Stay safe and stay home but most important stay sane!

Most of us are struggling these days with a high number of emotions which we did not knew before COVID-19. Some of us are quite ok with handling them, others not. What are we doing about it? How can we help others? How can we make it easier, for those not able to deal with the strange emotions these days? All these questions are running around my head, hoping to get an answer, to some of them, at least. Therefor I wrote down here my thoughts and ideas, hoping to be of help to some of you.

We all talk about numbers, about how many people are still in the hospital, about how many died and how many to come. We look on statistics, and we wait for the numbers next day. What I'm wondering is how many of us are worried about the number of emotional dramas which will derive from all this? My humble way of seeing things tells me that what we should be most afraid of is not the disease, not the economical damage left behind, but the psychological drama connected to all the above.

Being a quite connected person, i talk these days, over the phone more than I ever did before, in a struggle to listen to myself and to the ones which need to talk to someone. And i shouldn't be the only one doing this. We are all in this, connected genuinely more than ever before. There is no shame in not being able to handle all this emotions, it's new to most of us. Talk and listen, share what you feel and let others know you are there. Here are some things you could think of these days and act!

Do you have a friend or a colleague, which is home with his kids, since some days in isolation, give him a call, see how he is, how he feels, what he needs. Just listen to him, it helps.

Do you have a friend or a colleague, which is isolated back home with a partner where the romance is long time ago, gone, give a call, see how he feels. Just check-in. Just listen, it helps. These days, spending too much time with each other will be be a real challenge for many of us and I'm sure that not all of the nowadays relationships will make it through.

Do you have a friend, who might loose or lost his job these days? Some of us are more protected than others by the arms of huge corporations which keep us "warmer" these days, being able to afford a few months of downtime, but others not. Think about your friend or neighbor who owned till yesterday a small pizzeria around the corner. Think about your cousin which opened recently a Tourism-Agency from all the savings. Give them a call, ask them how they feel, give them courage, make them smile or let them cry. Just make yourself present, it helps.

Do you have someone who lost or might loose these days a dear one? Be there, give a call. Offer an ear to listen. Always!

Are you a Manager? Connect with your team more than you ever done before, make a routine out of it, drink your coffee together, drink a virtual vine together, organize a virtual party. Stay connected, show you are there. Show you understand, show how you feel and be genuine. Make yourself available more than you ever done before!

Are you a professional who could offer online help? A psychologist can offer a line to be called at, a teacher can offer lessons to some kids, you could teach people a language through Skype or Zoom, help with math, with homework, a lawyer or a financial consultant can offer consultancy to people losing businesses, Recruiters can help in finding jobs or making CV's appealing to those losing jobs. Anything which can go online is more than welcome these days.

Are you leading a company? Think about setting up some private virtual therapy-hours for your employees, give them the platform to learn online, a language, a skill. Udemy, Linked-in Learning, Coursera are just a few examples.Keep your employees connected, give them the platform to build communities, to stay in touch, more than you ever done before. Keep your employees informed and involved virtually. Be genuine, be real, be there, because nowadays we are not only struggling with a lot of emotions but we are changing the entire way of working together, and the beginnings always matter!

Being myself a working mother, with 2 kids back home, I am dealing too with a huge number of strange/unknown emotions these days. Will I still have a job? Will I be able to manage my relationship or will I kill soon my partner? :) Will people think that I'm not good enough with raising my kids, when they'll be running around in my virtual job-related meetings ? Am I weak if I cry or complain these days? Are my parents going to make this? How can I help others? How can i be more helpful to my team? How can I help my kids, my friends, which are alone and bad with being alone? All these questions are running like crazy in my head, but I know that although I'm mostly responsible with how I will get out of this situation, I also know that these days we all are more connected to each other, than we ever were before. As I'm by myself in home-isolation since 2 weeks, and the first few days were terrible to organize myself and especially my kids, I decided to change some things in my life and to build up some routines. Here are the things which helped me a lot, they are not from books, they are all tried by myself out.

Taking a Shower each morning, at 7 am.

Limiting my working space. Make your desk cozy, put a plant, a bunny, a lego, a picture with your loved ones, whatever makes you happy. This is the place where some of us will spend the coming days, so make it appealing.

Not working in bed and never run around in Pijamas.

Dressing exactly as if i would be going to the office.

Be on time! Don't get late to your meetings. Show you are responsible, even from home. Show your employer that he can trust you, because nowadays we are changing the entire culture of how we'll be working in the future. You are part of this story.

Taking breaks. I walked around the house or went a few times up the stairs.

Working out, with my kids together, not much, but I Did as I do not want to get out of these, looking like an elephant. There are tons of applications which help you do this. I used Freeletics and Kayla Itsines but Nike is also great. My kids love this. I made a plan and added exact hours to it, 45 mins, 3/week.

Avoiding the fridge. I did not succeeded at the beginning, but I am getting better and better at it.

Listening to my audio-books. Audible is my favorite, but there are some others out there. When did you had time lately to do this? I didn't. Try Atomic Habits, it's great, especially nowadays, when routines need to be in our lives.

Listening and spending quality times with kids. Make this also a routine. It's not easy, i agree. Draw and dance with the small ones, teach them to write, make a lego together, listen to the teenager ones and share from your experiences. If you need ideas, let me know.:)

Splitting the tasks with my partner. Who does what, when. Ask him for help.

Fighting and yelling to my partner, he did the same. We agreed on this routine and we are getting better and better:)

Crying. Yes, big girls cry too and I did these days. Nothing wrong here. It helps.

Calling my friends and my connections. 2 times per day, usually in the evening and in the morning but i'm quite good at answering last days. I made a routine in talking regularly to people.

Cleaning up the closet and prepare clothes for people in need. The only rule which works here is following: If i did not wear it last year at all, i do not need it.

Learning something new. I, personally love cooking, so i'm learning daily something new.

Putting some red-lipstick on:) and being proud of yourself!

Answering my phone more than ever. The glorification of busyness should be gone these days, people need us, we need the people. Stay connected, stay available.

Writing my thoughts and feelings down. On a paper, on Linked-in, on Facebook, to a friend, wherever you feel doing it.

Not freaking out when the efficiency at work is down. It's not you, it's everyone feeling the same. We are probably at around 40% now, but we we'll get better and better soon.

Ordering flowers.

Having the table done at clear hours. 3 times per day. Kids need discipline and it also helps you feel organized. Don't worry if it's just a soup, think that it's the best soup you could cook. And it really is:) Even if they do not eat it:)

Making a list with activities for kids at different ages. Share it with friends with kids, they will be happy too.

Not looking at TV. Oh, yes this helped a lot, too! Anyway, you will see the same ambulance carrying infected people and yes, the number of infected people will always be growing. At least for the coming days. Does this help you somehow? No, it doesn't. Can you help? Yes you already do by staying home. You are great at it! Shut down your TV!

Watching comedies and reading happy news. I watched the Naked Gun, for the 3rd time, that was funny. There are some websites which share only good news. Read those.

Reading news regarding the evolution of the pandemic just once per day and only from verified sources.

Walking my dog. Although it is only next to my house, it gives me a feeling of continuity. I was thinking to walk my cat too:)

Starring at the walls. This also helps. Starr at the walls, at least 15 mins per day. Do not think at anything.

Stay safe, stay home but stay sane!