Now that I’ve spent the last few weeks doomsday buying groceries and eating all of my unhealthy snacks, I’ve committed to getting back on the actual horse this week moving forward into my new normal.
While we wait out the Coronavirus and it takes it’s sweet time to determine when we can get back to any semblance of normalcy, it has been on my mind that many of you are trying to figure out how to create your COVID-19 routine based on your current circumstances.
This is a long one… but it’s worth it… weren’t you looking for a new book to read, anyway!?
Check out the headers highlighting each person I spoke with, to find someone you may relate to!
I reached out to several women to better understand how this has changed their lives, and what their routine is today in hopes you may find someone that you can relate to, and build off of their ideas. A single mom, a mom of many, a Gen-Zer in the first year of her career, a Baby Boomer working from home for the first time, a young millennial who was laid off, two women who own small businesses, one retail, one service-based, a mom of teenagers, and an attorney working from home, and I included my routine at the end! Also, I realized Katie and its variations is a very popular name…you’ll notice!! Let’s just dive right in!
Karli Kegerreis Sherman, Warrenton, VA, Wife, Mother, SMB & Non-Profit Owner, Service – Kindred Mothers
Kindred Cycling for Kindred Mothers
I run a cycling studio called Kindred Cycle that pairs with my non-profit, Kindred Mothers. Our mission is to grow into a center that provides all mothers a place to meet, provide encouragement and instruction with the intention of promoting positive postpartum mental health.
Honestly, I felt very strongly when this all started that we’d eventually have to close our doors for an extended period of time. I received emails from the Virginia SBDC and there was an article that basically said …if you think you’ll eventually close your doors it’s generally better to do it sooner rather than later…So I started brainstorming a bit. Our mission has always been to spread awareness, raise funds and raise a community of women to help open our center and I knew we could continue to do this virtually. So I decided once schools closed, I would close.
Business Pivot
I had previously rented a few bikes out to women who were unable to attend classes because their children are very young and we don’t have childcare for all our class times. So I knew that system was in place and they had all asked me before for virtual classes but I just didn’t have the bandwidth for it.
I started to look at my costs and made the decision that I could rent the bikes for under $100, teach virtually, put a hold on current memberships and cover my costs while keeping staff and clients safe (but still engaged). The first few days were slow but it gave me time to clean and deliver each bike and set up my filming space. I think by day 3 I had rented 5 of my 30 bikes but I posted a YouTube video to show the quality they’d get…shared it online and the rest of the bikes were gone by the end of the week.
I had found a way to keep my clients engaged, reach new clients, and continue raising awareness for our mission. I made sure all of my instructors had a bike so they could also film classes and share them.
I decided to make the videos accessible to all, something I wasn’t sure about for a while, because I knew this would be a hard time for many and we’d all need an outlet but also because I feel very passionately that the access to a great workout shouldn’t be reserved for the wealthy. As long as people that are capable consider a donation to our GoFundMe page I’ll be doing my part to promote our mission.
Our New Routine
Well, I’m homeschooling my kids now so instead of going into the studio every day to teach…do laundry…clean the studio, etc when they were in school.
- 8:00 – 10:00 Teaching my children
- After lessons, we go for a walk or play outside
- 12:00 Lunch
- 1:00 – 2:00 I put on a Disney+ movie for them then I take that hour to edit videos if I need to, talk to instructors, post on social or build playlists and classes.
- 2:00 on it’s back to being a mom until my husband is off work at 4
- 4:00 I go into our basement and start filming. It takes me about an hour to record and set it all up. I always wear my Kindred Cycle gear in my video and remind people to donate. We definitely aren’t raising as much for our non-profit during this time, but we’re thankful for all that are still making contributions when they ride.
- Mom’s Routine: Monday-Friday I still wake up. Put jeans and makeup on, teach my kids then get into my workout gear and shower immediately afterward. It sounds obvious but changing my clothes multiple times a day helps me segment my time between family and “work” mode. Then Sunday I try not to do any work. I usually go for a run, do a face mask, journal. Stuff that’s JUST mine.
Newfound time with family
The silver lining – I’m loving that I have more time with my family. Before I was teaching almost every day, leading support groups, teaching mommy and me spin with my kids…and then attending my other instructor’s classes in the evenings. So that’s twice a day at the studio 7 days a week plus cleaning…managing retail. I’m loving seeing more what my kids have learned in school. I know so much more about them already!
Mary Millward, 36, Lehi, Utah, Wife, Mother of 6 littles, Online Business Owner
I don’t really have an option. I have 6 little people who depend on me, and I get to set the tone for my home.
– Mary Millward
As a mom with many children at home, this has been a wildly massive adjustment. I cannot convey how much this has thrown off our routine. It has been very difficult to no longer have external activities to keep these kids busy. It’s a unique challenge and a beautiful gift all at the same time.
Our New Routine
We took some time last Sunday to sit down and write out our priorities and what really mattered to us. We broke it down into 4 categories, Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, and Intellectual, then scheduled each child’s day around those goals. Very similar to what I have been implementing in my own life with my Miracle Morning, and now I get to help my children shape their day and plan what their Miracle Morning looks like for them. Fortunately, my kids are similar in age, so their routines are structured together.
- 7:30 Breakfast
- 8:00 Cleaned up
- After, we sit down and read scriptures as a family for 20 min or so and have a discussion, whereas before we would be rushing out the door with me hollering a scripture at them!
- Then we journal. This is a new hobby that has become part of our routine. I’ve wanted to do this for a while and I’m happy to have found the time now to do it, because these are such unprecedented times, here in Utah not only are we dealing with this pandemic, we’ve had Earthquakes!!
- Family Prayer
- 9:00 – 12:00 everyone goes up into their own spaces, I got some $120 chrome books for the kids and they get on their zooms with their teachers and work on school work.
- 12:00 Lunch, then family time outside, which is precious time we did not have before. I love connecting with them and knowing what they’re learning in real-time. it’s been wonderful to watch their minds expand, but it’s also been very challenging to focus on their lessons with them during the day, a totally new task for us.
- 3:00 – 5:00 They have a big window of screen time for shows, or talking with friends, playing games.
We are a flexible structure – Although we do have time booked out for us to have our family time at noon, occasionally I’ll have a work call that comes up at that time so I pull in some of that screen time, with their max being 3 hours a day, (I know its a lot but it’s what we’re doing to survive!) and then we will have family time later in the day.
Business Pivots
As far as business pivots go – luckily, I haven’t had to change much. I do have an online business, and we have a model where we can meet in person or online. Our business is relationship-focused, but I love that I can connect with people using technology. We’re a global company so we’ve built a beautiful online system already, all we’ve done is remove the occasional meeting in person and our group trainings with hundreds of us have also been moved online, so it’s actually been a simple transition, thankfully.
What’s helped me to stay positive and motivated
I don’t really have an option. I have 6 little people who depend on me, and I get to set the tone for my home. That’s a big part of my role, and so I stay positive and motivated for them and for their future. This has truly been a blessing in disguise for us to come together as a family, and focus on what matters most, and slow down. I feel truly grateful that our family’s biggest worry right now is just staying at home together- as ironic as it all sounds.
MOM TIP!
The Millwards created, “The Millward Market” – I Implemented a really fun Monopoly money system to keep my kids on task. For example, if they brush their teeth, do their hair, get ready for the day, they get $10 Monopoly cash! We have a big treasure chest full of candy (because candy is what motivates my children!) and for example, fruit leather is $100 so they have a great chance to get a nice treat each day if they stay on routine.
Catherine Hawksworth, 27, Wilmington, NC, SMB Owner, Retail – Modern Legend
As a Small Business Owner living on the coast, this has been really difficult, we’ve been hit a lot. With Hurricane Florence 2 years ago, just as we got our feet back under us, a pandemic.
Finding purpose
As a Small Business owner, the hardest thing I’m facing is the lack of purpose – what I DO is my JOB. When I’m not running my shop I work in the music industry promoting, talent buying, every aspect of my career involves people, so I’m making the best out of the bad hand I’ve been dealt, the same hand everyone else has been dealt.
Business Pivots
Being that I’m the sole owner of my shop, I’m able to still come to the shop every day and fulfill online orders and do operational tasks. I’m grateful we already had a website, if we didn’t that would make this a lot harder as I’m sure many SMB are now learning. We are getting by with online operations. Sales are definitely not what they would be if we were open, but it’s allowing my employees to not have to file for unemployment right now. Beyond Modern Legend’s online storefront (visit and take advantage of their sales using code 2020WTF) a business pivot I’ve made within the music industry is asking bands I work with to send us their merch so I can help them generate revenue through my website, 100% of their sales are going to them.
Casey, my full-time employee, has been working hard on managing the website allowing me to give her some work from home hours while I handle the operation side and fulfill orders. My main focus and advice is restructuring what my retail business is going to look like this year, I’m taking action now.
A new routine
Outside of work I’ve been forced to slow down, which I do see an upside in. I love what I do and so it doesn’t feel like work all the time but it is strenuous. I’ve been doing a lot of baking and cooking, tuning into live streams where bands I work with are doing virtual shows, walks around the neighborhood, gardening. I’m enjoying the simple joy of waking up in the morning, realizing I’m alive and I have a whole day to make the best of what I have. I can definitely relate to those living in big cities in tiny apartments, I’ve been there and I can’t imagine the stress they’re feeling right now.
Focused on mental health
It’s a crucial time for your mental health, whether it’s cleansing or difficult. The best thing I’ve been doing, which may sound cliche and silly, is waking up every morning and writing down 3 things I’m grateful for, and every evening writing down three things that made me feel something. Bad feeling, good feeling, excited, nostalgic, so then when I climb into bed at night and reflect, I can remind myself I am still human, even though my routine is not what it normally is.
Every time I get a little self-deprecating I remind myself – I’m lucky to be where I am in Wilmington, NC. There are many people who have it worse off especially in these big cities with many cases of the Coronavirus. There has been a lot of support from our community, whether its and order to help support us or even just talking about what I do with others who want to get to know me or my business better, it really means a lot.
Katie, 27, Connecticut, Attorney, Working from home for the first time
“My co-worker and secretary, aka my dog and cat, have made great companions in self-isolation, so if you’re wondering if I talk to my animals when things get lonely, yes, yes I do!”
– Katie
In the state of Connecticut, attorneys are considered essential, however, we have been told to work from home via our firm to keep everyone safe and healthy. Work from home has been a bit of struggle to adjust to- but I’m trying to stay positive and be grateful that I CAN do my job from home. I have friends or family members who work jobs that just don’t transition to work from home, who have been laid off or furloughed and it’s tough.
Adjusting to home office life
The set up at work was incredible, I had multiple monitors to cross-track and edit and I am missing the ability to print and read through important documents (as bad as it may be for the environment, it’s hard to proof long important documents staring at a screen all day). I also miss not having my team members around to talk through simple issues. Calling and sending emails seem so formal even when it’s just a quick question, and we’ve had some issues with internet lag video conferencing and staying as connected as we’d like.
My Routine
I find it funny because I have nowhere to go, no commute, but I’m getting going later than normal!
- 7:00-7:30 Wake Up
- 9:00 -12:00 Sit down with coffee and emails (whereas I would normally get to the office around 8:00)
- 1:00 – 3:00 I take a break
- 3:00 – ? I find myself working later into the night now because I’m already set up from home versus leaving the office and commuting home and setting myself up again, so I do like that aspect!
- I also haven’t really had many scheduled calls or meetings, we’re all sort of just picking up the phone and calling each other when needed.
Motivation and Anxiety
I’ve struggled to stay motivated because now my desk is my dining room table and I’m staring at the couch. Every time I get a little unmotivated the couch calls my name! I’ve found because of this new environment I’ve had to adjust my normal day to day a bit to stay on task, so if that means I have to get up and walk the dogs or take a little break to regain focus, I will. I’m sure others who have never worked from home before can relate!
Also, I do have generalized anxiety and asthma, so having some episodes where I have shortness of breath or need my inhaler I do find myself getting in my head a bit wondering, did I pick up the Coronavirus running to the grocery store? It’s definitely not a comforting feeling right now.
My best advice is to keep calm and check-in with yourself, but always stay aware of your symptoms. I’m not perfect at this as I’m sure many are feeling their feelings in overdrive right now too and because of this, I do find it hard to keep my feelings in check in order to stay on task working from home.
Overall, I’m figuring it out!
Yes, it was difficult, yes I miss the resources of the office and the human interaction but I am incredibly lucky and grateful that my job is secure and supportive and I hope everyone in a similar situation like me, who can work from home even though they don’t normally, can see the value in supporting the health care workers out there, our real heroes, by working from home if given the option in hopes to help flatten the curve.
Katy, 23, Minneapolis, MN, Public Relations Coordinator, Gen Z, First year of adulthood
It was a stark reality for a new adult that for the first time in my life my parents aren’t my safe space.
– Katy
I graduated from Miami of Ohio in May. I have lived in New Jersey for the past 13 years and I moved to Minnesota in July by myself for a job at a strategic communication agency. In January I moved in with a roommate I met on Facebook and now we’re quarantined together, navigating a global pandemic and stress and anxiety as one. At the beginning of this, I had to have a very real conversation with my parents that I can’t come to New Jersey because I’m safer in Minnesota— healthcare, four-unit apartment building, etc. It was a stark reality for a new adult that for the first time in my life my parents aren’t my safe space.
From a work perspective, my company has made the transition very easy. We are a company of 12, so we’re close and we didn’t want to lose that connection when going remote. We have a morning huddle via ZOOM and everyone has their cameras on so we can see if people are okay, healthy and connect deeper than a voice call. Luckily, I work in crisis communication and change management, so the economic downside hasn’t affected me too much, yet.
Business Pivot
This week my company published a resource center with a bunch of open-source documents on how leaders can support their employees through a crisis. Originally, our marketing calendar had us pushing our purpose, mission and values service through the month of March. It was a huge pivot to postpone all scheduled social media, create all-new blogs and landing it pages, and re-evaluate the future. Because we’re a small organization, there’s always a looming “what if” in regards to the future. Despite that, we all continue to bring our most positive energy and also our emotions when times are tough.
Spending Habits
The uncertainty of the future has significantly curbed my online shopping habits. Before buying something I think “if I lose my job, will this benefit me in unemployment?” The new budgeting habits and lack of spending on gas, restaurants, and bars have really benefited for my personal finances.
My schedule
From a personal standpoint, I feel like this is the best I’ve been as a person in a LONG time.
- 7:20 I still wake up at the same time, but since I’m not commuting, I take the extra time to make my bed(to fight the urge to crawl into it midday), clean my room and have a slow morning. Maybe sip tea, read or walk before starting my day. Fun fact: I gave up coffee during this because I only drink coffee in the office! Two and a half weeks of no coffee and I’m still surviving.
- Lunch I’ve also started eating my lunch away from my desk, normally I sit at my desk in the office and eat, I’ve really enjoyed the time away to recalibrate.
- At the end of the day, I have a hard time shutting down and getting out of work mode. So I’ve started walking! After work each day, I get up and walk outside. I typically walk 3 miles, never in the same route.
Virtual Friendship
From a social standpoint, it’s been really good to actively pursue staying in touch with people who aren’t even in my geographical location. I turned 23 last Wednesday and was feeling very angry about my birthday. My friends made a 4-minute video to say happy birthday, got me a gift card to a wine delivery service and another friend dropped all the ingredients for a charcuterie board at my door before our virtual happy hour. It wasn’t the celebration I had wanted, but it definitely showed how loved and supported I am, especially during this time.
Julia, 51, Redlands, CA, Laid off Professional Buyer, Mom of teens out of their routines
My biggest concern is my daughter missing the last of her senior year, prom, graduation ceremony, saying goodbye to her friends and teachers.
– Julia
I have a 17-year-old High School Senior and a 13-year-old 8th grader. My husband’s job has shifted to work at home with the virus. I have noticed that we are more involved in each other’s daily existence instead of being on the go and running in and out of the house so much. We have watched tv, cooked, laundry, yard work, cleaned, and talked more. The kids have a harder timing “getting away with stuff” since their dad is home to offer quick backup support. With fewer time constraints, we could be doing anything anytime.
These changes have affected my job search prospects as well. I had a temporary position for a week when I was told the office would now be closed. I also take online courses and have even reached out to my instructor to see if I could get started on the coursework, which isn’t even scheduled to begin until April 29th.
Our Daily Routine and Homeschooling
Our daily routine is probably less stressful because there is no pressure to be anywhere. But trying to get these kids to do something besides being on electronics is hard. My biggest concern is my daughter missing the last of her senior year, prom, graduation ceremony, saying goodbye to her friends and teachers. For my son, he has ADHD and his grades are already poor. I fear I don’t have the patience or proper teaching methods to adequately guide him without traumatizing our relationship. Trying to do math is a joke. Thank goodness for PhotoMath!
I don’t feel qualified to teach them their school subjects and I’m concerned about them falling behind. There is an overall weariness that is ever-present. Helping my son with his 8th-grade schoolwork full-time has been exhausting. Each teacher is utilizing the online platform a little differently and trying to keep it consistent for my son and set up a daily schedule has been very difficult. I find my depression worsening and my stress rising.
Frankly, I miss going out to do my regular interests and feel my only options are to clean and do laundry. Soooo boring.
Katie, 67, Vero Beach, FL, State College Program Director, Mom, Wife, Grandmother. Baby Boomer working from home for the first time.
One of my outside interests is helping others relieve stress – specifically through a process called Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping.
– Katie
OK Boomer Seeking OK Routine! In 2010 I had the benefit of a six-month sabbatical to work on my Ph.D. dissertation in Math Education. Scared of wasting precious time, I laid out a specific schedule accounting for each minute, along with set goals to accomplish in a prescribed timeline. For the most part, I kept my schedule and did finish my dissertation.
Years later, I created my ‘Perfect Day Schedule’ of best nutrition, exercise, a combination of work, housework, reaching out to family and friends, and relaxation. So far, I haven’t hit the ‘Perfect Hour Schedule’!
Stress, anxiety, and an outlet through Tapping
My schedule these past two weeks couldn’t be further from my rigid sabbatical schedule than the physical distance I now keep between my grocery store and me.
The first week of home isolation was Spring Break. Although my sister had planned to visit us from the Midwest, she canceled her trip for safety reasons. I understood and yet was still saddened by missing her. The deep sadness seems to extend into the next week. Some days I felt paralyzed – frozen almost.
One of my outside interests is helping others relieve stress – specifically through a process called Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping. I’ve completed three levels of training, in addition to trauma and quantum training. Yes, I recognized my symptoms were a common reaction to traumatic stress – of the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn reactions, my body was freezing. Yet, I felt powerless to address this frozen feeling.
Working from home for the first time
Before my employer decided to move services to home-based, I knew I was going to ask to work from home, The last day of Spring Break my supervisor called and offered the stay at home option, I accepted. Both my 70-year-old husband and I were in the age bracket warned to be most vulnerable (I’m 67). My husband is completing treatment for bladder cancer. His immune system is still recovering and would be too weak to fight a virus as robust as COVID-19.
Daily Schedule
5:00 – 2:00 (including lunch) An early riser, I worked my first day from 5:00 a.m. until eight hours (I took a lunch break!) were completed. A good portion of my work can be accomplished online – emails, setting schedules, keeping local high school counselors informed. However, one of my primary responsibilities is to represent the college in a variety of community organizations – Chambers of Commerce, United Way, hospital board, etc. Our first week back, those meetings were conducted by Zoom, which I have used in the past and am very comfortable using. Luckily, my home office was recently completed, not all of our staff members or even faculty have the tools I have here in my home.
As the week continued, my motivation waned. Even though I contributed my daily hours to work, some days it was difficult to pull myself together. It helped that my supervisor insisted on daily meetings at 9:00 a.m. That forced me to get up and at least look presentable for the video conference.
With working from home, I am finding greater productivity once I define a project. For my personality type, mundane repetitive work gets pushed aside. If I can start on one project, that seems to motivate me. One of my friends who is posting a ’10 at 10’ – ten minutes of motivation daily at 10:00 a.m. said the reason she started it was to force herself to get moving. Her comment changed my perspective. Here, I had been worrying about how to help others and feeling helpless. Changing the tune to ask how reaching out may help me shook me up – now I am reaching out and offering my services to release stress and tension ($ 500 normally) for groups for free to help me!
Adjusting to my new normal
There are a lot of new platforms to learn. My employer has not yet made a formal announcement on preferred video conferencing. Our staff tried out three different platforms this week alone. I know the administration is working diligently to try to make all the moving pieces connect and I’m sure some of the personnel are as traumatized as I am.
My husband still drives into his office as he has a one-person office and feels comfortable. I have not been to the grocery store in over a week. The most difficult challenge is not being able to see my extended family, our children, and our granddaughters.
In the county where we live in Florida, there are only a handful of positive COVID-19 patients with very few hospitalized. We have one public and one private hospital in our county. There is a LOT of our population who are over 60 years old and about 50% of our population are economically fragile – part of the ALICE (Assets Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population. Nearly half of our non-profits who serve that population have closed, which will impact our county in many ways both short-term and long-term.
Hobbies and Activities
- I do ZOOM sessions with my four adorables (granddaughters) daily – I read them a book, ask them about their day. Mostly they like watching each other and talking to one another.
- I play a lot of computer games: PuzzleBaron is my friend!
- At least once a day I call a friend to ostensibly ‘check in on them’ when in reality, I’m giving myself a check-up.
- I do exercise every day – mostly follow YouTube videos on qi gong, yoga, rebounding. Some days I drag my husband out so we can bicycle around our complex for 30 minutes or so.
Carly, 24, Houston, TX, Young Millenial, Laid off Medical Scribe
This is my first full-time job with benefits since graduating from college, so I don’t have the savings/emergency fund that I maybe should for living on my own.
– Carly
I was recently laid off from my job as a medical scribe in the Texas Medical Center. Our entire office (50+ employees) were laid off temporarily through the COVID-19 pandemic. We were assured that our jobs would be waiting for us, whenever they reopened, but they wanted us to be able to collect unemployment in the meantime. This is my first full-time job with benefits since graduating from college, so I don’t have the savings/emergency fund that I maybe should for living on my own. Since we’re being real, thankfully, that means I have my parents as a safety net – they’ve been super great supporting me through my first job and first loss of job. I’m super blessed, and I recognize that.
My Flexible Routine
Since being at home full-time, I have completed a number of tasks that I wanted to get done – mop my floors, organize my jewelry, go through my clothes and get rid of items I don’t wear, test the pens and get rid of the ones that don’t work…. All the super fun stuff. It’s an awesome time to organize for my move and get ready to move in with my boyfriend for the first time (which, hello, takes its own mental preparation and sacrifice). We’re moving to Philly where I’ll start a grad program in the fall. I’ve been cooking more, which I usually do, but being more creative, cleaning more, and working out more since I actually have the time. One of the saddest things for me to realize is that by the time my lease ends in May, we may not be out of the woods with this pandemic – I may not be able to see the friends I’ve made before I leave. We’ve been using Google Hangouts to stay in touch, work out with one another, and play games – so that’s been a major plus.
My boyfriend is still fully employed as a startup engineer, which means I have to be sensitive to his changing work-day hours as he transitions to working from home. During his work hours, I try to be productive and work on scholarships for graduate school and shopping for furniture for our new place – which reminds me, we still have to cancel our flights to Philly in April to look at apartments. Sigh.
Downtime isn’t always a bad thing
I’m an extrovert, so overall, this sucks. I love hosting my friends and cooking dinner for them on Monday nights, I love going out on the weekends, I loved my job as a scribe and interacting with patients all the time. I feel isolated, but I’m trying very hard to stay positive. Being productive helps by getting small tasks and projects accomplished that need to happen, and now is the only time I have to get them done. While I’m such a people person, I also tire easily and wear myself thin during my regular life. I have found it so rejuvenating to have significant time to rest and remember what I actually like to do, which isn’t always what I do with my friends. I look in the mirror after about a week of being home and see that the bags under my eyes that I recently bought concealer to cover up, simply aren’t there. For now, it’s enough that this time has given me extra time to rest and reconnect with myself, my partner, and my dog.
Emily, 24, Virginia Beach, VA, Single Mom, Laid off Mental Health Professional
To be 100% honest, I’m not really staying positive. I am but I’m not. It’s hard being a single mom but now a laid-off single mom makes staying positive near impossible.
– Emily
I got laid off so I had to file for unemployment and have been applying for pretty much any and every job daily. Before getting laid off, we had the option to work from home but that still wouldn’t have been accommodating for me as I’m a single mom and have to keep my 1-year-old son entertained while doing online counseling sessions. There’s no way it could have worked and with possible layoffs, I couldn’t afford to try to pay a friend to babysit him for a few hours to get work done. I needed to save all the money I could.
Any new ways you’re earning income?
I haven’t started anything new. I’ve just been applying for jobs even though it’s kind of hard now since nobody is hiring. I was going to offer to babysit for other people who are working from home and needing to have someone watch their kid so they can get work done. However, most moms are like me and would rather keep their children home to ensure the least amount off possible exposure to this virus. I’m going to continue to accept the unemployment but not rely on that, I’ll continue to apply for many jobs daily.
How are you staying positive?
To be 100% honest, I’m not really staying positive. I am but I’m not. It’s hard being a single mom but now a laid-off single mom makes staying positive near impossible. When I’m with my son and we’re playing, I’m positive because he’s just happy to hang out with me as I am with him. But when he’s sleeping, I’m beyond stressed out and worried. I’m motivated because of my son and I’m trying to use that motivation to get a secure job and not settle, but now I’m so desperate for a job and income that I’m willing to take anything, which sucks.
My schedule
Honestly, I don’t really have a schedule now that I’m laid off and he’s only 1 so it’s not like I’m having to home school. We’re sticking to our usual wake up routine because I still want him to have the same sleep schedule. I’m taking advantage of being laid off by spending more quality time with him then when he goes down for naps I start looking for / applying for jobs.
Hobbies and Relaxation
No new hobbies really. Just spending time with my son and using this time for self-care too. My job was mentally exhausting and I was losing motivation daily to be the best I could be because my hours were crazy and if a client canceled, I didn’t get paid. So I didn’t have a reliable and consistent income which is sooooo hard on a single mom. I started becoming depressed and lost motivation in all aspects that didn’t include my son. So I guess my hobby now is self-care and being happy and healthy again.
Before getting laid off, I was dropping my son off at 8 to daycare and getting home by the time he was already asleep to ensure I was meeting hours for my job and I hated it. I barely had the motivation to even shower. Now I’ve deep cleaned my whole house, done some face masks, gone on walks, and started reading again. Again, I’m stressed beyond belief about losing a job during this time as being a single mom but I’m also looking at it as a silver lining and a blessing in disguise because it gave me lost time with my son back, and allowed me to find my happier, healthier, and more motivated self again.
It’s safe to say despite the current state of the world because of COVID-19, most people have taken this downtime in stride to reconnect with themselves, their families, and re-evaluate their interests. I believe people are finding comfort in the fact that we’re all in this together, but I know, upon speaking to a few others who did not wish to be interviewed, this is just a small percentage of stories, and many are suffering in silence around the world. My heart goes out to anyone who is having trouble navigating this time, and I hope if you’re reading this you know you’re not alone. Check on your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors, everyone is craving connection right now and you just might be the phone call they so desperately need.
Bonus Content, Megs COVID-19 Routine!
The first two weeks I was flying by the seat of my pants, and a little in my feelings about not leaving the house, even more than I already do not. I work from home for myself full time, so leaving the house is my literal sanctuary.
I started the #Next90Challenge with Rachel Hollis and two of my best friends. This has helped me wake up with intention each day and set a schedule.
- 7:30 Up, Sit in bed and write my goals/thanks in my Start Today Journal, Check my calendar and write out my plan for the day. Working in online business my hours are a bit fluid, but I do my best to structure.
- 9:00 – 11:00 I dive into my inbox, work on design/marketing projects, and sometimes hop on calls/meetings
- 12:00 Daily work meeting with my business partners
- 1:00 I joined a free Social Fitness-ing group to workout with different trainers on Facebook Live/Zoom each day, so it’s nice to have a routine! I can also replay it later if my schedule moves around.
- 2:00 Lunch / Shower
- 3:00 – 6:00 Back in my inbox, working on projects
- 7:00 ish – Dinner
- 8:00 – ? I’m usually working on something, multi-tasking watching a show, reading, prepping for the next day. As an entrepreneur I am a total night owl, sometimes I have to just shut down and force myself to go to bed!
If you read all of this, bless you, if you scrolled to find someone you related to, I hope it helped! Stay safe and healthy.
xx, Meg
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