It’s true! In this day of online shopping, I still visit the supermarket.
I’m all about making life easier for yourself – and I know that if you’re busy with work, with children, with home life, juggling everything, then a weekly visit to the supermarket is the last thing that anyone wants to do, right?
But for me, it’s a bit different. You see, like a lot of people, I work from home – and so does my husband. Our son goes to school and I’ll work during that time. But because I work from home, most days, the only time I venture out of the house is to take and collect him from school – and I tend to talk the ears off my friend who I walk with – it’s my only release. I then come home and crack on with work or, if it’s later in the day, homework, spellings, times tables, cook the tea – you know the routine! My husband plays guitar in a few bands, so he’s often out in the evenings – so there you have it, yet another day has gone by and I’ve hardly seen a soul.
Now I’ve made friends with the Sainsbury’s delivery drivers when they’ve delivered shopping for me in the past. (Other supermarkets are available) But I found the value in actually visiting the stores again. The value at the time of change was that I would be choosing my own produce – I was a bit fed up of receiving veggies that didn’t last that long. I like food and I like to feed my family well, so it’s important to me to buy the quality of the food that I want.
However, I’ve since realised that I don’t resent doing the food shop like some of my friends do – they’ll say “Fay! How can you stand to go – just get it delivered!” I’ve apologetically defended my physical shop to them so many times in the past but I’m not going to do this anymore. (Except maybe to say that I will only visit shops where I can scan my own!)
I’ve realised that my short visit to the supermarket gives me great headspace to think in the wider context. I may still be thinking about work and home but I find the change of scene actually allows my creativity to flow – and whilst I’m walking up and down the aisles in a state of unconscious competence, I get inspiration about things I’d like to do. I start to think quite creatively!
Now whether I harness that inspiration and creativity is another blog post – but what I’m saying is, having the opportunity to have a change of scene, a break from the norm, for just the shortest amount of time, is incredibly good for creativity and your mind if you allow yourself to be open to it.
When I was in full-time employment I drove an awful lot as I was out and about visiting clients – and looking back I realise that I used this time for my creative thinking and my headspace. I’ve missed this time and realised that I needed to replace it somehow.
So the next time you’re doing your online shop – just have a think about whether you’d prefer to physically visit the supermarket instead – I’d be interested to know how the aisles of pasta and cereals inspire you!