Lockdown 2.0 – Lessons from last time…
Here we go again! What did we learn from last time? Here are some ideas for making it all a bit easier.
The head stuff! Listen, you are enough already. This isn’t easy, so lay off the massive re-decorating plans, the sourdough baking competition and idea that you have to come out of the other end of this lockdown being some model of perfection. It’s good to get stuff done, but there’s such thing as toxic productivity.
Hopefully by now you will have worked out that filling you day with back to back video calls is not a recipe for sanity and success. When the pressure’s on, you need to pace yourself. Add some breaks into you schedule and mix it up a bit. One way of dealing with pressure is to volunteer for everything but that’s going to get you frazzled pretty quickly.
Isolation is toxic, so take care of the relationships that matter to you. There’s no law that says when a group of two or more meet socially via Zoom, a quiz has to be involved. Meet the people you can meet outdoors. Go for a walk, maybe write a letter. Social media might be good, but it’s not real contact. If you are going to post stuff online, nobody’s going to benefit from you being a mood hoover, so try and be positive!
You are not a machine. Some days are going to be better than others. If you get down in dumps, do something about it: emotion follows motion, after all. If you are struggling with your mood and emotions, try something like Headspace or any other guided meditation and mindfulness app: they can really help.
Lots of bad habits rush in to fill a vacuum, so apply a bit of planning and structure to your day. Make sure there is time set aside in your schedule for more than working, eating and sleeping.
Keep moving. Exercise boosts your immune system and is hugely protective of your mental health. Whether it’s running, walking the dog, stretching or using some home gym equipment, don’t forsake your body.
You are what you eat. If you booze and snack through the next four weeks, you aren’t going to look or feel great as the year draws to a close. Plan you meals, keep the sugary snacks out of your cupboards and have a few alcohol-free days per week.
Sleeping well at this time is vital and healthy habits are the key. Sleeping-in, maxing out on box-sets until the small hours, emailing in bed … all guaranteed to leave you stressed, tired and unwell!
Set yourself some clear and positive goals and monitor your progress! On this note, Sixth Sense is very proud to launch the Healthy High Performance Indicator (HHPI). This tool looks at Self-Knowledge, Pressure, Relationships, Mood & Emotion, Balance, Exercise, Nutrition, and Sleep. It can be used during coaching to measure progress, as a one off individual or team ‘health check’, or a corporate wellbeing survey. It usually takes less than 15 minutes to complete and can be answered on a laptop, tablet or phone. The questionnaire generates lots of hints and tips to enhance healthy high performance, and can be used to identify individual and team development needs. It links to the chapters and resources in our books (Staying Sane in Business and Mind Body Balance in Business) and the resources on www.sane.works. You can complete it multiple times so you can monitor progress. Please contact us on info@sixthsenseconsulting.co.uk if you would like further information.
Finally, we have an interactive, positive and supportive Facebook group called ‘Staying Sane in Lockdown’. To join please click HERE
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