A new normal...

I keep hearing people saying that they can't wait for things to return to 'normal', but what is 'normal'?  If the normal we are referring to is life before lock-down, I'm not sure I want to go back to that?

Before lock-down, my life was busy & hectic, filled with ferrying my three boys to and from school/nursery, after school clubs, play dates, building my business & all the other stuff associated with caring for my family.  My husband was working in London, so he was commuting everyday and was out of the house for 14 hours a day, so I was doing a lot of it on my own during the week.

Sarah Atkins-DonnaFord2019-25

Now, I'm not saying that lock-down has been a breeze, it hasn't, but there have been many positives.  We are very fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, but we have only been here a little over a year.  So during this time, we have had time to really explore our local surroundings.  We haven't had to rush around, everything has really slowed down & the boys seem so much calmer.  My husband has been working from home, so he has been around more, the boys love this & so do I.  Despite my initial fears, my business is actually doing OK.  I can still conduct my coaching sessions over Zoom & I am improving my visibility on social media.  It is about being open to change, growing, feeling the fear, but going ahead and doing it anyway!

One of things that I have realised about myself during this time, is that even though I am an introvert, I still need connection & interaction with people, especially other creatives.  So, I have been running virtual meet-ups for the members of my Facebook group 'The Creative Coaching Hub'.  I love these sessions & so do my members, one of my members even referred to it as her weekly creative therapy session!  They have been so great that I am going to carry them on beyond lock-down, so if you fancy joining us, you can click here to join.

What new habits have you started during lock-down that you are going to carry on?