By Deirdre L. Jones-Lowman
March 2020 was a time of transformation and stillness. The societal playing field has been leveled by COVID-19. Almost everyone is in the same place: spiritually, physically, economically, and feeling financially and emotionally vulnerable.
For me, as a newly unemployed member of a virus-infected, work-from-home social distancing society, who is rebranding a life coaching business, avidly job searching, shuffling monies from Peter to pay Paul and playing rock, paper, scissors with my husband to determine who will be making the obligatory apocalyptic grocery run, I reckon with the fact that currently, most Americans, to some extent, are exactly where I am. As I take a much-needed hiatus from job searching and incessant flow of COVID-19 news coverage, I realize there are blessings and lessons in the current state of the nation. However, people will need a toolbox to successfully arrive on the other side of the pandemic.
As I sit here at home, sequestered in my dwelling, not venturing further than my block, with husband and children afoot, I decided to reframe the daunting, overwhelming and quite frankly, heavy subject matter, the Coronavirus, into an uplifting motivational acronym–C.O.V.I.D. to be used to help preserve mental wellness during these times. The ability to thrive despite the circumstances depends on the choices you make and the acknowledgment that choices still exist. In order to preserve your mental health during this time, you must possess the C.O.V.I.D.–times toolbox. What tools are needed to preserve mental wellness? You will need stress management techniques, self-care ideas, and time management skills to rebound from the new normal of the COVID-19 trauma.
C.O.V.I.D.—Times Toolbox
Stress Management Techniques
- Create a vision board. (It is healthy to imagine yourself on the other side of COVID-19);
- Call your creditors. Deal with financial issues head-on, one at a time. (They can’t get what you don’t have);
- Breathe. (In through the nose, out through the mouth, five times. You may not even realize that you have been holding your breath since the middle of March);
- Hire a Life Coach;
- Pickup free fresh fruits and vegetables from the local food pantry. (“You won’t snack it if you don’t got it.”);and
- Laugh.
Self-Care Ideas
- Choose yourself first;
- Hire a Life Coach;
- Be still and meditate;
- Dance to your favorite tunes;
- Walk up and down your stairs and around your block;
- Read a book;
- If you have been thinking about it, start your own business; and
- Laugh.
Time management techniques
- Write “it” down (Get it out of your head and on to paper);
- Work on your to-do list TODAY;
- Hire a Life Coach;
- Plan out your week as a family.
- Use your phone to set reminders and appointments;
- Create structure but add creative fun; and
- Schedule exercise into your day.
Now that you are equipped with the C.O.V.I.D.–times toolbox, use these tools to prepare your life during and after the pandemic. Utilizing the social distancing and personal hygiene behaviors, choose what you want your outcome to look like when this is all over. Choice is still an option.
I recently saw a meme that read, “Dear, God, could we please uninstall 2020 and re-install it? …it has a virus. I am here for it! Let’s DO it! We can choose our victories in dynamic C.O.V.I.D.–times. You are ready to take charge and move forward.
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Deirdre L. Jones-Lowman, Ph.D (c), M.B.A. is the Founder and Managing Director of the Pay It Forward Life Coaching and Mentoring Services; division of DJ Squared Consultative Group, Inc.® a Career and Life Management Company. She is a professional life coach, motivational speaker and contributing writer on women’s mental health and wellness and a self-care advocate.
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