The closest thing I ever experienced to a quarantine was probably when I had my wisdom teeth taken out in high school, and that wasn’t even that scary considering I got to eat a lot of ice cream and watch the Parent Trap on repeat in my basement. This quarantine is something many of us have never experienced, and we are all adjusting in different ways. While I am grateful to feel safe, supported and loved right now, I know that’s not the case for everyone. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help and support others, and I hope that you find even just one of these tips to be helpful.

What’s crazy to me is even though quite literally the world is on pause (besides Target, thank goodness) the truth is that I still feel extremely overwhelmed, anxious and busy. Truthfully, I feel like I haven’t slowed down. I haven’t felt bored (cue. bored in a house TikTok song), and I’m kind of jealous for those who have. Between work calls, certification trainings, graduate school meetings, homework, readings, oh, and moving to an entirely different neighborhood and apartment on my own, life hasn’t seemed to slow down very much. 

If anything, the past month I have felt more pressure to produce, create and get s%#& done. 

I find myself overwhelmed when hearing from others or seeing on IG stories how people are able to take this time to work on their passion project, binge watch a new series (full disclosure: I did finish a Bachelor season from 2009 and Tiger King, duh) or make fun TikToks that I am certain the world wouldn’t need to see, even if I had all the time in the world.

I wanted to break down some things I’ve learned this past month:

Make a to-do list. Then break it down. 

This isn’t a new tip, we’ve all known about this since pretty much 2nd grade. For me, at the start of this, I found myself disappointed at myself each night when I noticed that I hadn’t even finished half of my to-do list. Instead of saying you are going to do an entire project, maybe it’s more realistic to try to just do half of it. For example, instead of saying I would read all of chapter 7 in my text book for school, I said I would read pages 173-189. I found that I was getting more done instead of being overwhelmed about huge items on my list.

For God’s sake, set the phone down.

At the start of this, when I was trying to tackle my to-do list, I found myself getting sidetracked by notifications (most from my Mom). In general, most things can wait. Especially in the beginning of this I felt too overwhelmed to answer texts. I would uncharacteristically go days without answering people. I found myself feeling guilty. I found myself just getting more and more anxious after seeing what people were posting and sharing - whether it was positive content or not, and realize absence (from social media) was good for my soul.

 Give yourself some time to work, play, rest and grow--- away from your phone.

Connect in moderation.

There’s truly something beautiful about people everywhere FaceTiming loved ones and connecting with friends. I don’t want to take away from the blessing that has been in my life, but this time also adds up and just know that it’s totally okay to decline a FaceTime session or request a time that works best for you. Don’t feel like you need to stop what you are doing to chat with everybody and their mother all in the same day. 

Leave Work at Work.

I’m thankful to love what I do, but, given that my current “corner office” is my tv stand and a few plants in my living room, the boundaries between work and not-work blur. At the start of this transition, I found myself anxious about answering notifications right away, even at 10pm. I wanted to do my best and be a true team player, not letting anyone down as we navigate this together. After talking with a teammate, I decided to turn off notifications from my phone so that when I log out for the day, I truly can. This way, I can give 110% of my energy to work when I am working, and then I can give 110% of my energy to myself when I am off the clock. If something is truly urgent, teammates can call or text. I’ve noticed that this has significantly enhanced my WFH experience and I want to carry this with me moving forward.

Give Yo’self some grace.

This has been one of my favorite sayings that I’ve held close to me for the past few years, but I believe it’s most important. It’s okay if you haven’t finished your to-do list, or if you have barely started it. It’s okay if you haven’t read three new books or even one chapter. It’s okay if you still haven’t gone through your upstairs closet and sorted your photos from 1997. It’s okay if you feel exhausted, it’s okay if you feel energetic. Be easy on yourself right now. We must give ourselves some grace as we transition through this adjustment.

It seems like everyone’s thinking and asking “What are you going to do when this is all over?” and to me that’s beautiful in and of itself. It means that after this, hopefully we’ve collectively and individually learned how we take many things for granted. We’ve reminded each other how important mental health is and how important it is to check in on friends and loved ones. We’ve reminded each other that despite challenges, there is opportunity to come back better than ever. Thanks for listening guys, and hang in there (peace sign).