There is a weird new normal settling in as we drag through another week of COVID19 pandemic. 

Many of us have closed the doors to our business and livelihoods as the nation (parts of it anyway) tries to slow the spread of this potentially deadly virus. How are you doing? Still healthy? I hope you’re all well.

I see many people, mostly celebrities or salespeople, trying to convince everyone how productive they can be during this “downtime.” The way I see it, we are all feeling a little anxious about the future, nervous about our situations, and unsure about what’s next in all this. None of that lends to the focus required to take on a lot of new and challenging tasks like learning a new language or remodeling our kitchens.  I am not a mental health professional by any means, but I do have a few things that help me during stressful times and I would like to share those with you.

Keep a schedule. Get up and take a shower, get dressed, and get about your day. Work during work hours and don’t let your whole day become one long semi-work/semi-off day. Use the internet for work or information, but don’t sit there and scroll all day. 

Stay healthy. Work out if you can. Go for a run or walk your dog. Get some fresh air. Stay away from your breakroom, a/k/a your kitchen. You are not hungry, you’re restless and bored. Meditate if you’re into that, or stretch, or just sit quietly for a bit and let your brain settle down.

Focus on the little things. I think most of you reading this have dogs. Take a little time and work on one little thing with them. Teach a new simple trick, like a paw wave or spin in a circle, so you can see progress. Clean your kitchen. Put away the laundry. You don’t have to go overboard cleaning or repainting your entire house. Stick to things that will give you a sense of daily accomplishment. Don’t let yourself get quarantine crazy and don’t feel bad if you don’t change the world in a day.

Have some empathy for your neighbors and friends. None of us know how to do this. It’s new to us all and we will each handle it differently. Don’t get into pointless arguments on social media with your friends who might feel differently about what’s going on, remember, we’re all coping in our own way. No one singled out you or your business to push you into failure. This is tough on everyone, financially, mentally, and socially. 

Finally, remember you are not alone. It may feel isolating or lonely, but you have friends, relatives, even anonymous help groups available to look to for a little support when you need it. We may be socially distancing, but we’re all in it together.

It is a strange new world we’re living in and no matter what happens, I don’t think there will be any going back to “normal” after all this winds down. So, we will all do the best we can and go forward. I know I wrote above that it is okay to ease back on your personal expectations, but this will end and it is important to be ready when it does. Coming up in a future blog, I am going to break down a few of the new methods to communicate, train, and teach that we’re seeing come out of this situation and look at how we can incorporate the best ones into our future systems after this is over.  

Until next time, wash your hands, stay healthy, and get out and do something with your dog. (Staying an appropriate social distance from other people, of course.)