Now, more than ever, it’s important to take some time out – to step back from all the mayhem, confusion and anxiety to give your emotions a bit of a breather. Whatever your stress levels before this crisis kicked off they are probably a lot higher now! Whether it’s health worries or financial headaches, the difficulties of coping with lockdown or general concerns about what to expect going forward, it’s vital to find ways of relieving the pressure.

Therapy in a cuppa

The quickest and easiest way to do that is by making a cup of tea - especially as many of the usual options, like going for a relaxing walk, meeting a friend downtown for some retail therapy or easing the tension with a session in the gym, are probably out of the question. The mere act of boiling the kettle and patiently letting your tea brew is therapy in itself.

Then there’s the five to ten minutes it takes to drink – a moment of quiet contemplation and gentle reflection. Plus, if your beverage of choice is Rooibos Rocks, there’s no caffeine rush to get you buzzed up and it’s also good for your heart and your immune system. What’s more, until the 7th May, if you click this link now you can even get 20% off our Rooibos Tea Immune Support Variety Tin – the perfect Mother’s Day present!

Take your downtime

Although a regular cuppa is highly recommended we suggest you also enjoy some more extended sessions of recreation (re-creation, as in recharging your batteries). An hour or two with a book that provides an escape from your situation (not a business book!). An evening with a bottle of wine and a big bag of popcorn binge-watching a favourite series. Throwing an all-nighter playing League of Legends, Minecraft and World of Warcraft.

Whatever floats your boat. Because there’s a silver lining to the Covid cloud. It may have taken away a lot of things we badly miss. But in return it has given us the gift of time. All we have to do is gratefully accept it.

Welcome to the guilt trip

The trouble is, however, that we’re now totally programmed to be frantically busy, connected, productive and “on it” 24/7. Even when we’re relaxing there’s pressure on us to make sure we’re enjoying “quality time”! Provided with an abundance of time to “waste” on meaningless, unconstructive frivolous entertainment we’re incapable of enjoying it. Why? Because we feel guilty!

All these weeks of free time and I have not Marie Kondo’d so much as my underwear drawer. That online course I was going to create in case my boss doesn’t rehire me and I end up flat broke – don’t ask. How many loaves of artisan sourdough bread have I baked? None. And that best-selling novel I keep promising to write? Maybe I should retitle it “Fifty Shades of Not Today”?

Who needs friends like these?

My friends, meantime, are putting me to shame. Posting videos of their happy family sewing face masks for the local hospital. Reporting how well Brad and Emilia are progressing with their home-schooling assignments. And instagramming their latest efforts from the “watercolour mastery in a month” class they’re enjoying soooo much. Like this whole lockdown thing is some competitive sport – who shares wins!

I’ve had as much motivation as I can take.

Then there are those celebrities, influencers, coaches and gurus just queuing up to offer encouragement, inspiration and advice. For instance, the Smugsolation crowd who have quarantined themselves in their penthouse/townhouse/mansion/villa or 15-bedroom ancestral country seat with private chef, personal trainer, team of assistants, adorable lapdog and endless supplies of Cristal champagne, lobster thermidor and wagyu beef. Every day they offer us a banal commentary on the ‘lessons learnt’ from their hardship and humbly brag about how blessed they feel now they have more time to appreciate “the little things”.

Thank you Madonna for suggesting “what’s wonderful about it is that it’s made us all equal in many ways.” Yes, but some of us are more equal than others, right?

What’s my excuse?

If you want to feel really bad about how little you are achieving here are a couple of helpful motivational thoughts being pedalled by self-development coaches and business mentors. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, Antony & Cleopatra and King Lear while on lockdown and the London theatres were closed during an outbreak of Bubonic plague.

Half a century later the Great Plague of 1665 meant a young Isaac Newton had to leave Cambridge University and study at home. In a matter of months he made his most famous discoveries in calculus, motion and optics as well as devising (with the help of a famous apple) his law of universal gravitation.

So, if they can do all this, what is your problem?!

You have our permission to do as little as possible

Our advice is simple. Ignore all these annoying “experts”. And don’t get wound up by friends whose humble bragging makes you feel inadequate. For your own mental wellbeing we suggest you just put the kettle on, chill with a cuppa and embrace your inner under-achiever. The best use you can make of your time is to enjoy it!

Put the tea in Mother’s Day

Don’t forget that May the 10th, in the states, is Mother’s Day. And what better gift to give than the Rooibos Tea Immune Support Variety Tin? It’s like sharing a virtual hug!

Order now and get a 20% discount.
Use code MOM20WOW at checkout.
Offer valid till May 7, 2020