I don't know about for you, but these last fews months of the pandemic have been pretty weird.
Back in March when this whole thing started, I was excited. Excited that I would have some extra time to get ahead on my goals. Excited that I didn't have to waste time commuting to and from work. Excited that I could live in and enjoy my home.
Fast forward to today, my feelings about the pandemic haven't really been excitement anymore - they've been frustration and longing to go back to a time when I could leave my home without fear of catching a virus, feeling stuck and unmotivated and like I'm living in a hamster wheel.
So what changed from March until now?
In May, I found out that I was expecting. You would think this would've added to my excitement but after experiencing a miscarriage in March, all it brought me was fear. Fear that I needed to stop doing all of the things I had done in the last pregnancy that I assumed led to my miscarriage--taking my supplements, working out, pushing myself to accomplish my personal goals.
And so what did I do? I stopped all of it.
This fear lead me to give up on all of the things that gave me joy, reduced my stress and were part of who I am as a person. You can guess what happened next... I started to suffer a pretty severe depression.
From June until about September, I had been "going through the motions" of my life, not taking the time to do anything that brings me joy or happiness. What's worse is that I recognized what was happening--I knew what I was doing wasn't serving me. But I continued to do it anyways. I had built up such a momentum of operating in this way, that I couldn't figure out how to just stop it. And then not only couldn't I stop the train I had hitched my wagon to, I was embarrassed that I had let myself get to this point. I had always been such a positive and fun loving person and now it was taking all the energy I had not to start crying at any second, for no reason at all.
This was (and is) no way to live.
Thanks to a few important people in my life, I made the decision to seek help. For me, this was in the form of therapy. Don't get me wrong, this was not easy for me to do. I am the first person to help others but I very rarely, if ever, will ask anyone else for help. Making the appointment was terrifying but it was the first step of many I would need to take in order to get myself back to who I am.
Get clear on your vision
What is the trajectory you want you life to take? Be honest with yourself. If you keep doing what you're doing right now, will you get there? If the answer is NO, you need to take a hard look at the things you are doing today and get clear on those you need to start, stop or continue doing in order to be the person you ultimately want to be.
For me, I had to kick myself in the butt a little (ok, a lot) and ask myself if I wanted to continue to be this miserable person or if I actually wanted to begin finding the joy I had once found in life. After speaking to someone, it was clear that I already had the tools I needed to begin, I just needed to start (which always seems so easy once someone else points it out to you - GO FIGURE!).
Get a routine
Routine is by far the biggest factor in whether or not you will reach your goals. If your routine is to wake up 15 minutes before you start work, this is probably not going to serve you very well as you will not feel like you are in control of your day. You will be constantly rushing from one thing to the next.
I will be honest, being 7 months pregnant, it's been really nice to be able to snooze my alarm and only wake up at 8am. However, when my work day is supposed to start at 8:30, this truly doesn't give me enough time to do what I want to do before I start my day. At the beginning of COVID, I was waking up at 5:30/6 and getting a work out in, having time to get some posts ready for social media to promote my Arbonne business, showering, eating and still having some time to lounge around before work. Because the beginning of my day was FOR ME, it set the tone for the rest of my day and put me in a way better mood to take on the unexpected that would likely occur when you're managing a team remotely.
Now I'm not saying you have to wake up at 5:30/6am to get this feeling but at least by making your morning for you, it will set a positive tone for your entire day.
Learn to say "No"
I wish I could shout this from the roof tops: STOP SAYING YES TO EVERYTHING! When you give up your time in the form of little yeses everywhere, you are taking time away from yourself and ensuring that you don't have the time or energy to devote to things where you can truly add value.
And before you start with it - I know it's not fun to say no. You feel like you're letting people down. I get it - trust me. But when you start to reserve your Yeses for things where you truly add value, you will feel so much more fulfilled and joyful. Also, when you say No to something, you are giving the opportunity for that person to either figure it out themselves or to provide the opportunity to someone else. Look at it as a way for someone else to develop additional skills they might not currently possess.
Keep in mind that a No can also look like delegating. I have become very good the last couple of months at delegating work for my employee to do. Sometimes it feels like it would "just be faster" if I was to do it myself but it's been important for me to take a step back and remember that by delegating something new to someone who reports to me, this is building their skills and helping them to eventually become the expert.
Protect your mental energy
Learn to pinpoint those people or situations in your life which impact your energy--either positively or negatively. Make a mental note of them and then actively try to seek out time with the people/situations who/which build you up.
If you spend most of your time with people or in situations where you feel so drained, this is not sustainable long term. You are constantly going to feel exhausted, unmotivated and all around yucky. Sometimes, these people/situations are inevitable in your life so ensure that you have a plan for how you will build yourself up after having to interact with these people or situations. This will ensure you have balance in your life and not let them completely drain you.
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Finally, these are the things that I have been doing over the last three months in order to bring myself back to a more joyful state. Do I still have bad days? FOR SURE. But I can happily say that my good days have started to outnumber the bad ones and that is something I can definitely be proud of. I also hope that if you've been feeling stuck that my suggestion will help you get back to a place where you are enjoying your life because, even though we're in the middle of a global pandemic, there are still so many things to be thankful for.