Getting Through This
What we are experiencing right now is not a normal or usual experience, and we hope to never experience this again in our lifetime. We, globally, are going through a shared experience, a shared grief, a shared change of our “normal’ way of life. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to be and feel however you are being and feeling throughout this. Some of us may be feeling really productive, some of us may not. And some of us are wanting to feel like we are doing something more and not “wasting” our time at home. Again, it’s okay and natural to feel however you feel. This month, I’m going to offer up a few tips on things you can do to make the most of your time at home.
Read a book.
Any book. It can be a book in your house that you haven’t read yet or something new. We live in a digital world, which makes being at home much easier because we still have access to pretty much anything we need. You can check out digital books from your library that you can read on a device or even your computer. If you don’t have a library card, most libraries are still answering their emails and happy to set you up with a library card so you can start taking out books today!
Three things.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been home for three weeks now and it’s challenging to get motivated for the day often. There are so many things I want to do, things I think I “should” be doing, and get frustrated when it’s the end of the day and I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing. I decided to make a list each day of just three things I want to accomplish that day. Today, one of those things was putting hooks in the closet (which took about 1 minute), but I’ve been meaning to do it for over a week. Making that list of just three things keeps me focused for the day and not get overwhelmed by the “everything” I want to do. I even added a bonus section to my three things. Adding an additional one or two things that I could do if I’m done with the others for the day and feeling ready to tackle something else.
Watch TV.
Yes, just do it. We don’t need to be working on something all the time. Pick up that movie you’ve been wanting to watch or start watching that TV show, or catch up. It’s really easy to binge watch,but try to limit your screen time. We can get sucked into a hole of Netflix or Hulu, but we don’t want to run out of things to look forward to. I don’t know about you but when I start a TV show and I’m really enjoying it, I can’t wait to get it started again and see what happens next.
Plan something for the future.
It is really hard right now to look forward. You have most likely cancelled trips, events, or stopped planning something you were looking to do this year. I don’t recommend actually booking something and putting money down (unless it’s 100% refundable), but keep planning. I was supposed to be traveling to South Carolina at the end of this month, the training of course was cancelled, but I had a great road trip planned. My plan is to go when this is over. I’m going to keep planning my activities I was already working on and even add in a few more stops along the way. It gives me something to look forward to since I was excited about the trip in the first place.
Set up video hangouts, group texts, etc.
It’s funny, I definitely talk to people way more now than when this wasn’t happening. I was always running around from house to activity to studios, meeting with clients, teaching classes, and doing things for me. I rarely kept in daily touch with people. Now we have group texts, daily check- ins, and even decided to do a book club. Don’t cancel your meetings, switch them to a virtual space. We can all feel and stay connected even when we can’t physically see each other.
What else are you doing at home?