Are you good at math? Answer this: (C+Q) x (3U+L) x B+E / T = ? (Where C is Covid) Stumped? Here's the breakdown: (COVID + Quarantine) x (3 Months of Uncertainty + Loneliness) x Boredom + Eating/ Time = I’m a stay-at-home person mullet, business on top and casual on the bottom for Zoom meetings, who has lost my sense of purpose but gained 10 pounds, and can’t sleep. Am I wrong?
Whether you are feeling this or other emotions, 2020 isolation blues is real. And it feels like you're slipping away. In late March, the hurt was so real to me that I had to create a whole virtual Zoom extravaganza called Carry On! (see right) just to refocus
myself on my identity as a dancer and choreographer, and prove that I wasn't going to be held back. I also wanted to cheer up the world (enjoy cat cameo), and still do. In addition to the dance, below I am sharing a list of the top 5 things that I found make me happy in these times. Keep your head high and keep going. It is easy to feel discouraged, overwhelmed or anxious, and some of these simple ideas can lift your spirits.
1. Take a walk – long or short, it is important to walk away from your in-home “workplace” or “holding area” and get fresh air.
2. Put the electronics down. Spend at least 30 minutes a day without the screen.
3. Engage in a puzzle or other hands-on brain game that requires you to think in new ways.
4. Call a homebound senior, through great programs like https://theneighbornetwork.org/ or take time to safely volunteer otherwise, for a cause that is important to you.
5. Set a bed time and get enough sleep. Days turn to nights turn to days…
If you also feel the blues, remember that you are not alone. While we wait to get back to the normal we once knew, there is so much you can be doing to self-reflect, further your career, and make the world a better place. But above all, just don't stop - Carry On!