We have been in our ‘new normal’, or as Gwilym more accurately put it, 'new weird' for a while now and as a result, it is not so ‘new’ anymore. I think it is important to focus on our mental health during this time, especially as we’re spending more time with ourselves. So far we’ve had some great tips and ideas, and I’d like to continue that trend.
Do the mundane.
I know what you’re thinking – “but Lee, I’m already bored at home, why would I do boring tasks as well?” but hear me out. Completing the mundane tasks you’ve been putting off for months gives you that satisfaction. You get to cross something off the list – for me it was as simple as washing my car. I’d been putting it off for a while because the weather was bad and I never really enjoy doing it past the first 10 minutes or so.
This time though, I seized the opportunity to head outside while the weather was nice. Overall I probably spent 3 hours or so doing this, and it was oddly relaxing, It also helped put things into perspective. You can’t spend every waking hour of the day being highly energetic and having a bunch of fun all of the time, otherwise, these things wouldn’t be fun anymore, they’d just become routine.
Think about the list of things you’ve been putting off for a while, you may not necessarily have fun doing it, but you’ll get the sense of accomplishment at the end, and you can look at the list afterwards with one less item on it. Win-win really.
Be creative.
Be creative! These new living circumstances have given us so many limitations. You may think that limitations are bad and that this is negative, and in some cases, you’d be right. But instead of focusing on negativity, use these limitations to your advantage. Personally, I enjoy photography. I generally don’t do enough of it, but I enjoy it. The problem is, a lot of my photography is outdoors, but what do you do when you can’t really go out for too long?
I’ve seen some amazing ideas on Instagram that made me think. It made me realise that you can use everyday objects, create a scene, and with some creative camera angles, lighting and editing, you can create something quite unique. The best part is, you don’t need a fancy setup to do this. Phone cameras are great these days – really, you’re limited to your imagination. I think this would be a great experiment for those of you that have kids – you can literally make their toys come to life!
I’ve included some examples below, but please do try this yourself and send the results to Ella so that we can all vote on our favourites like we used to do when we were in the office. I’d love to see what you come up with.
There are so many ways to be creative though. I see so many of you baking different things each week which is great! It does always make me really hungry though. Take something you enjoy and roll with it, get creative with it, and don’t be scared of failure. Not everything we make is going to be amazing but honestly, that’s half the fun – seeing what does and doesn’t work.
Stay social.
For me, one of the hardest parts about being at home is the lack of random passing conversation throughout the day – the stuff you wouldn’t necessarily have a call or email over. That’s why for me, staying social is key both at work, and outside of work.
At work, I’ll have regular catch-ups with the people I’d usually talk to a lot in the office. This is great and definitely helps with any feelings of isolation or loneliness. I think K&S is doing a really good job here at keeping everyone together. The introduction of The Staying Inn is a great idea and the sidebar has lit up with various challenges etc. to break up the day a bit.
Outside of work, a group of us have all realised that we have a friend who has seen almost none of the classic/well-known movies, so every Friday we are having a virtual movie night where we sit with him and all watch the same film together. It’s way more fun than I thought it would be, and it gives you something common to discuss afterwards. We’ve also had frequent game nights in an attempt to stay social and connected. We’re generally a group who would hang out quite often so it’s been strange not having that ability, but I think we have made it work.
Overall, in my opinion, staying well is all about balance. You don't want to overdo it. I see a lot of posts online saying that we should take the extra time we now have (such as the time saved by no longer having a commute) and making the most of it - I even said it in my #StayProductive post, but sometimes it's ok not do that. It's important to find what works for you.