Gracious but I’ve struggled not to start this with any of the dozens of temptingly well-worn cliches about how our lives have been transformed over the past six weeks. So I’ll just stick with acknowledging that we’re all going through an experience like no other and recognising that how we’re each managing to get through these strange days in the best way possible is as individual as we all are.

One of the ways I’ve been taking care of myself during the recent sunny lockdown days

Whatever you’re finding your best self-care behaviours are, I hope there’s something in these tips that I’ve tried and tested that will be of the same sort of help and use to you as they have been to me.

I’m hopeful not all of them will be stating the bleedin’ obvious. Maybe there will be some aspects you hadn’t thought of. I do think it’s worth remembering that even the simplest action can have huge benefits to both your mental and physical wellbeing. And how both of those are equally important right now.

Right, let’s crack on.

Get into the rhythm

It’s so easy to find the hours and days slip-sliding into each other when the activities that normally punctuate our days and weeks aren’t there any more. If I had to recommend just one self-care tip to you all it would be to establish some kind of routine (who knew that routine could be such a positive thing).

That’s not just about having a structure of some sort for your days - whether that’s waking up at a particular time, when during the day you do your exercise (see below why that is such an important element of looking after yourself during lockdown) or putting aside time for the hobbies or activities you enjoy (tips for that coming up further down too), all of which is hugely beneficial to both mentally and physically managing the challenge of being confined to our homes.

I’ve also found it tremendously helpful to the rhythm and pace of my week and to tackling the tendency to loose all track of which day it is, to allocate certain activities to certain days. So, for example, Thursdays is when I write this blog and my weekly newsletter. On Fridays I do a Facebook live and record a video for Instagram. Saturdays and Mondays I take part in on-line Pilates classes. And on Tuesdays and Wednesdays I do my cleaning and washing respectively.

Hardly rocket science, I know, but it’s surprising how much it helps.

Socialise

That may sound contradictory when we’re all under instruction to stay in our homes, but of course you know that what I mean is to virtually socialise. Whilst there are the obvious ways of staying in touch by phone and, even better, being able to see who you’re talking to thanks to Facetime and other sorts of video calling.

But I’ve found an unexpected bonus to this being-apart-together technology, and that’s the chance it’s given me of enjoying long, happy chats with groups of friends who I infrequently, or rarely manage to see as a gang, either because of our previously hectic schedules or because we live so far away from each other (many of them in other countries).

I’ve enjoyed spending virtual time with good friends in Israel, had weekly evening drinks with my lovely pilates pals who I usually only see together at our Saturday morning class and spent more time in the virtual company of my siblings in the last six weeks than I have in the last six months.

And this weekend I’ll be getting together with four dear school friends who live scattered over the UK and the world. Something we almost never manage to do in real life.

Of course I have the now ubiquitous Zoom to thank for some of those sessions, but did you know that if you have a WhattsApp group of no more than four people, just by clicking on the phone icon in the top right corner of your screen (on an iphone) you can automatically call and connect with them all? I didn’t until now. Here’s how to do that

But also have quiet time

Being at home, whether you’re alone, with a partner or several family members, whether you’re working or not, it’s important to find time to just be still and quiet.

Getting through these discombobulating days is more demanding than you think, and I’ve found that if I don’t take some time each day to rest my mind, my eyes, if I’ve been doing a lot of looking at a screen, and my voice, if I’ve been doing a lot of calls, I find myself surprisingly worn out by the time it gets to late afternoon.

As someone who’s always loved water (ideally the sea kind, but hey, I’ll take what I can), one of my favourite ways to do that at the moment is in the shower. I love to stand under the hot running water being aware of nothing else other than how it feels cascading down my body and unable to hear anything other than the sound it makes. Just a few minutes of doing that revives me in every way.

Exercise

There’s a reason the government has made an exception to leaving your home in order to exercise. I know there’s no need to reiterate the myriad of ways that exercise is vital for your physical and mental health, but here’s a quick reminder of some of the main ones anyway:

It lowers your risk of developing long-term chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes

It helps you to sleep better

It improves your bone strength

It boosts self-esteem

It wards off dementia

Do I need to go on? No, I thought not.

So whatever form(s) of exercise you enjoy doing (because if you don’t enjoy it, you won’t do it) find a way and the time to do that each day. It doesn’t have to be aerobic all the time, but ideally you should aim to do something that increases your heart rate some of the time.

I’ve become a huge fan of the Body Coach, Joe Wick’s weekday PE sessions and absolutely love starting my day in the company of the hundreds of thousands of people joining in all round the world. There is no doubt that I’m going to emerge from this lockdown fitter than when it started thanks to his cheery but challenging workouts. The sessions are on his YouTube channel where you can subscribe for free.

Help out

Never has there been a time when helping others has been more important. And never has there been a time when more people have stepped up to the plate to play a part in helping their family, friends, neighbours and communities. Look at how massively oversubscribed the call out to help the NHS was if you want evidence of that.

Why this should be a self-care tip is down to the simple and well-established pay-back for any good deed you do. It makes you feel good about yourself too. This couldn’t be more of a win-win recommendation if it tried.

Of course there are a myriad of ways you can help out, whether or not you’re able to leave your home (to do food shopping or collect medications for others, for example) Perhaps you know a vulnerable person who would appreciate a phone call each day or so?

If you have a local support group, you can find out through that what help is needed in your area. If you don’t have one, maybe you could start one yourself?

Other ways you can help include contributing to a food bank. These vital services are even more needed, and even more stretched in these incredibly difficult times.

Or if you’re handy with a sewing machine, you could make scrubs (google ‘help make scrubs for the NHS), or non-medical masks for general use (there are loads of tutorial videos on YouTube).

Or, if your local hospital has an Amazon wish list for items its health care workers or inpatients need, you could donate to that (more info about how that works here)

Find a way to do what you love

Just because you can’t enjoy the activities you did before (and will do again when this is all over) doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to savour them even under these constrained circumstances.

For example, if you’re a golf-lover you may not be able to get out on a course right now, but you could use the time to brush up on your putting technique using an indoor putting mat like one of these.

If you’re an avid bridge player, there are any number of terrific on-line bridge playing sites where you can play with friends or other users. Here’s just one.

Or if, like me, you’re a keen choir member, there are all kinds of ways you can keep on singing. For example, Gareth Malone, the patron saint of choral singing, has launched The Great British Home Chorus and organisations like Rock Choir, which I’ve been a member of for several years, have done brilliant work in turning their weekly rehearsals into virtual sessions using YouTube and Zoom. Find out more about joining one of their nationwide network of choirs here

My weekly Rock Choir rehearsals now take place by Zoom (that’s me top row, second from left, next to our wonderful choir leader, Nicola)

Eat as well as you can

That initial panic that the supermarket shelves would be empty of stuff has, thank goodness, subsided. Thanks to the heroic efforts of everyone involved in the food supply chain it’s still possible to get pretty much all the fresh, healthy food we need. (And if you can’t go out to buy it yourself, or get a supermarket delivery slot there are all sorts of innovative local businesses that have found ways to deliver their produce).

Even if you’re someone who’s never been much cop in the kitchen, it’s more than possible to find recipes that are simple to follow and tasty to eat. There are a great selection on the BBC Good Food website, for example, and they’ll even deliver a recipe idea each day to you by email.

And if you’re already a bit of a culinary whizz, what a great opportunity this is to try out some new dishes. Even if you can’t get flour or yeast to bake with!

On the other hand, make sure you also..

Treat yourself

You know those lovely lotions you’ve been saving for a special occasion? Or that box of chocolates you’ve deliberately put out of sight in the hope that would put it out of mind (as if)? Or that gorgeous shirt/dress/pair of shoes you’ve had in your cupboard waiting for the right occasion to wear it/them? Well use them, eat them and wear them! If ever there was a time to treat yourself, this is it. I mean, probably don’t eat all the chocolates at once. And you may find you’ve forgotten how to walk in heels, though five minutes of tottering around will help to remind you. As for the lotions, slather them on with abandon and enjoy every deliciously scented moment!

Consult your doctor

This may seem an odd one to include in this list but both GPs and doctors in hospitals are becoming increasingly concerned about the huge drop off in people consulting them about conditions other than Covid 19.

Whilst it’s obviously important that you monitor yourself for any signs of the virus, it’s also just as important as ever that you consult your doctor if you have any other symptoms that are worrying you. Or if you have an accident of a kind that should have medical attention.

Your self-care needs extend beyond the confines of the coronavirus and the medical professionals are still there to help and care for you. Please do make sure you use them.

And finally…

Cut yourself some slack

If you’re someone who finds a to-do list is the ideal motivation to make the most of your days , great. If you’ve managed to work your way through all those nagging home improvement tasks you’ve been promising to do, marvellous, well done. If you’ve read all the books in your beside pile, bravo.

But if you you haven’t done all, or indeed any, of that. Or if you have a day, or days, when just getting up, feeding yourself and/or the family, and watching TV is the most you can manage, well, that’s completely fine.

Put that stick you beat yourself up with firmly to one side and be kind enough to yourself to recognise that whatever you’re doing to get through the difficult days, the days when you’re simply too tired, or too sad, or too anxious to do more than put one tentative, aching foot in front of the other, that’s all you need to do.

There will be days that will be better, I promise. And some time in the future, whenever that is, there will be days, lots and lots of them, when all this will be over. Until then, do whatever you need to and can. You’ve got what it takes to get through this.

What are your top tips for lockdown self-care? Please to share them in the comments!