harder to remain in control of spending at them.

If you need to play, play for free. Nowadays, there are a lot of online casino sites where it is possible to sign up and start playing for real money without even making a deposit. Demo mode is another way to try out some new online slots without spending any real cash.

Anyone who is worried about overspending during lockdown might find it useful to set up a budget, for example using a simple spreadsheet, to track how much cash they are spending.

Losing your daily routine

Days can easily blend into each other during lockdown. Even at the weekend, it can be hard to make the days any different from Monday to Friday.

A daily routine can be extremely useful to maintaining some sense of normalcy in these unprecedented times. For example, avoiding lazy lie-ins that have a tendency to stretch late in the mornings might be beneficial. Instead, consider an early workout or a brief blitz of exercise to help get the blood pumping and set you up for the rest of the day.

If you are still working, it can be hard to stick to regular office hours. But those who have been doing their jobs from home find it difficult to switch out of work mode into enjoying home life. Indeed, it is often being said we are living at work, rather than working from home, these days.

Society is adapting to COVID-19, but it seems likely the pandemic is going to be around for some time to come. A vaccine might not be ready in Canada until 2021 or perhaps even later.

All this means it is more important than ever to get a grip on those bad habits!

Photo: Charles Deluvio, Unsplash