COVID-19 lock-down and FIVE Steps to overcome it
“On average people will touch their face 16 times an hour studies have shown… the eyes and mouth are areas that allow easy access to viruses from the common flu to the famous COVID-19” Jassem told me as we were planning a trip to a neighboring country for a training with a group of sales professionals.
I gasped – “I have a beard, and my eyes… I touch my eyes more than 16 times an hour; I’m certain! and over the many years of growing my beard, it became a habit to frolic it often. Hand me that sanitizer” I said. As if I needed something more to stress about.
The next day Jassem sent me an e-mail confirming our flights had been canceled by the airlines and we quickly went into lock down AKA COVID-19 Quarantine.
Amidst the panic of people purchasing ridiculous amounts of toilet paper and as much sanitizers as they can put their hands on, I reflected over my own unusual behavior.
Now, I’m no stranger to remote work and working from home but I found myself suddenly, sleeping longer; getting more distracted by social media and news on TV and before gyms closed, I even skipped a couple of workouts!
What was going on? I was panicking! I went into self-sabotage of my own principles and beliefs.
I dropped off my routine and if that hit me, then I was certain others might be going through the same thing; so, I immediately implemented the following 5 steps to get back on the productivity and efficiency track.
WAKE UP EARLY: I realized that I was saying to myself, “I have time, I can sleep-in a bit longer since I have nowhere to go” and my morning routine dragged. But then, I noticed that, if you don’t make the time, it will be taken away from you! What did I do? I paid attention to time; I slept early and woke up at the same time as “life as usual” 6 am; went for a walk; came back for my coffee and took the time to journal. I start every day with gratitude. It easy to get swept away by the negativity surrounding me with this outbreak. I stay grateful and kick-start my day as early as any non-lock down day.
TAKE ACTION: I noticed that I let my anxiety and stress dictate my action, or rather inaction. I also reminded myself that emotions and mood do not affect my actions; rather the other way around. I therefore focused on my goals, the milestones I put down and how I planned to reach them, and I TOOK ACTION. I chose one of my game-changers and worked on it, which motivated me to keep moving and it got me back into momentum and tugged me right out of inertia.
EXERCISE: Believe it or not, this does not come easy to me. I have days where I can’t be bothered to work out and being at home, under these circumstances, I had to push myself to exercise. I went for a walk in the morning and then did my workout in the evening. The easiest thing to do is outdoor activities as they are encouraged. A brisk 30 min walk daily to start the wake-up process. If you want more advanced workouts to do at home, then drop by the “get in touch” tab on my website. Fill in your details and I’ll get you sorted with tailor made workouts becauseHere’s good news: You Can Make It.
NUTRITION: This is where I felt I needed to pay the most attention. I realized that I was more sedentary than usual, which meant that eating the same portions equaled overeating! I had to be careful of my activity level and food intake; especially that anxiety and stress trigger emotional eating and overindulgence and lord knows I have a sweet tooth.
MINDFULNESS: I have often said how my daughter and family come first and that it is important for me to spend time with them… but suddenly I’m spending more time than usual at home, and it was tough and demanding… for everyone! Because they too, were adapting to the situation. The Antidote: I set up a plan to be in the moment. I devoted 15 min, twice a day, of undevoted attention to my daughter and called it quality time. This gave her attention and satisfaction so that when I had to work it became ok for her to find other activities to do. There have been days where quality time dragged to 20-30 min and that is the power of mindfulness and being in the moment. There will always be time to do the work. I choose to give time to play and then focus and be efficient; than have to stop every so often to say “daddy is working” and get constant attention seeking interruptions… and yes, if you were wondering, this works with spouses as well!
In summary we are all facing the same difficult times but stressing out on matters that aren’t in our control won’t be helpful. Applying those five simple and easy steps really helped me get back into efficiency mode and re-set to achieve my “daily tasks” to get closer to my short- and long-term vision.
I am certain implementing them will be helpful to you too.
The last element that is crucial to hold these five steps together is: CONSISTENCY: Stick to it and enjoy the process.
Wishing you a safe journey out of lockdown and may we all continue to use the new and positive habits we acquired.
Written by Tarek Azmi. Founder of Here’s Good News.
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