“Reflective, Revealing and Opportunistic…”

They are Helen's three words to describe lockdown and I think we can probably all relate at some point during the last year or so. Founder of Milkwood Creative, Helen is a social media whizz for creative businesses, living in Wales with her husband. I’m over the moon to welcome her to the blog today to offer you a little snippet inside her lockdown experience…

1 So, let’s talk about life in lockdown. What time do you get up? What’s your morning routine? Has this changed since working from home / being in lockdown?

I’ve worked at home for 9 years now so I would say my working from home routine is pretty established and I’ve encouraged myself to maintain a semblance of normality where I can in the past year.

I wake up at around 7.30 and the first thing I do is take a moment to pour a coffee and do a 5 minute mindfulness meditation session. I’ve practiced this since I had a really bad panic attack at 22, and it’s helped me so much for the past 13 years.

The cat is usually vying for my attention at this point and running circles around my legs, so she gets lots of love and her breakfast.

I then pop on leggings (usually of the patterned and colourful, Sweaty Betty variety) and either go and complete a weights session or go for a morning jog. I genuinely believe taking this time for myself first thing in the morning sets me up for the day. It gets the feel good chemicals going and I am super productive afterwards.

Post workout I shower, its protein yoghurt with fruit for breakfast and I get into my to do list.

2 How do you remain motivated while working from home?

I don’t actually believe we can be motivated every single day. It’s about discipline and being realistic about who you are as a person. I see so many people say they clock off at six and spend the evening relaxing. Others are up at the crack of dawn and part of a 5am club...

Neither would work for me, I am more creative in the evenings and productive late morning to early afternoon, I know that, I work my routine around that, which makes it easier for me to remain motivated.

3 Do you listen to any podcasts while working from home?

I am huge fan of Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee, his guests are brilliant, I have also just bought his book which he has just released as well.

She Can She Did by Fiona Greyson is also one I swear by and love. Cannot wait for her midweek mingles again in the future.

4 Lockdown has impacted businesses all over the world. How can people support you? E.g. #ShopSmallBusiness, sharing a post on FB, commenting on an Instagram post etc.

I generally find these days I interact with people via their inbox on Instagram, I spend a lot of my time creating content for other businesses so when it comes to me, I quite like having an actual chat via my Instagram inbox so do feel free to drop me a message, I LOVE to chat.

5 Tell me one local business that you’ve decided to support during lockdown. It could be your local coffee shop, someone who hand-makes masks etc.

A few years ago I decided to really look at my own behaviours around wellness and food. During the Summer I discovered a local business that creates healthy meals… the owner has a michelin star and shares a number of the same values as me. Instead of ordering a takeaway we will order a meal from them on a weekend and for lockdown celebrations.

I find myself shopping from our local butcher for our Sunday roast far more and flowers for special occasions are always placed with our usual wonderful and local florist.

Service industries are equally as important as well and I’ve continued supporting our local gym as they have put a great number of virtual classes on during lockdown as well which has helped with routine.

6 Tell me your favourite isolation cocktail / snack / treat?

Dates stuffed with peanut butter and drizzled with dark chocolate from The Healthy Hangout… seriously, food of the gods!! Oh and I have also enjoyed sampling a selection of different gin tipples in various flavours.

7 What’s your go-to ‘pick me up’ during lockdown life / working from home?

I’ve always been the kind of person that has their “whys” listed in front of them as they work. Goals of tangible items I want to achieve. One of those was to buy a period property which we are in the middle of doing.

Whenever I need a pick me up, I disappear down the Pinterest rabbit hole and start to imagine what we are going to do once we have the keys...

8 How are you keeping in touch with friends and family?

My brother is in Scotland so we zoom with him pretty frequently. We did host a quiz with friends during the first lockdown but at the moment it’s mainly via WhatsApp messages.

9 Name one lockdown pet peeve

I don’t know if I can call it a peeve but grieving during this time has been unlike any other. My grandad passed away in a care home at the beginning of the pandemic.

He was my hero as a child, we were incredibly close. I am still unsure if I have processed it properly as there was no proper funeral or wake due to lockdown. I feel like a part of my heart is missing and I don’t know if it will ever return.

10 Name one lockdown love

Wales. Pre-lockdown we had considered upping sticks and moving to a bigger city. We live in such a diverse landscape where we are and have really realised just what we have on our doorstep. It may all change in the future, but right now we are happy to be here.

11 What do you have in store for your business? What’s got you feeling inspired?

Ah, now a girl has to have some secrets, what I will say is I’ve actually niched my services a lot more with Milkwood during lockdown and it feels good to really know you have time to dig deep, do your research and aim to be the best at what you offer as opposed to trying to be all things to all people.

12 What’s one thing you want to do after lockdown restrictions are lifted?

The boy and I have been together for 15 years and married for 10. I want to celebrate in style and go somewhere for pure escapism. I’ve also promised to take my Nan to Portugal since my grandad passed away as it was a lifelong dream they wanted to accomplish together… I’m looking forward to laughter, Portuguese custard tarts and port.

13 What has been your favourite Netflix series to binge on during lockdown?

The Queens Gambit; Intelligence… Strategy & Fashion!!

14 Are there any books on your shelf you’d recommend reading during lockdown?

I re-read a book that I first read when I was 13, it’s called Children Of The Dust, a true story of human resilience.

15 What will you take from lockdown? Is there anything you’re grateful for or that you’ll do differently going forward?

I am grateful for my health. I caught COVID in September last year and I was fit and healthy and was relatively unscathed, I wonder what would have happened if that had happened 4 years ago when I was in a very different position health wise.

16 Describe lockdown for you in three words. (E.g. life-changing, emotional, challenging).

Reflective, Revealing and Opportunistic.