The “Shut Down” Is No Time to Shut Down

The Corona Virus continues to impact us all in differing degrees. I have no doubt that for most it will be, at worst, a mild inconvenience. Yet for our most vulnerable the danger is very real and it is for those that the vast majority of the world is willingly doing all it can to reduce the chances of losing anyone to this challenge to humanity. For most of us this has come to mean “shelter in place” or at least drastically minimize our time out of the house and maximize our time away the general public. What we decide to do with that time will make the difference on our, physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, and even economic state as we endure these days of uncertainty. So, what should we be doing during the unforeseen “down time”? Well here are my suggestions; 1: Focus your attention on “improvement” – of yourself, your surroundings, your domestic relationships even your bank account. What I mean is, after cleaning up the house, finishing some of those “projects” you’ve been putting off and binge watching your favorites via any number of streaming services, take the time to read something that will improve your life, undertake a life assessment to get a good idea of just where you are in your life and what the next steps are to making it more of what you want it to be.

2: Minimize your exposure to THE NEWS – While it is important to stay informed try to avoid “news binging” especially online. Intentionally limit your News intake to the evening News on TV and simply scroll past the waves of “news” on social media.

3: Help if you can – If there are ways you can help in your local community without risking further exposure to the virus then, by all means, do so.

4: Get creative – Especially if you have kids at home with you. Find things you can do together, go for a walk each day (if you still can), play some yard games, cook together, get “artsy” and make crafts together, have “Family Game Night” a couple times a week.

5: Start a “Side Hustle” – This could be a good thing, especially if your hit with a work closure. In many places the “delivery” industry needs people. If you have an economical vehicle consider driving for Door Dash, Grub Hub, Uber eats or just directly for a local restaurant that is only serving take-out or delivery or maybe run groceries with Instacart or even start a local errand service. Seriously check into the possibility of using the internet to make some side cash. There are many tried and true ways to make money online.

6: Communicate – Take time to call or Skype or Facetime and get back in touch with family and friends you really care about and be positive and optimistic about our situation. Nothing worse than hanging up the phone feeling bad about having made the call. Be the light in someone’s day.

In short, our current situation has afforded us the unprecedented opportunity to take the time to, deliberately and with intention, be productive with our lives. The alternative is to sit watching TV constantly feeding our fears, raising anxiety, stress and frustration and giving ourselves ulcers. And who wants that? No thank you; it’s time to pop the top on the other Corona and get to work. 😉