As the world fights to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, some of us are fortunate enough to leverage technology and work remotely from home. This change poses new challenges as we navigate to our end goal – to be as effective and healthy as possible. I’ve compiled a few tips, derived from a GovExec article titled “Try These Tips to Keep Your Cool at Home.”. I’ve supplemented the tips with some suggestions and links you and your team/family may find useful.
Some of the tips are the familiar evidence-based strategies such as eating healthy, exercising, and sleeping. Here’s some expanded and direct resources for your consideration.
- Establish a healthy eating habit by adopting a healthy (and cheap) meal plan. Here’s 74 Cheap and easy dinner recipes https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/g3166/cheap-easy-recipes/
- After you feed the body, burn off some of those calories with exercise you can do from home. The following article contains indoor and outdoor workout routines we can start today! How to Home Exercise During the Coronavirus Pandemic—Indoor Workout Routines and Videos
- Now that you’re fed, and burned some calories to get rid of anxiety and excess energy, make time for some restful sleep. Here’s a few tips for some rejuvenating sleeping tips (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/sleep/art-20048379)
Other mental and social strategies to combat stress and anxiety:
- Reevaluate and build healthy relationships by increasing the ratio of positives to negatives. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out the following video:
- Take time to practice mindfulness and/or meditation and prayer
- I am a fan of the 5-3-1 approach. This approach recommends us to spend 5 minutes meditating, write three things you’re grateful for, or three positive things that happened today/yesterday (journaling), and do one act of kindness.(https://centerhealthyminds.org/join-the-movement/try-the-5-3-1-practice)
Are you a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, older friend? The article also shares 4 tips for “pandemic parenting.” Of note, here’s four tips you may consider:
- Check out ways to reassure the kids (https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/coronavirus-how-talk-child.html)
- Limit media and explain what is happening, in an age appropriate way
- Have fun together. Here’s 100 activities you can do at home https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2020-03-27/100-at-home-activities-for-coronavirus-quarantine)
- As a parent/grandparent, get help when we need it. We can’t do it all on our own, so lets lean on our community.
If you have any additional tips, suggestions or comments to share, please feel free to share. We are all in this together and every bit helps.