These days it feels like safety, health, and wellness are on everyone’s mind because of the Coronavirus outbreak. Rightly so! COVID -19 has mostly everyone on house arrest. How are you embracing your new normal? I hope you are navigating through the pandemic emergency. Why? Because quarantine boredom can lead to anxiety and mindless eating.
Since AstraZeneca mandated all field reps stay at home Monday, March 16. My day starts and ends with Zoom after Zoom calls to connect with my sales district, my Harrisburg team, and other pharmaceutical reps in the region. I attest to being anxious around the fact of studying and passing a respiratory assessment with a 90% score. Thank God for the 100%,
Last weekend, my hubby put out a cooking challenge – to make a meal with whatever is in the house. I roasted broccoli, baby red potatoes, and Brussel sprouts along with pre-made frozen Phillips Maryland Crab cakes in the freezer. Our daughter, Channing, made her signature home-made chili. Stay tuned for what the hubster comes up with for his menu.
Now is a great time to do something different, learn a new skill, get that exercise routine going, or just take walks to clear your head. I’m learning how to navigate our smart television, using streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Not wanting to watch endless television, I’m using the TV as a way of escape and much-needed distraction. The television to-do list includes getting our monies worth with streaming and internet television services during this quarantine time. I’m just seeing the popular romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians.
Once again, the magic of music connects a multitude of people. DJ D-Nice held the hottest quarantine party bringing joy to social distancing. The Saturday, March 21, evening session started with the disc jockey asking 200 followers that ballooned into over 100, 000 listeners. The followers included music icons, celebrities, and everyday people starving for connection.
If you have a webcam and an internet connection, you can still host virtual dinner parties, happy hour, pajama parties, work-outs, game nights, karaoke sessions, and more. No webcam, don’t forget, FaceTime, Skype, and Microsoft Teams.
The age of Coronavirus quarantine, the new and creative ways we are living, adapting, and adjusting is wellness for the mind, body, and spirit. We are social people that must fill the void created by social distancing. Online editor, Rebecca Weingarten said, “Boredom can lead to anxiety and compulsive behavior. She recommends substituting. Can’t do this? Do that. Nature abhors a vacuum, so fill the time with good, fun, and interesting things.”
You can work from home like a boss to help reduce boredom and anxiety. Consider the following tips for physical and mental well being:
◊ Set-up work station if you don’t have a home office
♠ Aim to maintain a healthy lifestyle – proper diet, sleep, exercise, and social contacts
◊ Stick to your regular work hours and maintain a separation between work and home life
♣ When working take 5 – 10 minute breaks every hour preferably away from your work station
◊ Wear whatever you want unless doing Zoom video conferencing
♥ Limit time spent scrolling news and media updates to reduce anxiety
◊ Try to remain positive
♦ Find pockets of time for relaxation and activities that bring you joy such as listening to music, arts, crafts and or other hobbies
Don’t fill the void with mindless emotional eating, drinking too much alcohol, and online shopping. Fill the void with fun, exercise, learn something new, reconnect with family, friends, or focus on keeping your immune system healthy.
Have you tried anything new? Me? I’m filling my weekend void, besides handling television technology, DIY liquid hand soap when my containers ran low. And, It’s safer for me to FaceTime my 83-year-old Mom, who has underlying medical conditions. Oh, I signed up for a Tiktok 101 tutorial with the Aspire Blogger Influencer Marketing.
How are you balancing your health and well being during the Coronavirus quarantine? Please share your comments via this Facebook post to log into Disqus.
As always, thank you for reading. Have a safe and healthy week.
