When Boris Johnson announced the ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown.

Aside from kids going back to school next week, we’ve got at least another month of the same old, same old without much change.

Even then, it will be slow going…

Maybe we can allow some people into the garden in a month’s time…

Perhaps we can go to a pub or restaurant in May…

Possibly, things might be back to normal(ish) by the end of June.

But that feels like a LONG time away, right?

In the meantime we have to carry on treading water in our lives, stuck indoors.

No parties, no cinema trips, no restaurants, no pubs…

No gyms, no swimming pools, no spas…

No big national events… no major tournaments… no festivals…

I don’t know about you, but even things like Zoom chats with friends have all fallen by the wayside too during this lockdown – I think it’s because nobody has anything to say!

We’re all just waiting…

Life at the moment involves getting up, doing whatever needs to be done… work, home schooling, online shopping, maybe a food trip to the supermarket… then bed again.

It’s like Groundhog Day, the film where weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, gets stuck in time on February 2nd.

Every day he wakes up to the same day. Over and over.

We never get to know how many times he lives through that day. But movie buffs speculate that it could have been more than THIRTY THREE years.

After all, while he is stuck in a time loop, he masters new skills, including playing the piano, sculpting with ice and speaking fluent French!

Which begs the question…

Have YOU mastered the piano yet?

A lot of lifestyle gurus and motivational trainers recommended that we develop skills and achieve goals with all that extra time on our hands.

Learn an instrument!

Write a book!

Take up long distance running!

Lose a stone!

But that’s not what most people have done in the lockdown, particularly not this gruelling winter one.

Sure, a few might have got super-fit, completed an educational course or written their memoir…

But for most, the effect of lockdown has been to grind down on their sense of purpose… sapping their energy and willpower…

Until really all they can hope to do is get through the day without falling into despair.

If you’ve felt like that, I get it, I really do.

And with another month or two left before we can start emerging from this horrific time loop, I want to suggest a different way of looking at things, which might help you get through it.

Okay, so you’ve not used the past three months to learn the piano, sculpt ice or speak French…

You might not have your first course up and running.

You might not have even come up with an idea, or done any more research into what course you could create.

(If you HAVE then fantastic! And please do email me and tell me all about how you’re getting on!)

However, please don’t beat yourself up about that.

Instead, it might be worth looking a little more closely at what you HAVE done.

I will bet there is at least ONE small thing you do each day that helps you, or someone else, move forward or grow in some way.

Something that made that day a tiny bit different to the other days in lockdown.

You just haven’t recognised it, because you’ve taken it for granted.

So here’s a way to ‘see’ these things for what they are…

How to Make Every Day Different and Worthwhile

Each night, make a list of all of the things you’ve done that day, no matter how small.

Seeing them written down will make you see the little – yet important – things you’ve achieved.

It could simply be that you’ve walked the dog, made a delicious lunch, paid your electricity bill, tidied the house, or read a chapter of a book.

Write down why you did these things and how they made you feel.

Think about how they helped you, or someone else, in a small and meaningful way.

Include every small pleasure you had, even if it was getting the sun on your face… spending 30 minutes in the garden… listening to your favourite album… watching a film… talking to a loved one on the phone.

See how these small experiences made that day different from the others.

Ok, so that’s the first stage in the process.

The next stage is to CREATE differences in your days.

Every morning, try and think of small things you can do today that will give you that same jolt of pleasure and satisfaction.

Set yourself a small challenge.

“Today I am going to try cooking with an ingredient I’ve never used before.”

“Today I am going to do a bit of research into a course idea.”

“Today I am going to take a different route on my walk.”

“Today, I am going to contact that friend I’ve not spoken to in 5 years.”

No, these are not life altering decisions to learn skills like pottery throwing, tightrope walking or quantum physics BUT they are still positive changes.

If you can engineer each day to have a tiny bit more purpose, meaning and pleasure, you will get yourself out of that Groundhog Day feeling.

And by writing that list every evening, you’ll see the tiny achievements and pleasures grow…

Life may be slow right now, but it is still moving, when you look closely.

So give this mind trick a go and see what happens.

Obviously, I’m biased, but if you want to do something significant each day, I could help you as a member of my Course Creation Academy.

It’s designed so that you can do a little bite sized chunk each day to work towards your first online course.

Just 20 minutes to an hour will do it…

Watch one of my videos… take one of my recommended steps… download one of my resources.

You can add one little task to each day to feel more like you’re getting somewhere.

For more information on how to get started with your own course contact me at [email protected].