You're stuck at home as a family for the foreseeable future. You're getting used to the new schedule with e-learning, homeschooling your daycare-aged children, and managing the household. If you're working full time, that's an added task that is impacting the overall flow at home.
So, now that we're two weeks into the stay at home order, let's talk through strategies for coping as a family.
I was recently featured in a Parents' Magazine article about this exact topic. You can read more about that here. However, I'd also like to add some additional ways to cope to give you more tools in your toolbox per se.
1. Spend 30 minutes of alone time every day.
Get up a little earlier, stay up a few minutes later, or squeeze it in during your day. Find something to listen to, read, go for a walk, do exercise, or meditation/yoga. Whatever it is, make sure you are dedicating 30 minutes of time for just you.
2. (As featured in Parents Magazine) Take up a new hobby either alone or with family.
If you find yourself with too much time and it's making you a little stir crazy, take up a new hobby. There are a lot of free offerings right now to learn something new - a new class, language, skill, etc. Take advantage of these free offerings.
3. Focus on the things you know are for certain.
If you know that this time at home will give you the chance to get things checked off your to-do list, focus on that and make it a priority. If you know that by quarantining yourself and your family, you're keeping everyone healthy and safe, focus on that.
4. (As featured in Parents Magazine) Maintain your social networks and/or make new ones. Plan FaceTime/Skype/Zoom dates with friends and family during the week. One good suggestion is to make contact with one friend and one family member daily if you live alone and at least one person daily if you live with others.
5. Prioritize your health.
If you're not feeling well, get help. A lot of people are fearing going to medical offices because they don't want to catch COVID-19 or some other virus. Take advantage of online medical professionals as a lot of physicians and insurance companies are offering this service (and insurance is covering some of it). This also includes spending time exercising or at least getting outside daily.
6. Remember that there will be an end to this.
The good news is that we have other countries who have experienced this ahead of us and are able to show us that the future is ahead of us. While we may experience changes in our lifestyle now and in the foreseeable future, it is a temporary thing as we work on flattening the COVID-19 curve.
7. Set small goals.
Think in 2 week blocks of time. Plan ahead for 2 weeks and then revisit it towards the end of the 2 weeks for the next 2 weeks if necessary. Chunking out this time will help us feel grounded and more hopeful throughout this process.
8. Step away from news outlets if you need to.
Our innate strength will help us in this tough time as we focus on things that are positive amidst the fear and uncertainty. Find things that will take your mind off of what's going on around us - and this may include stepping away from the news outlets so that we can focus less on the data.
If you're looking for a more personalized approach to coping as a family, we can help. Contact us for a free 15-minute consultation today.