Nine to Three Thirty

I viewed lockdown one as a bit of an opportunity, but didn’t really do all the positive things I’d planned because the weather was so nice, so I just spent time indoors.  Since then I’ve felt that it’s more important to take care of myself rather than than have any high minded ideas about the ‘perfect lockdown’.  There have been some unexpected benefits though including escaping early morning starts for a while.  So what are my positives.

• More sleep.  I know that this won’t have worked so well for everyone, but I have slept better.  I’ve been managing a good 8 hours or more each night.  When my son was little he used to wake me a lot at night and then became an early riser.  He’s in his teens now so isn’t waking me.  I’ve felt I’ve been in sleep deficit for years, so it’s been good to get a decent amount of sleep again.  It’s supposed to be good for health, weight loss and so many other things too.
• More reading.  I have loads of books I want to read.  Reading has always been a great joy, but I haven’t always had the time.  Now there’s a lot more time for reading and I’ve read and enjoyed so many books over the last few months.  I’ve read a wide range of things from classics like Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of a Plague Year to up to date modern fiction like Isabel Allende’s A Long Petal of the Sea. Most of my reading has been my usual crime fiction, but there’s been some non-fiction too and a few wild cards.
• More languages.  I’ve always enjoyed learning languages and I’ve found a bit more time for that in lockdown.  Not masses, but some.  I’ve spread it out over German (my best language), French, Welsh and a new starter Norwegian (I got inspired to learn that after watching a Norwegian crime drama). I haven’t done lots and a lot of it has been on Duolingo, but I have done some most days which is a real improvement.
• Better knowledge of my local area.  I’ve done a lot of walking right from my door and I’ve got to know my local neighbourhood a bit better.  I’ve lived here pretty well all my life, but I have found some new spots to explore.  It’s amazing how much is all around us.
• Improved fitness.  This isn’t quite a linear thing.  I haven’t been able to swim for great chucks of time which has had a negative impact and I’ve done less yoga than I should.  I did do quite a lot of Joe Wicks’ PE classes in lockdown 1 and beyond.  I can do a lot of squats now without feeling the burn. It’s been a bit up and down on the fitness front: more walking, less swimming, less yoga, more gardening.
• A nicer garden.  The advantage of more time and wanting to spend it outside has meant a nicer garden for me.  I’ve had more time to work on it.  Over the last year I’ve invested in it a bit more.  I bought a lovely parasol that I hope to use for years to come.  I bought bedding plants and had a lovely floral display: much better than I’ve managed in previous years.  I did more work on the vegetable beds and ate more of my own produce.  I’ve invested in a bit more for the coming year: more seeds, some more raspberry canes and a wider range of seed potatoes.

Lockdowns can be positive and they don’t need to be supercharged with to do list to make steps forward.

Keeping the kids and teenagers of the world occupied right now is certainly one of the harder jobs. Organizing a perfect girl’s night in is a top way to keep them happy and positive. There are things there are essentials to make your girls’ night extra special and give them a night to remember. Girl’s nights in are timeless and always a great way to recharge, catch up, and enjoy the little things in life.

“Every girls’ night needs a funny movie and a good conversation about guys” – Jennette Mccurdy

Getting Ready For The Night Ahead

Start the night with a bath with all the luxuries with a bath bomb, bubbles, and bath salts. Getting in a really relaxed mood for the night ahead.

Once you are feeling fabulous you then need to look the part. New Pajamas are perfect gifts for teenage girls paired with some fluffy slippers and you can’t go wrong. After you are kitted out in your new sleepwear, be sure to include some pampering for the evening including face masks and manicures.

Food And Drink

For dinner time you don’t want the simple everyday go-to meals. Opt for something like comfort food that makes everyone happy. There is so much choice like Mac and cheese, loaded fries, or something more adventurous like make your own pizza night.

Making your own pizza is certainly something everyone can enjoy, choosing how much cheese you want and what toppings make it that much tastier that you did it yourself. It is fun for all the family.

The night isn’t complete without snacks and drinks. Girl’s night in top snack ideas are popcorn, cupcakes, cookies and you can’t go wrong with chocolate-covered fruit. You can go one step further and have a chocolate fountain with fruit and marshmallows ready to dip into the melted deliciousness. Drinks can be a simple ones like hot chocolate or soda but you can also make it more fun by making your own home-made mocktails.

Things To Do

On to the things to do in the evening. Keeping it fun is essential so they don’t get distracted by social media and get glued to their phones. Some things to try are:

• Movie night
• Makeovers
• Board games
• Baking some of those delicious treats for the night yourselves
• Quizzes

Top movies for a girl’s night in are romance, comedies, and fantasy. Something you can get stuck into and really enjoy.

Sleeping Arrangements

Why just sleep in your beds? Make the evening more adventurous. Bring down your pillows and duvets and sleep in the living room. Hang some fairy lights, light some candles, and make it all cozy. By not doing the norm it will make the night feel all the more special. If the weather isn’t too bad you could even camp in the garden. If throughout the night you decide it is not for you at least you can go back inside to your nice and cozy bed.

What else would you do for girl’s night in?

Team building is an important part of a successful business.  If you don’t have team that works well together, then your company isn’t at performing as effectively as it should do. So how do you develop your team?  Team building exercises are something you can’t do without. They are an investment in your company’s effectiveness. A team that doesn’t work well together or that isn’t engaged in their work could cost you business. Investing time and money into team building events and activities builds relationships and can help create a more open and collaborative culture.

• The internet can come to the rescue.  Online Team Building Games are a great way of creating a space to have fun in together as a team.  This has a lot of benefits: it helps counteract loneliness; creates excitement and something to talk about; and increases collaboration.   It’s a great way to renew an existing team or build a new one.
• Create a memory wall.  This can either be online or in the workplace (if people are going in).  Looking back at pictures is a great way to renew bonds for an existing team.  A memory wall will help to remember the happiness from the past and will remind people that there will be more happiness in the future.
• If you are having a virtual team meeting, maybe include a weekly quiz or some other fun game.  Two truths, one lie is a good game to play – you give three statements about yourself, but only two are true, people then need to guess which is which.  Or have a joke of the week – you can have a few ground rules about keeping them clean.
• Tackle a problem together.  Bring an issue to the Zoom meeting and ask the team to brainstorm it. If it’s a big team, this might be better done in small groups, so use a break out feature or similar. Get each team to nominate a spokesperson to present their ideas to the bigger group. If you can put it into practice straight after the meeting, all the better.
• Complete a task together.  Is there something you can work on as a team together?  Maybe an easy, but time consuming job that needs doing.  Many hands make light work and if you all get stuck in, you’ll have it done in no time.  Something that one person would have slogged over for a day or more could be finished in an hour by a motivated team.

Team building is more important than ever in a pandemic, so don’t neglect it and schedule something into your team plan very soon.