As the world continues to change during this pandemic, it is no wonder that so many people are trying to lessen the amount of their stress and stay positive. In mid-July the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues, conducted a poll that found that “53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.”
We hope that the following tips help you remain positive and focused while COVID-19 still affects so many.
Understand the Pandemic, But Not Too Much
Look to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and other leading national healthcare groups to find out what is going on and how to stay safe. This will allow you feel as if you “know” the pandemic well and that, in your own way, you have some control over it. This will of course keep your mind at ease.
Getting the most accurate information doesn’t mean receiving the information from the media or from social media. It’s important to go to reliable sources, like the ones in the paragraph above.
You also need to understand that spending time dwelling on these conditions and precautions, especially in the media can actually negatively impact you. Worrying about everything or things people heard can make things seem uncontrollable and cause great stress.
By staying informed with trusted sources, you can more easily make decisions and carve out your own agenda for each day.
Get Organized
As you or your family have experienced, working remotely is quite a different experience. A great way to stay effective while working remotely is to continue or create a new routine. Whether you can keep your regular routine going depends greatly on you and what you’re juggling. If you need to create a new routine or tweak your current one is ok, just as long as you stick to it. If you tended to wake early, shower and get dressed for work, try that. However, if you need to tend to online learning or a new carpool, then factor those into your routine.
One area of working remotely that is important is sticking to your normal business hours. We understand that there will be exceptions, however the alternative is turning everyday into a marathon of work. If you have trouble winding down work down, then maybe enforcing those hours can be beneficial. Working every waking hour may seem possible, however it’s not practical. On the flip side, some people get distracted and accomplish very little during work. This is also why keeping the same hours is important. You know that between those hours your focus should be on work and less on distractions. Either type of person will benefit by separating their personal live at home with their remote work life.
If you’re having some issues keeping a routine or staying on schedule, you should consider purchasing a planner or using a digital calendar with Google, Apple or another company. Having a good understanding of what you need to do and how much time you have to do it is key. This will keep you on schedule, which will give your life balance and help you zero in on what’s important.
Identify Your Workspace
Doing work from a couch or bed not only seem like bad ideas, they are bad ideas. During this time, it is essential that you designate a specific area as your workspace. It doesn’t have to be the best room or area in the house. It could be your living room corner or part of your bedroom. Heck, it could be a section of a table. The significance of that space is most important.
Now you have a predetermined workspace that will allow you to separate your work from your house or apartment. You know that the corner of your living room isn’t just a place for plants. Now it has a table or desk and a chair for your workstation. You’ll want to make sure you have enough space to be and stay organized. If the area doesn’t have room for your planner and computer, it’s not a good workspace.
If you live with someone, have kids or just thin walls, it’s good to identify a space that limits your distractions. You wouldn’t want to sit next to a spouse who’s always on the phone talking with prospects or next to the TV area where your kids watch their streaming service or play their video games.
Stay Active
Finding motivation to exercise might not be a top priority right now, but it should be. A fitness survey conducted during the COVID-19 outbreak found that 65% of the 2,000 people were taking time off from their fitness routine. This drop shows that most people have lost the motivation to keep up their exercise routine. In addition to helping you stay healthy, exercise can help you stay focused and positive, while improving your sleep.
- One easy way to stay fit during the pandemic is taking a walk or walks. Try one before work or during your lunch break or even after work. Another simple way to stay fit or get a quick exercise in is to walk the steps in your house. Doesn’t matter if it’s going up and down the basement steps, give it a try.
- One sure fire way to keep your spirits high during the pandemic is to exercise in the morning. That’s because it prevents being sluggish in the late afternoon because you’ve been sitting for too long.
- Exercise is only part of staying active and healthy during COVID-19. Keeping a healthy diet will also help you focus and maintain your positive mindset. You need energy to exercise, so don’t underestimate what you eat.
- Check out some mobile apps or a fitness tracker to stay motivated. Not only can they tell you how many calories you burned, they can help you track all your exercises.
Don’t Forget to Get Your Rest
For those overachievers, the pandemic is the perfect time to update your kitchen, landscape your backyard or learn a new language. While some of these improvements, both personal and home-related, may seem like great ideas, they may just put more on your plate. Thus, making a stressful time even more stressful. It’s imperative that you set a strict schedule when it comes to down time and sleep.
Relaxing is important. The developments of the pandemic can take a lot out of you both mentally and physically.
So, if falling asleep is something you’re having issues with, look for apps that can help. Look for apps with nature sounds or about meditation. While most associate meditation with relaxation, it can be a tremendous benefit for those with sleep issues.
Be a Positive Influence
By now social distancing is a household term. We all know what it means and have even waited in lines with markings on the floor to make sure we stay six feet away from each other. Face coverings have also become the norm. And video meetings through platforms such as Zoom, or Skype have made staying connected easy. While we adjust to all the new normals, it is important that we use some of them to stay social. That personal interaction with friends and family is also important to our mental health.
You can plan a video call with the people you went to college with or hold a special movie night in your backyard for relatives or neighbors. You don’t have to put yourself or your family in danger to see your friends. Being smart and obeying the guidelines can turn your Saturday night into a party, just without any hugs or handshakes.
You or someone you know probably has been hit hard by this pandemic. Whether it has been battling the actual virus or a loss of income or a job, so many people have been affected by COVID-19. Now is the time to ask how you can help. Doing something for someone else, not only takes our minds off the present stresses, it can actually help to make us feel better. It doesn’t matter how large or small your work for others is. It will help you and, most importantly, it will help them.
Now is also a time for us to consider our influence on each other from a stress perspective. By staying calm in front of children or the elderly, we help them adapt to the situation. In fact, going around spreading fear is not good for anyone at any age. Also, know that everyone is stressed and by remaining calm and conversational, we help those around us settle in and adjust to their environment. It’s important that we are considerate and understanding to others and ourselves.
In Conclusion
It is important to find the silver lining in those situations that cause us great stress or consternation. Believe it or not, this pandemic is probably teaching us more about resilience then we actually realize. When the pandemic finally ends, and it will end, we will come out of this much wiser and appreciative of all that we often overlook.