Companies are showing unprecedented leadership giving credence to the underlying importance of #mentalwellness.
I’m designing a webinar for #Cisco this week as part of what I’m calling their #ciscocares series that focuses on #wellbeing for their employees and clients.
In 2019, I published my first book, The Psychology Of Top Talent: The Scientifically Proven Method To Identify, Hire, and Develop High Performers. You can download a Free e-book at TopTalentPsychology.com. It’s a longer form of this post, and was featured on #MorningJoe.
A breakdown of the book contents include #schedulingsolutions that focus on psychological principles of routines, the importance of creativity and change for brain stimulation (#performance), and the balance of mental and physical wellness.
The Big Shift is for Today’s Scheduling Demands:
Two professionals working at the kitchen table, juggling home-schooling, grocery trips that take longer, extended family and eldercare, entertaining preschool age children and younger, and barking dogs during conference calls.
Everyone is having moments of “I can’t take this anymore!”
So, what is one to do. You have to get creative with this for your individual circumstances, but here’s a blue print to brainstorm a system that keeps chaos in better harmony.
Positive Attitude: The first starts with attitude. Try to approach each day with gratitude. Lower your expectations. Things will go wrong today. That doesn’t matter. You can accept that, literally expect it, and have a #managethemoment self care intervention.
Exercise: Keep your routines, but keep them dynamic. If you used to exercise 30 minutes a day, once a day, break it down into three 10 minute experiences of exercise to break up your day. You never exercised? Start. Walk. Watch Beginner Yoga on YouTube. Have a partner? Take turns, but multiple times a day, to have alone time to get some physical activity in, either indoors or outdoors. Those little bursts are replenishing.
Child Care: Alone with Kids? Create a child-care buddy system with someone nearby who you obviously trust, whose health status is verified, agrees to self-monitor, practices social distancing, and you maintain that practice. Even a 20 minute respite to look forward to each day can make an impact!
Managing Children: Work in shifts. Experiment, and see what works. Younger children need shorter shifts, and older children require less attention. Try working in 1 hour shifts and rotate. You’ll be surprised the difference between 1 hour of undistracted time vs. 3 hours of juggling can make. You’ll feel productive. Consider shift-work in longer blocks, like a 24/7 manufacturing plant. Can you take turns working when the children are asleep?
The Dog: That’s a tough one if you’re in a metro zone, but the same ideas with children applies. Find a volunteer dog-walker during meetings. Have your partner take the dog for a walk. If you’re not metro, create a make-shift dog-house or space for the dog outdoors. Ask for help in your Facebook circle if they know anyone who can receive your dog at the door, walk the dog for an hour during your video conference. Get a couple back-ups.
Daily Stress: Start practicing mindfulness. It’s simple breathing, but in a few minutes it helps regulate the nervous system. Again, little bursts. 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Too big a step? Just listen to a positive talk. Have a place you can go to in your home. If it’s noisy in your home, use a meditation with music or calm talking. The Insight Timer App is free. You touch one button and start meditating.
Humor: Happiness and laughter help distract the mind, and elevate your mood. There’s many comedians on You Tube. Watch a few minutes of comedy and for a few minutes you’ll forget we’re in a pandemic, and come back with a better attitude to deal with the daily absurdity of it all. I like watching Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee on Netflix. The episodes are short and fit the bill.
Teletherapy: This is the obvious one. Many therapists are available remotely. Book an appointment and just talk it out.
Need More Ideas Or Help, just Reach Out