This global pandemic has really taken a toll on ALL of us, hasn’t it? What have you done to spice up your days of loneliness and sacrifice? How have you stayed sane? How many 14 day fitness challenges have you participated in, and how many have you actually completed? (Mine is 0)
Well folks, I’m here to share with you my COVID-19 survival guide. The ways my body, mind and soul have adapted to (try to) handle the stress and frustration that comes along with all of this scary world stuff. Get ready for a long list of “Holy hell this woman actually does all of this each day??” Trust me, it becomes second nature sooner than you think.
ALRIGHT HERE WE GO.
- I will say this once – and probably 1000 more times; GET YOURSELF A JOURNAL. Not like the little spark notes type, not the little books that only have 80 pages. I’m talking a BIG, THICK, RINGED JOURNAL like this one. I’m getting excited just speaking about this. A notebook may also come in handy, or it may make it easier for you to start all of this as your brain may be scattered for awhile, and hey, it’s okay to have BIG blank pages to scatter all of your brain splatter on.
- Now that you have this journal, you’re probably thinking “what in the heck do I write in this??” Let me share my beautiful mental health journalling strategies that my counsellor ever-so-graciously helped me adapt… Let me be very clear with you on how this journal thing works… It is not easy in absolutely any way shape or form. BUT if you take it on step by step (I suggest beginning with either the 10 questions or the scaling to build the habit of doing so). Remember, none of this journal is for anyone but yourself. The main purpose of this is to learn how to be honest with yourself, to get into the habit of self-reflecting, and to track how your actions and feelings interact with everything that you are doing for yourself.
- Next? A task planner. This one is my baby. Recess is a little shop near my home that sells them, I’m not sure if you can find them elsewhere. But GOOD NEWS, they ship! What do we do with it? You see, it has a monthly and weekly planner. Each month, you choose new goals. Each week you choose 4 priorities. Each month it has a monthly calendar for all of your main events and budget tracking. Each week you have a running task list, that I tally up every Monday and tack on the uncompleted ones to the following week. Nothing gets missed, and in turn I actually choose more and more productive “priorities” each week that I have done this.
- Let’s get talking about SMART goals, no I am not telling you to choose wise goals (though that does circle this theme), but it is an abbreviation to help you create a series of goals that you work towards most productively. Use these while planning your weeks. Again, the notebook may be beneficial for this as it can get scattered.
Specific: Goals should be simply written and clearly define what you are going to do: what, why, and how. A Specific goal will have the five “W” questions. (What do I want to accomplish? Why do I want to accomplish this? Who is involved? Where will I do this? What do I need to do?)
Measurable: Goals should be measurable so that you have tangible evidence that you have accomplished the goal. (How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?)
Attainable: Goals should be achievable; they should stretch you slightly to challenge you, but defined well enough so that you can achieve them. Impossible goals are demotivating. Set attainable goals that answer the question: How can this goal be accomplished?
Relevant: Goals should measure relevant outcomes, not just activities. The goals should matter. A relevant goal can answer yes to these questions: Does this seem worthwhile? Is this the right time? Does this match other efforts/needs? Are you the right person for this? Is it applicable in the current socio-economic-technical environment?
Time-related: That’s right, goals should be related to a timeframe to enact a sense of urgency, or results in tension between the current reality and vision of the goal. Without tension, the goal is unlikely to produce an outcome. When? What can I do six months from now? What can I do six weeks from now? What can I do today?
- Ask yourself what you want to accomplish, write it out, ask yourself these questions, look at your goals (notebooks are handy for this mess of goal planning), and revise them so that they make sense in a SMART goal format. Sounds like homework, I know. It all is. But we have nothing if not time right now, don’t we??
- Next up!! Sleep Hygiene. I don’t care who you are or what you do to get your self night-time ready but here are some really simple (and majorly important) things about cleaning up that Goodnight Moon saga. First and foremost, plan your sleep schedule and begin anchoring your wake time. This means wake up at the same time every. single. day. No excuses. Make it tangible, if you don’t sleep until 3am because you work until midnight, make it 10am. If you have to work at 6am every morning Monday to Friday, then your wake time is going to be set to 430am even on Sundays. No laying in bed unless you are in bed to sleep. This is a big one, even if you are going to sleep and simply cannot fall asleep, get up, sit on the couch and take 20 minutes to relax, then go back again. Your brain needs to understand what the bed is for to perfect that falling asleep melatonin-free habit (and while we’re at it, no screens in bed. For the obvious reasons, don’t make me explain). Lastly, no naps. I hate this, I know. But it was the most important thing that alleviated my sleeping issues. I have added the full PDF from the CCI for you to reference the rest of all of this beautiful sleepy lifestyle.
- Deep belly breathing is a yoga ritual that encompasses breathing in through your belly and letting it deflate as you breathe out rather than using your chest inflations. I have attached this Ted Talk below. Enjoy.
- The most obvious one here is your physical health. None of us are great with it no, especially with fitness centres closed again in Alberta. But stay true to your body and do some good Youtube Yoga. I really enjoy Yoga With Adrienne. Get stretching, walk outside once a day, even try some home workouts. It’s hard, I know. But it can be free! And if all else fails, drive yourself out to the mountains and just go for a walk around Lake Minnewanka or up to Abraham Lake. Even the drive alone could produce some wildly high vibes to feed off of.
- For the grande finale; stay in contact with your loved ones!! Zoom chats, virtual hangouts, watching Netflix series together, playing QuipLash virtually (you can do it, we’ve done it!), anything and everything. Do not leave subject yourself to isolation alone, you do not need to do it. There are ways around the regulations safely.
Well, there you have it. This is the exponentially long but well-equipped list of all of my mental health goodies that have helped me survive this exponentially long pandemic. This is not a “one-size fits all” style but I assure you that if you can take these habits and adapt them to fit your lifestyle, that you will find yourself more capable than ever before of knowing what you need, how you feel, why you feel these ways and what you can do to alleviate the dark and twisty thoughts that come around when the sun goes down too early and it’s much too cold to more or less live outside.
Best of luck my friends, stay prosperous and keep those chins up.
Neesh Media 