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Miranda Lambert Says Pandemic Life Has Been Lesson in 'Forced Balance': 'Very Calming'

2021 CMAs
2021 CMAs

abc/getty Miranda Lambert

When the pandemic hit and lockdowns began, Miranda Lambert was forced to slow things down for the first time in a long time.

The country singer told Rolling Stone that having no choice but to hang out at home with husband Brendan McLoughlin prompted her to take stock of the important things in life, whether she wanted to or not.

"It's been a good lesson the last couple years, of forced balance," Lambert, 38, said. "For me, it was like, 'Alright, my tour is canceled, so now I'm going to paint, I guess.' Or, my husband's going to make bread and I'm just going to sit there and watch. It's very calming. It brought it back to super simple and I had never had that before in my adult life."

Prior to March 2020, the "If I Was a Cowboy" singer said she'd spent decades dedicated to her work, and for the first time, had to sit back and reevaluate.

"It taught a lot of us that have been on the grind for 20 years that like, 'Oh, there's life out there? What do you mean, 'not working'?" she told RS.

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Though Lambert acknowledges that COVID is "a real thing"—"I've had it," she revealed—the star also said that she's "real over" and "frustrated" by the pandemic, and has continued to make plans for herself.

"Last year was pretty much making up for lost time financially with my crew and band, making sure I could take care of everybody, and also just bringing joy again," she said. "We got to play shows! You don't realize how much entertainment can help people through something hard, and when it's taken away from everybody it's very depressing."

Looking forward, the three-time Grammy winner said that she's ready to "move ahead," and is eagerly awaiting the time when she can share some of the music she worked on in her time off.

miranda lambert cowboy video
miranda lambert cowboy video

Acacia Evans Miranda Lambert on the set of "If I Was a Cowboy"

"I want to do my job and I want to just live my life. I'm proceeding as if that's happening," she said. "I've got some things up my sleeve. I really enjoyed getting to write when it was all I could do. I've got some stuff coming out that is from a really creative time. 'If I Was a Cowboy' is a little sneak peek of that."

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Lambert recently gave PEOPLE a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the "If I Was a Cowboy" music video, which was filmed in Boerne, Texas and features a cameo by McLoughlin.

"My longtime collaborator and friend Trey Fanjoy directed this video," she said. "I loved her vision for it and that we got to do something a little different for this video."