Taking care of your most important asset — YOU
There is no denying that these are uncertain times, the likes of which most in our generation have not experienced before. Not only do we not have a vaccine or a cure; we can only ‘guestimate’ the level of destruction this virus will cause to our society, our country and to us individually. The good thing is that being in the ‘always connected era’, there is no shortage of information on how best to navigate these trying circumstances. In spite of abundance of information and guidance’s, it is unrealistic to assume that the transition to working remotely, engaging in distance learning, practicing social distancing, coping with limited availability of certain goods and services will not add to or build up stress. These trying times require us to focus on and take care of our most important asset — OURSELVES.
When it comes to taking care of oneself — there simply isn’t a one size fits all solution. Below I have provided a broad brush description of what generally works for me, the idea being to be able to take it and customize it for what works for and fits in your scenario.
Maintain a strict sleep schedule — In my experience this is the single most important thing that helps us maintain our sanity as a family. Just because kids don’t have to be at school by 8 am does not mean that they can stay up watching TV past their bedtime. For us adults it is tempting to catch that late night show given that we don’t have to be out of the door at 6:30 am in order to beat the school traffic. Keeping a strict sleep schedule goes a long way to maintaining sanity and overall health.
Keep a positive outlook: With all the news that we receive day in and day out, I find myself getting overwhelmed and need to ‘take a break’ from the news networks and social media. Being at home, it is very tempting to check in on the news channel every so often or read the news blog. I found that doing so has a draining impact on me, so I set limits on when I will spend on news channels. While it works for me, it does not for my spouse and that is ok. We all look at things differently. In addition, the other strategy that has helped me is ‘maintaining a gratitude journal’. As difficult as things maybe now, we all have things that we are grateful for. This is a critical time that we need to focus on. This need not be over complicated or over engineered but something as simple as a running list is just as helpful. My spouse has found gym workouts and meditation as a helpful exercises to maintaining a positive outlook.
Maintain discipline around your work schedule: With the remote working situation it is very tempting to start work earlier than normal, maybe to do an early morning email check or perhaps one last check in on the emails before going to bed. I have learned that the hard way by having checked in on ‘world is coming to an end’ emails that ended up not being as much the subsequent day; I ended up having lost sleep over things that need not have been so. Hence now I am firm believer in a work schedule regardless of the location and check in emails at night is absolutely a BIG NO NO. Coming up with a work schedule and sticking to it is key.
Invest in YOU: Now more than ever it is important to pursue your passion. Do something outside of your work that stimulates you. It’s sketching and photography for me. Set aside time each day or week to do something to recharge your batteries. My husband enjoys taking care of the garden and work in the garage.
Invest in personal connections — With all of us cooped up at home, connections outside of the immediate family is very important. With technology that we have at our disposal, face time calls with my aunt in India or my cousin in Germany helps charge up my emotional balance. Checking in on a colleague from my previous work place who just had a baby was one of the best things I did last week. Make time to reach out the connections that matter to you and help your emotional well being.
To bring it all together — there isn’t a one size fits all formula that will work. The key is being open to change, being kind, trying out different things and keeping YOURSELF in the focus through this all. One of my mentors once told me — you can take care of your family or your teams only after you have taken care of yourself. I guess that is why the airlines say ‘please put on your mask before helping others!’.