Normally this is the time of the year where I am popping in to do my quarterly style Q&A with all our Pretties, but our plans have changed a little bit this time around. Instead, we decided to poll the community to see what you all would find most useful right now. What’s helping you? What are you struggling with the most? We got a huge response back stating that the most helpful thing right now is if we could share some of the tips we are using to help us navigate the space that we’re in. These tips aren’t necessarily style-related, although I do have some of those too, but it’s really about sharing with you some practical resources and ways that we can all get through this together. I have shared on here before that I’m a person who is anxious by nature. I have dealt with anxiety for many years, so I’m right there with you in this struggle. You are not alone! Click below to see the full video.
Over the past week, I feel like collectively we all hit a wall. The novelty of this has worn off and we’re starting to wonder just how long this is going to last. That’s where the anxiety comes in, there’s so much unknown and there are so many factors that are outside of our control. When we polled our Pretties the recurring themes were, worry about the economy, worry about the health of vulnerable family members and also the struggle to adjust to working from home. I have some tips for you today, specifically about working from home but also about the things that we can and can’t control that are really, really helpful to me. I’m going to share the three ways I’m coping that are truly helping me through the days and maybe you’ll find some good practical things in there that you can use too. Then, I’m also going to share with you all of the things that our community shared with us that they’re doing.
Three Ways I’m Coping
I know I touched on some of these in my previous Coffee Chat, but GYPO was born out of my rut. I started working from home and it was hard for me to navigate. I lost my routine and my accountability so I had to figure out what was going to get me back on track.
1. Create an Hourly Schedule
Setting and sticking to an hourly schedule was one thing that really helped me establish a new routine. I know that hourly seems really rigid, but this is how I was able to create a flow to my day. I recommend trying to stick to a schedule Monday thru Friday but I know that can be tough because each day brings new challenges. I promise though if you can create and stick to a daily schedule it will help keep you organized and give you a sense of control in your day. Also, don’t forget to schedule time to nourish and take care of yourself because if you don’t, you’ll leave yourself till last and that’s not good for your well being either.
2. Meditation, Exercise and Sunshine
The second thing that’s really been helping me are actually three things, meditation, exercise and sunshine. Meditation is a word that a few years back I wouldn’t even have thought twice about but I’m really in this season of life where I’ve learned to embrace meditation and for me, it means simply being in the moment. You don’t have to go practice some course to learn how to meditate. It’s just about slowing down, calming your anxious mind and being in the moment. For me, I love child’s pose. Child’s pose is just my place where I relax and let go of everything and I meditate on things. Either I do a prayer for meditation and thank God for all the blessings in my life, or I do one with a positive mantra. “I am safe. I am safe.” Now I remind myself to come back to the present moment. It could be as simple as you grounding, looking around a room and listing off the objects lamp, floor, heater, whatever you see and your space. It can be as simple as that, but it’s all about coming into the present moment and not allowing your mind to project out into fearful situations. If you just spent ten minutes a day doing this I promise you it will be life-changing.
Exercise and get some sunshine! Yes! Move your body. I’ve seen so many people outside and I love it because everybody is getting out. It feels like we don’t have control over this but we do. If the weather is nice, get outside and soak up the sunshine, take a little walk to get moving. I know, we can’t control the weather, but on the days when the sun is out. Get out there. Get some vitamin D and hopefully get some exercise mixed into that at the same time.
3. Get Dressed
Then number three is pretty quick and easy but it’s going to have a huge impact on your day, getting dressed every day. Getting dressed was a springboard that helped make my day better. I realize now that I can only spend a few days in my yoga pants or gym clothes before it really starts to take a toll on me. I need to get dressed. I promise this will have a huge impact on how you feel throughout your day as well.
Controlling What We Can
Before we move on to how the Pretties are coping, I wanted to share with you two things. The first is this graphic that I’ve seen floating around that not only related to control but also specifically to control during the coronavirus pandemic. I think this is a great resource because anxiety can come from lack of control and we need to realize what is within our control and what we have no control over.
Graphic by TheCounselingTeacher.com
The next thing I wanted to share was a great article I read in the Harvard Business Review titled, That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief. We are all in a state of grief right now and this discusses the stages of grief that we are going through. Educate yourself on what those stages are and why you’re feeling the way that you’re feeling and know that this will not last forever. Eventually, we’ll have to get to a point of acceptance because that is the final stage of grief that is described in this article. Actually, there’s another stage of grief that’s been added since this original research and it suggests the sixth stage of grief is finding meaning. It’s when we’re able to assign meaning that we can start to heal. For me, my meaning is being able to use this time to be with my family.
How the Pretties Are Coping
Now I want to share how some of the Pretties are coping. I’m going to go through these in list form and I’ll try to provide links where needed. This is a great straightforward list to help us all get through this time together!
- Limiting TV
- Doing yoga
- Going for walks
- Face timing with family and friends – especially people you haven’t seen or talked to in a while.
- Journaling
- Daily devotion and prayer
- Open your windows and air out the house
- Go for a bike ride
- Deep clean and organize the house
- Listening to podcasts
- Virtual coffee dates or happy hour with friends
- Listening to music and dancing
- Making the bed every morning
- Craft projects
- Set a schedule not just for you but for your kids if you have them. They miss structure too.
- Organize the junk drawer
- Try new recipes
- Play games
- Drink plenty of water
- YouTube workout classes
- Getting out of bed at your normal time
- The GYPO Pretties Community Facebook Group (Thanks Pretties)
- Getting dressed
- Take an online course, some are even being offered for free. I signed up for the class, The Science of Well-Being.
- Take the virtual zoo and museum tours
- Organize 365 Courses
- Following a daily household chore plan
- Watching online sermons
- Max Lucado free course called, Anxious for Nothing.
- Meditation with the Simple Habit app, there’s a free version of that if you want to sign up for it.
- P.E. with Joe on YouTube, go check that out if you’re looking for a good exercise class. I also recommend Rebecca Louise, I love her!
- Pelton’s free 90 day offer, I haven’t looked into that yet, but this could be a good resource for you.
- Check out different makeup application techniques or hairstyling techniques via YouTube and then try them out!
