Written by Belen Gonzalez Montero
Since the start of the global pandemic that is still present in our lives since last year, much has changed, and not all of it has been bad. We started this situation with fear and uncertainty, not knowing how to react to so many changes. A year and a half later we have learned to live in this new normality that, in addition to the unexpected situation, has brought us new routines that we should be grateful for.
We started much healthier routines, such as doing sport, eating healthier, dedicating time to ourselves, taking care of our skin… Many of them started as a hobby to fill the time when we were confined and today they continue to be a fundamental part of our daily lives.
The Olivella® team wanted to review everything we have learned (positive) in this time and highlight which are the routines that we created and that today help us and serve us in our day-to-day.
So …. What have we learned?
Lots about new recipes, eating at home, and following a healthier diet.
Credit: @joyfoodsunshine
We were used to rushing everywhere, buying sandwiches in the office, eating badly, quickly, without worrying. We abused coffee, caffeinated soft drinks…
But at home everything changed: from traditional recipes to innovative recipes from cooking blogs or trends on Tik Tok or Instagram: we started to be aware that healthy food is also delicious. We stopped eating ultra-processed food and went for real food. And yes, we’re still eating healthy all this time later.
Stopping smoking was also another habit that made it into our routine. It is always a good
time to quit smoking, but spending so much time at home helped us to understand that this
habit was not doing us any good, and little by little we left smoking behind (now our lungs, skin, and breath thank us for it). Not having to drink and go out during the weekends made it way easier to quit completely!
-Meditation, yoga, pilates, and sport as a way of life.
The day had so many hours in it that we looked for new routines and hobbies, and sport was one of the first options we turned to. Most of us started to follow Instagram accounts that inspired us and little by little we started to take classes through a screen: different yoga, pilates, or Hiit classes were trending on Youtube for days. We put direct Instagram accounts on the calendar and left Amazon almost out of stock of sports equipment.
Meditating was the most important thing many of us dared to do. Dedicating time to our inner self, to know ourselves, to analyze, to stop, to disconnect from the external, and focus on our inner self…
These routines have made us stronger, more fulfilled, and more aware of ourselves. For sure we love having incorporated them into our lives!
– Quality time and the little things that make us happy.
Reading a book, re-watching the whole Star Wars saga, painting, writing… We never had time for those little things we like to do, but we had time and enjoyed them.
This helped us to be happier. We have learned to enjoy a movie without updating Instagram, to analog photos because we missed the albums full of memories; new artists, new songs, and also the usual songs…
We enjoyed the street when we could walk when we could go to the sea or to the mountains, the sun, nature, and life in general.
We also missed traveling around the world, and we did, through memories, series, films, or books. We are still imagining and planning our next trip, but we have also learned from the small getaway to the nearest town. The important thing is never where but with whom.
Credit: @sofialombardiborgia
– Taking care of our skin, learning to love our body and imperfections.
Credit pic: @luciavidaurreta
We took care of our skin, we used creams… do we know why? During the many days of confinement, we started to use more masks, follow slow facial routines, to get to know our body and our skin. What is really good for us? We let our skin breathe after so much make-up, we moisturize it every day and we took care of it by pampering it as much as possible. More quality products, according to our needs. We also started to pay more attention to the ingredient lists of these products.
We have learned to love our bodies and imperfections, having way less time to go out and compare with others. Every centimeter of our skin makes us unique, and deep down we know that a bit more.
On the other hand, the use of masks and stress has caused our skin to suffer from irritations, maskné, eczema… However, so many new brands came out to tackle these problems, and maybe your favorite new product was created just during this difficult time.
– The value of a hug.
Hugging, spending time with our loved ones and appreciating the people around us. The best routine we have learned is to pay attention to those around us, to value the time we spend with the people who make us happy.
Being apart has been hard for many, but time has brought us reunions and now we know with whom we want to enjoy life and laugh.. make memories and enjoy life.
Credit: @lunablankenstein
This is the summary of our new habits, which we are happy to share with you, and after all this time we are still looking for the positive things that this situation has brought us.
Today we eat a bit healthier, we do a bit more sport, we have learned to meditate, we enjoy long walks listening to our favorite song, we continue to dream of traveling, we love ourselves, we take care of our skin, we accept our imperfections and above all, we are happy. And we will continue like this!
