Five Ways to Improve Your Sanity During Covid

Here we go again. Covid round two is here and while people struggle with working remotely, whether to home school their children or take a chance and send them to school – at least you sort of know what to expect for this next round. For some businesses Covid put a real damper on things, others are busier than before. Where do you fall?

Back in February I moved temporarily to Pensacola, FL. After seven months I still haven’t experienced Pensacola, nor do I really know anyone here. Staying home 24/7 isn’t in our DNA (wheelhouse). Cancelled shows don’t help. And for many of us face-to-face networking is what business is all about. With that said, here are

5 Ways to Improve Your Sanity During Covid.

Sightseeing

Go for a ride: As I mentioned above, I still haven’t experienced Pensacola. What I have done is hop in the car and gone for a ride. There’s a street that runs parallel to the apartment complex I live in called Nine Mile Road. It’s really 11 miles long, then changes over to Mobile Hwy. Two more miles and you cross into Alabama. Log onto Google maps to see what’s in your area and just go. Remember, just like when you take the boat out, make sure you have enough gas to get back; gas stations may be scare.

Go for a walk: Walking around your neighborhood gives you a totally different perspective than driving through it. Take your phone with you and take pictures of things you’ve never noticed before. I like taking photos of things in twos. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors, relieve stress and listen to a podcast or book. Bring your family with you, have a photo contest or play a game.

Exercise Your Mind/Body/Soul

Exercise/Meditate: Do Qi Qong, Yoga, or another form of exercise to help relieve stress and anxiety. What’s great about working from home is you can stop at any point during the day to do a 5-minute exercise. Drop to the floor, do a few crunches or sit outside and listen to the birds singing or watch the squirrels playing. It is all about keeping the stress level and boredom down.

Be creative: We all have a creative side. Use your imagination and wild-mind or mind map new projects. The Dollar Tree sells an awesome little 9 in x 6 in Artist Sketch Book that you can carry with you or leave in the car for those long trips. Then when you stop for a break, sketch out your thoughts. This is how lots of positive changes happen for new products and services.

Refresh your skills or learn something new

Videos: Watch YouTube videos on boating techniques, gardening, or getting rid of those pesky ant hills in your yard.

Online classes: LinkedIn has lots of awesome classes such as programming, speaking, and marketing. The also have various non-business related classes i.e. magic, chess, and figure drawing. Learn about a subject you’ve always been interested in and put on the back burner.

Join Groups

Meetup, Facebook, LinkedIn: Here you can talk with like-minded people on a variety of subjects. Want to learn how to garden better? There’s a group for that. Become a better leader? There are meetup groups for that. Whatever group you decide to join, only stay in them if they are a) positive b) offer something of value c) have the same values as you. Most of these you attend via Zoom, Lifesize, WebEx or on Facebook.

Read/Write

Read a book: There are lots of books available on Amazon, through your library website, Dollar Tree and other local stores where you shop. Did you know reading helps you become a better writer?

Write: Grab paper and pen then journal your feelings. There is something about connecting pen to paper and handwriting things out. The connection of pen to paper helps you see/process things differently. It is a great exercise to find solutions, relieve stress or do a brain dump for that book, article or project you’ve thought about doing.

No matter how many of these you choose to do, just stay active.  I hope these next few months are easier and more manageable.