Productivity despite the coronavirus: Living in the new
As we all know, the world is experiencing interesting times as we are amid dealing with the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic. A lot of us find ourselves panicking as we watch the news and check our phones for updates often. What started as, “we are panicking…stay calm,” eventually turned into many states and even countries being on lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading so rapidly.
Although we are all worried and have every reason to be, considering most of us have families to still take care of, it is important for us to control what we can control; our mental health and stability. My family and I thought it would be a great idea to talk about some of what you can do to stay positive despite these uncertain times.
WORKOUT @ HOME
Challenge yourself to explore new home workouts! Use your home furniture to workout. Like squats on a chair or pushups on a couch; or, try bodyweight workouts like jumping jacks or burpees. Exercising is also a way to get out of your house; alternate each leg as you tap your toe on the curb; run around your neighborhood or find outdoor stairs.
To stay on track with your workouts, create a day to day schedule for yourself. If you absolutely need to, of course, there are plenty of people who are workout “influencers” on Instagram or Facebook who post some great ideas often. Check out one that I would recommend at the link below:
https://instagram.com/drea_4?igshid=1dyiqy39r9pgg
ORGANIZE
Organize your life with your free time you didn’t have. Make a schedule for yourself that includes how to work from home and, for some, teach your kids from home. For example, I have a meeting at 9 am, 11 am, and 3 pm. I have an hour in between my first and second meeting to work on my daughter’s spelling and writing her name. At 12 pm I will make lunch for the family. I will work on the work that I have outside of meetings from 1 pm-3 pm. After I am done working, and Kylah has done all of her at-home learning lessons, I will do some at-home workouts.
MEDITATE
Find time to meditate or pray. Keeping our minds centered is so important right now. Instead of google searching what to buy next or negative news, take time to google search different ways to keep positive energy mentally through practicing meditation or prayer. Don’t forget to continue to strengthen yourself mentally.
This may be hard for those of us who have kids, but it is so important. I like to take the time for myself after Kylah has taken a bath and is in bed. I usually go into a room that I call my “Zen” room and close my eyes and just be in silence while I focus on breathing and fully relaxing. If you have the room in your home, make a clean space for yourself to fully get away for a moment and relax. During these times, I would imagine that our mental health is one of the most critical ways that we all will overcome. Don’t forget YOU while we are worried about making sure we ALL are okay!
UNDERSTAND YOUR KIDS SCHOOL @ HOME
Parents – Understand fully what your child is working on and what they need to focus more on in school. We hear from our student’s teachers what they are good at or maybe what is challenging for them. Take the time to work with your student and understand. I’d like to think that this is a time that they will appreciate so much. I have learned that being home is a huge adjustment, especially for our kids, but incorporating teaching and learning into our routines is something that we are being forced to do.
Sometimes, it takes the unexpected for us to make time to do things with kids and academics that we wouldn’t otherwise due to our busy schedules. Reassess how much time you spend being productive with your babies.
PLAY MUSIC
Play music to keep you calm while you’re working. This is something we may not be able to do at work. Take advantage of listening to the music you like. For me, music is soothing. I enjoy working while I have music playing in the background. I like the Ari Lennox Pandora station myself 😊.
VIRTUAL WORK TOOLS
Explore new tools that you can implement in your day-to-day work that allows for human interaction, like “Zoom” you can have breakout sessions during your meetings. Also, try to keep your video on while you are on your calls. Allowing people to see your face creates a more face-to-face interaction. I think everyone understands if you don’t have on a suit and tie or business attire. Everyone is dealing with the same sudden change. Unless it is discussed that you present yourself as if you are coming into an office, or a preference, I would dress comfortably. We all need to relax in some way during this time and what better way to do that than to be comfortable while working.
FACETIME FAMILIES & FRIENDS
Facetime a family member or a friend who you don’t Facetime often. You are not the only one who things have changed for. Take the time to speak to people you have not spoken to in a while. Ask them how they are doing or what they are doing. Not everyone will deal with this isolation well so it is important to let people know when you can that they still have a community and family who loves them!
SAVE YOUR MONEY
Take the time to SAVE YOUR MONEY – I say this with the complete understanding that not everyone can do this for many reasons. Especially seeing that some people are reasonably struggling from losing work. You all are in my mind and heart more than anyone else. For those who can save money, this is the time! Try not to spend money on online shopping, which seems enticing now while we are sitting at home. Remember that this is a time that we all need to prepare for more unexpected changes to come. Save as much money as you can.
GAME NIGHTS
Family Game Nights! When is the last time you played games with the people that you live with? If it has been a while, now is a great time. Considering all of these new ways, I try to still think everything happens for a reason. Maybe, we have been so consumed with our phones and television, that we forget to take time to communicate with one another and show our families that we love them in ways other than a text or phone call.
GET OUTSIDE
Make sure you get air! You can still practice “social distancing” while being outside! Make sure you remember to get fresh air outside.
VIRTUAL VIBES
Just because we are practicing social distancing, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy one another from home. Luckily, we have Facetime and Skype to video call one another. Be creative with one another and try to stay tuned with games and even virtual happy hours!
Games you can play via Facetime:
- Charades
- Heads Up – App
- Guess this song (via chat)
- Scategories / Categories
- Virtual happy hours!
We are all going through times of uncertainty and confusion where we may feel like we lost some sense of control that we had only weeks ago. It is important that we try to see the light in this situation and try to control what we can. Some things that we can control are keeping our minds clear of negative thoughts by staying organized, staying healthy physically and mentally, and focusing on this extra time we have to appreciate being close to our families.