Tips on dealing with the stress of staying home
Today, we are sharing our space with Vina Vidal Vicente, our resource person on leadership, communication and organizational development. She shares her experience, along with some helpful tips, on managing stress and staying productive while staying at home:
The first week of the enhanced community quarantine threw everybody into a state of flux and sent people scrambling—hoarding grocery items and medicines, setting up the necessary equipment to allow for a work from home option, demanding fast action from the government, etc.
Panic can lead to so much anxiety and stress, as the past two and a half weeks have shown. Here are some strategies that could help you to manage panic:
Use what is there
In the early days of the quarantine, many resources on managing emotions came out online. One such example is executive coach BJ Radomski’s “Thinking in Crisis,” a short course that helps in determining the cause of panic thinking, using simple strategies to calm one’s emotions and adjusting to external conditions as needed. Check out the videos here: https://www.bjradomski.com/offers/AzTZ5iqs/checkout
Work out a schedule
Scheduled events were scrapped when the lockdown was announced. Large gatherings like parties, concerts and business conventions were either canceled or indefinitely postponed.
On a personal note, I almost went crazy staring at an empty calendar. My first act in the morning is always to see what I had for the day. What do you do when the calendar tells you to do nothing?
As the days passed, I managed to work out a schedule that suited me. My mornings are for myself: writing, reading, working out, and of course, social media. The afternoons are for work: attending teleconferences, managing projects and communicating with the team.
I also do another workout after office hours. I found it very important to set an “after office” hour, as well as breaks in between, where I would literally get up and move away from the remote office setup.
The evening is for my family and friends: Jamming with the husband and posting videos on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, chatting with the daughter in her bedroom and going on Zoom calls with my different communities.
Before this new normal set in, I needed to first embrace the mind-set: It is okay to “do nothing.”
Move!
It cannot be stressed enough: One’s body is made for moving.
The “normal” or the nonquarantine days had us getting up from bed in the morning, preparing for work, commuting and walking around the office. Being at home does not mean we stay in one position the whole day.
Movement affects everything: The way your blood circulates, the way food travels in your stomach, the way your brain works, the way your cells are protected from disease. As we move, our bodies regulate hormone activity and cleanse our system.
I would like to believe that panic has considerably settled since the lockdown was first announced. People have begun to find their day-to-day rhythm and have managed to maintain a semblance of regularity, as well as connections to the outside world through technology.
Hopefully, even with the possibility of an extended (perhaps modified) quarantine situation, we will continue to sustain the balance. INQIf you would like to add your inputs to the article, please email [email protected] or send a message to www.fb.com/
