Staying Mentally Healthy During Covid-19

TL:DR No denying these are hard times, and particularly for people personally impacted by the virus. As we navigate through this as individuals, leaders, and family members it is important to remind ourselves: it is ok we are not all “ok” all the time. That is normal, it is human. To help stay mentally healthy and address the stresses we may feel, below are some things that I have been testing out you may want to try (and/or share with others the ones working for you). Together we are stronger - more resilient - and able to navigate these times to be a better place.

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Normally, it’s a reminder of the silent challenges many of us, our friends and colleagues may be wrestling with. With COVID-19 front-of-mind for much of the world, mental health challenges are magnified for so many of us. What is “normal” has changed for nearly everyone. Some of us are faced with new and devastating isolation. Some are overwhelmed trying to work from home and “homeschool” young children at the same time. Some are ill or have friends/family who are ill. And worst of all, some are at risk of or have lost loved ones during these challenging times.

As a business leader, my focus is balancing what’s best for the health of our employees, the communities we live and work in, and the business itself. This is why we closed our offices as early as we did, why we are carefully planning what a return to our offices will look like and why we’ve encouraged team members to flex their work hours to fit their newly complicated lives. These structural changes are important but insufficient to address the overwhelming stress and depression we may feel at times as the lines between work and life blur more and more every day. During these times (in addition to trying to eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep) I have developed a few simple and easy “life hacks” that perhaps you might want to try out as well.  

#1 - De-stressing the Unknown with Scenario Planning

One of the great stressors in life is the unknown. People typically are better off knowing bad news than waiting in dreaded anticipation of potential bad news which can become all consuming and draining (and oftentimes never even happens). One technique to de-stress the unknown is scenario planning. Through scenario planning, you can put yourself in the driver seat and expand perspectives, develop shared understanding, identify no-regrets moves, and surface signals that trigger strategic change. 

At Puppet we have used scenario planning to help us get our arms around what different potential futures might mean to our business strategy and workforce. For example - what happens if we are in a gradual recovery versus a prolonged period of “fits and starts” as compared to a long-term recession, or perhaps a whole new way of working around the globe. This has allowed us to identify “no regret” moves which have value in all four scenarios and gives us the leading indicators and nuanced scenario by scenario playbooks we need to be in control of the unknown as we move forward.

On the personal front, I have done a bit of scenario planning around what my own life will look like in the fall given I have 3 school age kids (one in high school and two in middle school). I’m planning for: if they go back to school full time, if they go back part time, or if they stay home and continue learning in a distance format. By doing this work, similar to the value of doing this work for Puppet overall, I feel more in control and I have also been able to identify and act on “no regret” moves such as investing in a better home learning environment, an asset no matter what outcome arrives. If you have never tried scenario planning in your life - give it a go. It has helped me get the upper hand on those stressful unknowns in my life, maybe it can help you too.

Tip #2 - Taking Time Off (at Home)

Sometimes the stress in life can be like a migraine; it is so ever-present you can forget what it feels like to not have one. What we have noticed during COVID-19 is all of us are having to adjust to a new way of working, which seems to have all the days bleed into one another. A lot of us are experiencing stress in this very “migraine like” way; that it has become so ever-present, we forget it is there and it silently takes its toll on us. 

To help address this challenge for our team at Puppet, earlier this month we made May 4th, Star Wars Day, a holiday for 2020. We did this so people could unplug from work and focus on other needs in their life, or just take a moment to recharge. It was wonderful to learn what people did with this special day off. What was most striking, however, was how so many people commented on how much they needed that break and didn’t even realize it. To this end, in addition to special company holidays; we are encouraging our team to take PTO which is not always the most natural thing to do when you are sheltering in place, but may very well be critical. 

So, if you have the ability to take some PTO during this time, it might be a good way to give yourself the needed time to focus on high priority items outside of work, take some personal time, or connect more closely with those you are sheltering in place with. AND, if you are in the position to influence a special company holiday at your company, I highly recommend it; your teams will thank you and be all the healthier for it.

#3 - Old School Ways to Stay Connected

I continue to be amazed at how quickly people have figured out to use video conferencing for everything from class work to happy hours and virtual dinner parties and weddings. All these things are great, and I believe many of them will live on well beyond the pandemic. 

Given how much goes on in the virtual world, however, I have found it comforting and fun to go back to connecting in more “old school” ways. One way I do this is to take the time to hand write a card to say a thank you to someone you care about (and if you are me, you might ask people to creatively imagine the money you slipped in that envelope to be a nice bottle of wine or box of chocolates). Another thing I have been testing out is sending care packages (toilet paper included with other favorite games like story cubes, drawing books - particularly by Ed Emberley - and balloons) to bring a bit of unexpected joy into someone's day and hopefully provide some fun distraction for the family. [Tip for those shipping in the US: using the prepaid, flat rate priority boxes the Post Office ships to your house is the way to go.] And yet another engagement approach I am testing out is to do a surprise gift exchange. You can do this across your team/your extended family/friend circle. The way it works is everyone gets randomly assigned one person in the group to gift and a set amount of money to spend (or perhaps you make it a homemade gift). You then send them off and can enjoy them independently when they arrive or perhaps in a video conference get together :) This is another great way to demonstrate you care for others and provide a bit of “physical” excitement in what is an increasingly virtual world.

And my personal daily favorite, perhaps one of the easiest things and most useful for me, is to take a break from non-stop video calls and go back to the old fashion phone call. Non-stop video calls can be taxing on the eye and stressful because the other people’s eyes are always on you. You are also typically tied to some type of desk while you are doing them. To mix it up, sometimes I do walking phone calls (similar to walking meetings but you are walking in a socially distanced way talking into a phone versus to a person walking with you). This practice allows me to get some exercise and give my eyes a rest. For as amazing as new technology is, sometimes it is good to go back to the “old ways” of doing things. And, no matter how you decide to stay connected with people outside of your own house and home, the important thing for you and your broader team/community is that you do connect and engage with others.

I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for how you can work to stay mentally and emotionally healthy during these times. And, if you are in a position where you feel you might benefit from professional support, please do reach out to the mental health hotlines and services offered by your work, your health provider, and/or in your community. As we navigate through the pandemic as individuals, leaders, and family members it is important to remind ourselves: it is ok we are not all “ok” all the time. Sometimes doing little things like I mentioned above work and sometimes you need a professional to help you navigate through it all. Whatever the right answer is, remember, this is going to be a marathon and not a sprint so it is important we all look after ourselves and each other.