Let’s be honest friends, we’re tired. Between Covid 19, devastating racial violence, a bizarre presidential election, and (here where I live on the west coast) smoke and fires, we are taxed and weary. First, we were told we couldn’t see each other INSIDE because of the virus, and then we were told we couldn’t go OUTSIDE due to dangerous smoke conditions. Twice I ran my 10 miles on a treadmill at the gym, which was open to 20% capacity and had no bathroom facilities or water available. I dragged in a gallon of water and submitted to having my temperature taken, promising to fully sanitize my treadmill when I was done sweating all over it.
Boring as shit but better than nothing.
And I can tell you this, my clients—both life-coaching and writing clients—are feeling TIRED of their whittled-down lives. Those with children at home are feeling crowded; those who live alone are feeling lonely.
Most of my own days go like this:
- Wake up and have coffee
- Take my dogs outside
- Get dressed from the waist up, wearing sweats or leggings from the waist down
- Jump on Zoom for anywhere between 4 and 6 hours of client meetings
- Go for a run OR take the dogs for walks (depending on the day)
- Come back home, shower, read client material or do administrative tasks for my business(es)
- Feel tired of not talking to humans in person
- Go to the brewery to sit far away from strangers and look at/shout conversations with them
- Come home to do a little more admin, watch some shit TV, or talk on the phone to a friend (hi Pam)
- Crash
We are, most of us, missing distractions, activities that give us joy, and variation in activities.
Here is a short list of things I personally miss (feel free to add your own list in the comments):
- Running races with boxes of bananas and orange slices at the finish line
- Concerts
- Movie theaters
- Live theater
- Baseball games
- Street fairs
- Wine tasting
- Group hugs
- Live retreats for my writing clients
- Seeing whole faces of strangers and sharing smiles
Truly, the longer our need to be cautious goes on, the harder things get for some people. I’ve started to get really creative in terms of how to manage the continuing shut-down and resultant lack of external stimulation. But I know from clients that as school has started, the weather changes, and the days get shorter, genuine depression and despair is setting in for some people.
Join me for a “Reinvent Your Sanity during these Crazy Times,” an inspirational FREE workshop to get you thinking outside the box on how to stay sane, stimulated, and hopeful when many of our structures have crumpled and folded in on themselves.
Sign up here:
When: Oct 28, 2020 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwtcuysrTMsGdILf0XGlMKEk5qcld9v7hZI
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.