For the first time ever in the history of the modern world, all of the earth’s residents have been asked to face a common enemy – COVID -2019. The global coronavirus pandemic has shown the world how fragile our existence can really be. Now is the time to focus more on mental health awareness.
In the face of a huge transitional phase of humankind, there is only little that is certain. It is crucial that we stay motivated in the face of such a difficult situation.
In this blog, we are going to focus on why mental health awareness is important and how you can remain strong mentally while staying at home during this pandemic.
Say no to Panic, Say Yes to Mental Health Awareness!
Communication is key!
It might sound simple and basic, but still, this is the most crucial factor in keeping the spirit alive and well. Our lives have changed so quickly, and it will keep changing depending on the situation.
What will define our persona is how we handle this crisis and come out relatively unharmed. Increased meaningful communication will help people to ease tension and workload.
An important point is that all the common fears we might be facing right now are duly justified. Financial concerns, loneliness, public health concerns, all-out economic slowdown – all of these concerns are gripping us tight.
And no matter how easy it may sound, isolation and social disconnection can be very difficult to practice – especially for longer periods of time. We are just not used to this. This is why experts are now stressing more on mental health awareness issues.
For those who have been locked down inside your homes already, you might have already felt how demotivating and mentally stressful it can be. But in order to ensure our safety and our family’s well being, we need to keep ourselves motivated and keep believing that we will be able to overcome this together.
“Social distancing is a must. Mental distancing? – a big no-no!“
So keeping mental health awareness in mind, here are 13 ways in which you can stay motivated while stuck at home and see off the crisis.
1. Have faith in our ability to carry on as individuals and as nations
Humans have a long history of survival. This will also pass and things will eventually get better. This is the time to remain strong and prepare ourselves for a changing world, where friendship and cooperation will be more valuable than ever before. Spread mental health awareness, not fear
2. Relax the brain and stop overthinking
Do not let panic get the best of you. Stay at home and see it as a blessing – you are getting to spend more time with your family now. Relax, smile, tell stories, reminisce – do whatever makes you happy.
3. Committing to ourselves in implementing daily life structure
Use this situation as an excuse to build a daily routine for yourself that you have been planning to do for ages. Since most of us will be working from home, this will let us distinguish between our work life and personal life.
Let your family members know your routine. This will stay with you even after the crisis is over and you’ll see how it changes your life positively. Thank me then.
4. Being positive-minded and avoiding catastrophic thinking
Yes we know that this is an unforeseen global crisis. Yes, this will affect the world’s economy greatly. But this is not the end of the world. In many cases it may not be simple, but we will definitely come out the other end stronger.
Let’s avoid catastrophic thinking and negative conversations. Concentrate more on self-development as you will need new skills to thrive in a changed world after this phase is over. Raise mental health awareness and spread good vibes among your near and dear ones.
5. Be patient with yourself
Be a little more patient in everything you do. Give yourself and your surroundings some time to adjust. Don’t rush into things. You could not have imagined this lifestyle maybe even a month ago. Cut yourself some slack and try to be comfortable in everything that you do.
6. Finishing important work in the morning before turning on the news
Now, this is important. Forget about watching the news after getting up in the morning. Let not your day start with a bunch of demoralizing news. Have a good healthy breakfast and start the day afresh. Get the important tasks out of your way first. The start of the day will set the mood for the rest of the day as well.
And, don’t believe everything you see on the internet. Follow authentic news sites and portals for keeping yourself updated. Head on to WHO’s page dedicated for related news, updates and other important info.
7. Utilize the daily commuting time
Now that you’re working from home, all those energy-draining commuting hours are saved. Let’s not take this convenience for granted. We should invest this time in physical exercises and setting up the structure of the tasks for the day.
Working out in the morning before work will ensure that you will be able to feel refreshed throughout your day.
8. Don’t let your phone be a distraction
During office hours, your phone can be the biggest distraction. Skip the urge, keep your phone away from you as much as possible. If you are working from home, give back the trust that your company has bestowed upon you by being more productive.
9. Maintaining a healthy diet
You’re probably getting less sunlight these days. Consider taking Vitamin D supplements to make up for this. Eat healthy food to stay healthy during this pandemic. Exercise more to maintain your fitness as otherwise, your physical activities may get limited – leading to future health concerns. Don’t keep unhealthy food like chips, cola, or chocolates in the house.
10. Give yourself a to-do-list every day
Whatever we do, we should always prioritize the different aspects of good mental health awareness. Make a to-do-list for yourself. There are a lot of apps/tools that can help you with this as well. Be accountable to yourself first to be able to be accountable to your employer.
11. Track your time
Tracking your time will help you maintain your office hours precisely and differentiate between work and personal life. You can use time tracking apps like Toggl effectively to manage and allocate your time. To know about other useful tools that can help you get through your daily office work from home, click here.
12. Start writing a diary
You can start the practice of writing and maintaining a diary on a daily basis. These are unprecedented times. When the crisis is finally over, this diary will remind you how strong you were in the face of one of the largest pandemics the world has ever seen. Allocate a specific time of the day for this and write as if you are talking to a trusted friend.
13. Switching off after work
Switching on and off, to and from work is vital when it comes to working remotely. And this will only be ensured if you create your own dedicated workplace and schedule your day accordingly. Understand the boundaries of your personal life and professional life and make your family understand them too.
A change in our work culture
One obvious positive that can be taken away is that this crisis will let us come up with more productive ways to work. Our views on how we communicate and relate to each other will change drastically. Earlier we used to see that most of our time in the day is spent with co-workers rather than our own family members.
Now at least with the help of technology, we’re still connected wherever we are. This is the time to solidify all those work connections and develop more effective ways of conducting tasks.
Business in the times of Coronavirus
For most businesses, there has never been a tougher time. To hold ground through this time, an atmosphere of connection and trust needs to be built centring the owners and the employees. It is also vital to design work processes and deliverables keeping mental health awareness in mind.
As we look to find newer ways to measure achievements, it is important to shift the focus from a rigid nine-to-five framework where most people are just clock-watching, to a more engaging way of doing work – with interactive communication in the driving seat.
Embracing “Work from Home”
Like many other progressive organizations around the world, we at Southtech have successfully implemented a “work from home” policy. All of Southtech’s employees are remaining connected with each other and its clients as well through a well-constructed work-from-home framework.
Feel free to contact us if you have any queries regarding our services or how can we help you to get through this difficult time.
For all businesses, this is a big leadership challenge as they are trying to navigate through this huge shift. People are in a state of great fear and uncertainty. The most critical thing for businesses to sustain would be to look after their people, motivate them and bring the best out of them regardless of the situation.
“Let presenteeism go out the window, let’s focus more on deliverables.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is further building up the mental health awareness agenda. We, as human beings are being tested for our mental strength and agility. How we cope with the crisis and handle our lives will define our existence for the years to come. This transition is reminding us of the true value of social bondings and the value of togetherness.
For most of us, the best contribution we can make is to stay at home and practice social distancing. That’s the best we can offer. We’re not being called to war, we’re just being told to stay at home. At least, this will let us rethink the way we perceive our lives, and start caring for the things that actually matter. Here’s to hoping for a brighter day!
