Every one of us is the captain of our own ship, whether we run our own business or have tied a line to a larger flotilla of other ships to form a company. Our lives are kept in order by the watertight bulkheads that separate each area of our lives. In the gym, we are dressed in workout clothes around exercise equipment and people. In church, we are dressed up and around images of worship and families giving thanks and praising God. At work we're dressed like a professional, around other professionals doing work behaviors. At home we're at ease, relaxed and surrounded by cues to take a wrap off and get ready for the next cycle of work, exercise, worship, sleep, etc. Under the current lock down conditions, all of these environments have collapsed back into the home. Our watertight bulkheads are gone and our lives are sloshing around, pitching our ships and threatening to capsize us. Consider a few ways to regain control of your ship:
- Set timers and Alarms. Normally, our lives revolve around time-based routines. Wake up, exercise, eat breakfast, take the kids to school, go to work, eat lunch, work more, come home, eat dinner, shower, sleep. When all of these things happen under one room, time blurs and we actually get LESS done, even though we have more time with zero commutes.
- Go Outside. We have enjoyed meals outside and hours of outside play and exercise since going into self-imposed quarantine. Otherwise, we can find ourselves going days without seeing the outside world.
- Keep getting dressed. If you're like me, then home = house clothes. Usually exercise attire or sweatpants and fuzzy slippers. And lots of hoodies. This dress down habit is great for max-Hygge, but it does not prime our brains to get serious and focus on a work/school task.
- Connect with your Tribe. Family, friends, work team, church group, et all. Isolation is pain and we are social creatures. Use the wide variety of free or paid platforms to connect with your people. I use GroupMe, Slack, Zoom and have seen a huge increase in the usage among myself and my tribe.
- Keep Working. We can't control most things and if your job doesn't allow you to work remotely, consider using this time to pursue that side hustle. If it does, keep doing your thing. Our clients, prospects and suppliers are all feeling the same fear as we are. It would be easy to use #pandemic as an excuse to stop work behavior, but that is the wrong answer. Push harder, call more, follow up quicker. When the outbreak ebbs (and it will) people will remember what you did. Plant the seeds today.
Good luck to all of you in these stormy seas. We may get tossed, but to paraphrase John Paul Jones --> "We have not yet begun to fight"
