Nine Ways to Create Great ‘Lockdown’ Memories – by Segun Olugbemi

Since the beginning of the global lock-down occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been receiving phone calls and texts messages from people complaining about how much the lockdown is affecting them negatively. Many have told me that they are bored because all they do is eat and sleep!

To someone like me, that sounds incredulous, because as the days go by, I find time moving so fast that twenty-four hours is hardly enough to do all I want to do in a day.

Here are nine ways you can use your time to drive the boredom away, create lasting memories, have some fun, and get a sense of fulfillment.

1. Spend this time to work on yourself.Make a list of areas of your deficiencies, character weaknesses, bad habits or other areas of concern. Take them up in prayer before the Lord. Read books on those areas and write down action plans. If possible, begin to practice them within your household.

    

2. Work on your relationships.This is a good time to make some improvements in your relationships. Before the lockdown, many families did not have enough time together. Because of busy schedules, they have grown apart in many ways. The patience to listen to one another might have become shorter than expected.

Now you can work to make your family relationship stronger and better than it is presently. This is the time to fight the good fight of faith to redeem your family and other important relationships. Have fun with your loved ones.

3. Reply Phone calls and texts messages you might have missed.Call up old friends and acquaintances that you may have forgotten or neglected to reach. Call up family members and leave a word of encouragement with them. Everything is not about money. Make a list of people in this category and create time to bring your relationships up to speed.

    

4. Exercise your body.Remember the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Your organs, muscles, bones and joints all require a measure of exercise. Part of the reason you need exercise is to tone your body and keep it fresher and younger. Another reason is to train your body to respond effectively to pressure. If you have not been working out your heart muscles, they can collapse if faced with sudden pressure to put them to intense use.

    

5. Journaling is one of the best uses of your time.Keep records of your dreams, vision, plans, aspirations etc. I told a friend yesterday that I have records of all my income from 2004 to date and he screamed. I told him that I have the names and amounts everyone has ever blessed me with since then to date, and it sounded incredible to him. The secret is in journaling.

You probably want to start writing your autobiography. The world is waiting to hear your story. The things you have to share could motivate someone.

I wrote my first book, on Question and Answers on West African History in 1983. The unpublished manuscript is somewhere in my library, but it opened me into a whole gamut of writing. It gave me the impetus to document history as they unfold.

6. Do some creative thinking

• Meditation: One of the best ways to study is through meditation. It is the process of regurgitating information you saved during your reading or studying.

Give yourself the license to dream big and wild. Develop a template for the life you desire through meditation. Meditate on God’s word, promises, prophecies, and possibilities.

• Asking questions: The size of your questions determines the size of your answers. Ask how you can become a better person, the richest person, the godliest person, the greatest philanthropist, the best citizen of your country etc, and write down your answers.
• Exercising your brain by playing brain games. Do some memory activities. Challenge yourself to think bigger. There are resources on the internet where you can learn some of these things.
• Proffer solutions to some of the problems around you. Remember that money is a reward for services provided or problems solved. So make a list of challenges around you or in the nation and write out the part you can play in resolving them. You just never know which of them will bring you to the limelight.

7. Read and research.This period provides you with the opportunity to read. Good readers are good leaders and good communicators. Read biographies, read books on multiple streams of income, read on real estate, read on management, read on leadership, read books that enhance your creativity and values.

    

8. Learn something new:Acquire a new skill. You can learn almost any new trade on YouTube. Get on the internet and acquire new information about new subjects. Learn new words, a new song, a new poem, a new slang and something new that can add to you.

    

9. Help someone in need:This is a good time to lend a helping hand. You can give, you can pray, you can call up people and encourage them or counsel with them. Just create your legacy by adding value to someone.

Thank you. Do not forget to keep Living, Loving and Learning.

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