Although there is a lot of heartbreak, anxiety and sadness surrounding COVID-19, we have also been given an opportunity to take some time out and reset.

Although Wildfire Wellness has been forced to close for the time being, we are choosing to stay positive about the situation, and be grateful for the quiet time. Creating, launching and running your own small business doesn’t allow for much spare time, so here are some of the ways we have been making the most of our newfound time at home.

Expanding our kitchen repertoire

I love to cook! Before founding Wildfire I spent three years working on super-yachts as a cook where I would spend the whole day, from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, researching, preparing and creating meals for our guests.

Since opening Wildfire, my fiancé has taken the reigns and cooks for us most nights so I love that this period of isolation has allowed me the time to get back into the kitchen! I've attempted everything from sourdough crumpets, to tomato pasta, to quince paste, but am especially loving pickling everything in sight!

If you're struggling to fill the time with screen-free activities, I highly recommend jumping in the kitchen, check out our Instagram for healthy recipe suggestions.

Taking advantage of free TAFE courses online

Larissa manages the bulk of our social media activity, so she was super stoked when TAFE announced they were offering their 'engaging customers using social media' course completely free of charge. There is a whole list of business-related courses that can be completed, so it's a great opportunity to study for free.

Establishing a solid mindfulness routine

We both purchased Saint Belford's Curation 2020 diary at the beginning of the year and, just like every other year, worked on it religiously for a few weeks before falling out of the habit. The extra quiet time at the moment has meant that we've picked up where we left off and are using the diary to set goals and plan out our routines, including everything from exercise to meals to mindfulness.

The simple habit of filling out the pages each morning sets the tone for the day and, at its most basic, helps us to just remember everything we want to achieve. At the moment my short term goals include: making time to read my book before bed each night, spending the first 20 minutes of my morning walk without listening to anything on my phone and doing two or three online Yin classes with The Collaborative Maroubra each week. Mindfulness is achieved through simple changes like this, and they can have such a profound impact on your day to day outlook.

Trying out potential new hobbies

Wildfire has been our only 'hobby' for a few years now, so it has been nice to have a little extra time to try something new. Larissa recently tried an at home clay kit from Crockd and has been loving making some new mugs for the kitchen. I purchased a Guitalele (highly recommend - the size of a ukulele but with six strings like a guitar) and have been following along with lessons on YouTube.

No extra cash to burn? Pinterest is full of craft activities and YouTube has so many free language lessons.

Prefer to spend your time catching up on your favourite series? That's totally fine too! Life is crazy at the best of times, so if using this time to relax on the couch fills you up, do that!