25 Ways to Move Through This Time A Little Easier
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I hope this finds you well as we all move through COVID-19 together. I’m currently writing to you from my home since I’m unable to go to my office and I’m quarantining with my husband and our kitty.
I don’t know about you but the tension, stress, and uncertainty where I am is palpable; and if you’re feeling it too, I want you to know that you’re not alone. As a highly sensitive person you may be feeling overwhelmed and in need of extra rest, comfort, and tlc. You may find yourself being a big support system for the people in your world right now too, which can add even more intensity and pressure to your plate. I know that I’m definitely feeling all the feels and needing extra comfort right now. In fact I’ve been meaning to send you a message for a few days but I’ve just needed to rest and nap when I can in between phone and distance sessions.
I wanted to send you a little note to let you know that I’m thinking about you and your loved ones and wanted to share some things that are helping me right now. I hope that you’ll find some things here that really speak to you and will add to your comfort + support right now too. This is by no means a be all end all list, and hopefully it will spark some great ideas + inspiration for you.
I’ve also included a bonus list for you below of my top 5 things to do when you 1st begin working from home if you’re finding yourself suddenly part of the lap top lifestyle + digital platform professionals team. (We’re so happy to have you join us!)
20 Things to Do During Quarantine:
Read a Physical Book or Listen to Audible
(Let someone tell you a story; this is a great one if you need to help your body let down and relax.)Organize a drawer, closet, pantry, or your garage.
Take this time to get some of those organization projects off your list. It feels sooo good to get things organized and to have a new system in place plus it brings new and revitalized energy into your home.Creative Project
Get out some partially finished creative projects and spend some time working on them or begin a new project. Keep them where you can get to them so you can just enjoy your creative process without having to dig them out every time you feel guided to work on them. (Creativity is a big stress and tension reducer + turns on calm in the body.)Learn to do something new that you’ve been meaning to do.
Search youtube videos to help you find a tutorial for your particular thing and go for it. Or if you have books, dvd’s, or class notes about it, get those out and lean into the learning process.Color or Draw
Get out your markers, crayons, colored pencils, paper, coloring books, construction paper, and poster board and get creative. Color or draw while you’re watching a movie or listening to music. (Creativity turns on calm while naturally releasing built up tension and stress.)Cook
Yep, dig into a cookbook or find a recipe online and reconnect to the joy and healing qualities of cooking from scratch in the kitchen. Even if you feel you’re a little rusty or you don’t have much experience cooking, start out with something easy and use this time to increase your skill set and love of cooking.Bake
Did you love baking cookies when you were little? Does the idea of baking a chocolate cake give you a zing of excitement? Baking is really fun and doesn’t take a lot of time but yields yummy dividends that will make the folks quarantined with you sooo happy. Plus your whole home will smell incredible!Enjoy a Cup of Tea or Coffee
So often we’re grabbing and going because we have to be somewhere; but now you can take some time to truly enjoy the simple pleasures of a beautifully brewed cup of tea or coffee. (In your favorite mug or tea cup.)Exercise
Even though we’re all inside for the time being, moving your body is still really important and a great way to move stress out. There’s tons of workout videos on Youtube for every kind of workout you can imagine. Lace up your shoes, grab a water, and start working out in your living room.Meditate
Beginning or returning to your meditation practice is a powerful way to support yourself, physical, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You can listen to guided mediations if you’re new to meditation, you can use the calm app or something similar, you can practice conscious breathing, or any meditation practice that feels like a fit for you. Even 3-5 minutes makes a positive impact on your overall wellbeing.Play Music
Do you play an instrument? Pick it up and play it again and if you’ve been meaning to practice more or learn something new on your instrument, this is a great time to do that.Listen to Music
Music helps to elevate mood, increase energy, and can even increase happiness. So, turn up the music and have an impromptu dance party, sing a long, or a walk down memory lane while you enjoy listening to your favorite music.Self Care
Practicing self care is really important right now. Anything that feels like it would offer you care, counts for self care. Take a nice hot bath, do an at home facial, mani +pedi, diy hair mask, diffuse your favorite oils, smudge yourself and your home, use your favorite or special linens, jammies, slippers, etc. Invest in taking care of yourself in ways that nurture you.Journal
Whether you write with a pen and notebook or type in your digital journal, writing helps to move things through us and onto the page which helps us to gain clarity, calm, and comfort.Write
Have you been meaning to write someone a real letter on paper? Now is a great time plus everyone loves receiving a real note or card in the actual mailbox. Have you been chipping away at your book, article, screenplay, oracle deck, original song, etc? Make time to sit down and write, even for 15 minutes. You’ll be amazed how much you will get done.Clean
Not everyone’s favorite activity but something that must get done and you can add music and sturdy shoes and get a workout in while you clean and enjoy your favorite cleaning playlist. Oh come on, you know you have a cleaning playlist too.Relax
This is one that may seem obvious, but honestly most people don’t know how to relax anymore. Due to our overtaxed schedules, most people are used to being in fight, flight, freeze, and fawn and have to work to remember how to truly relax. So, breathe… release tension in your tummy, chest, and face and give yourself permission to relax without combining it with a chore. Yes, relaxing is an important thing to do. We aren’t machines are shouldn’t be going all the time.Sleep
Take naps if you need to or want to. Yes, if you need to or want to. You may find that your body needs extra rest right now so even if you nap for 20 minutes here and there (or longer) give yourself permission to do it. Sleep is when our body can physically repair and heal. We need to sleep to keep our immune system strong.Redecorate
Have you planned a home project, got all the stuff but just haven’t had the time? This is your time. Paint that wall, install those shelves, hang those curtains, move that furniture around to create more seating areas, install those wood floors and get that carpet up and out already.Movie Marathon/Show Marathon
Get into your favorite jammies, grab your snacks, blankets, pillows, and settle in for the long haul. Watch all your favorites, and maybe finally watch the series your friends have been telling you you’re going to love. Enjoy the marathon and make it a little party, set up your space, have all your goodies in arms reach, and press play.
Some Marathons to Consider:
Star Wars
Harry Potter
Indiana Jones
Roger and Hammerstein Collection (Musical lovers, I see you!)
The Matrix
Lord of the Rings
Toy Story
The Godfather
Super Hero Movies
Back to the Future
Friends
The Office
Twilight Zone
Dark Shadows (Currently all Seasons on Amazon Prime)
Gilmore Girls
Cheer
HBO Series Favorites
Top 5 Things to Do When You 1st Start Working From Home
Take Control of Your Morning
Were you a commuter? Did you have to be up early to get to your office or place of work?
Grab these precious hours now that you’re home and use them for you! Here’s what I mean, keep waking up like you would before the quarantine and use that time for you. Once your day gets going, it’s easy to lose that morning time which can be used to invest in yourself. So, have a cup of coffee in the quiet, journal or read something inspirational, get a workout in, meditate, or soak in your tub. Grab those morning hours and use them to support you.
Get Dressed
Seems like a no brainer but this is one of the most important things for new lap top life professionals. It’s easy to get stuck in your jammies and not get a break from your work for hours which can leave you feeling less than awesome. So, get up and wash your face, brush your teeth, comb your hair, and change into fresh clothes and not jammies. Even if you put on house clothes or athleisure so you can sneak in a workout during the day, great. Just get up and get dressed, you don’t need to wear full hair and makeup unless you want to but hair, teeth, face, plus fresh clothes is a must.
Dedicated Work Space
This is really important, even if your dedicated workspace is a small table in your laundry room or guest room or in your living room, make it your dedicated work space. You may feel tempted to work in bed, please don’t do this. You want to be able to rest in bed when you’re finished for the day and working from bed activates that space in your body and mind as a place you should be working and creates sleep challenges. Tons of psychological research about this, I won’t bore you with the details, just try to avoid it completely.
Dedicated Schedule
Stick to a schedule. Decide when you’re going to clock in and out and make it a conscious choice so you can stop when you’re finished and refuse the temptation to keep going with “just one more thing.” I’ll let you in on a little secret, there will always be one more thing, you must stop at the end of your official work day otherwise you’ll never stop. This leads to burn out and a compromised immune system, you don’t want either of those situations. Build in your lunch break and force yourself to take it and eat your lunch away from your dedicated work space. Just like not working in bed, don’t eat at your desk, see something else, move to a different area of your house, even if that means the kitchen table. Do something else while enjoying your lunch; give your eyes a break from screens and try not to make scrolling the thing you do while enjoying your lunch. If your littles or partner are home, eat lunch together and have a conversation.
Remember to take 2 15 minute breaks in addition to your lunch break. Set an alarm on your phone, yes, I’m serious and then get up when they chime. Don’t ignore or push through the break, you need to physically get up and take a break from what you’re doing.
Go to the bathroom…I know….I know but most people forget to go to the bathroom when working from home.
Drink water…same as above. People forget to drink water when working from home. Keep a bottle at your work space and sip it throughout the day.
Don’t Do Chores
It may be really and I mean really tempting to do laundry, clean, mop, and just do a quick ________.
Don’t do it, stick to your work schedule.
Working from home doesn’t mean you aren’t really working.
You need to protect your work hours in the same way you would if you were at your office or place of work. You wouldn’t walk out in the middle of a meeting to go pop your laundry into the dryer. Respect your work, yourself, and your work schedule. Don’t give in to the temptation to work and do your chores at the same time. It doesn’t work and you’ll feel frustrated because everything will be half done and you’ll feel pressured to work into the night to try to get it done. The chores will be there waiting for you and you can do them when you aren’t working just like you did before the quarantine.
Okay, that’s it for today. I know it’s a lot but I wanted to share these things wit you in the hopes that it will offer you some support. Please let me know how you’re doing and how I can help you at this time.
Please know that I’m sending you love, gentility, and supportive energy. I’m here for you and you’re not alone. If you want to work with me right now, I’m still available for phone, skype, and distance sessions. (There’s a special price point too.)
With love and support,
Kristy~
P.S. In between sessions I’ll be hunkering down and cooking, baking, organizing, stitching, sewing, and enjoying some Movie Marathon’s. Harry Potter, the Matrix and Dark Shadows seem to be calling my name right now. xoxo
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