Staying Sane in a Pandemic

2020 was so hard for such a variety of reasons. We all got to learn the hard way that a pandemic definitely was not as fun as the game made it out to be. We still don’t really know when it will end or when things will get back to normal. One important thing I’ve learned is that I’ve definitely never prioritized my mental health as I should and I need to be kinder to myself if I want to make it through the rest of the pandemic.

Recognize That Pandemics Aren’t Normal

One big thing that’s been really hard for me to get over is the fact that I’m not as productive as I’ve been in the past. I know that I’m capable of more and it’s just not happening right now… but this is entirely normal. It makes complete sense that I wouldn’t be at my best right now as I can’t do a lot of the things I enjoy and life, in general, is harder and more stressful than it is when there’s not a life-altering pandemic. Even small tasks that used to be so easy, like getting groceries, are more stressful as I try to keep my distance from people. If everything we do takes more of a toll on us than it did, we’ll obviously get less done. That’s ok! It’s perfectly understandable and expected.

If you truly understand that it’s ok that you’re not doing as well, you can actually do better and complete more things. The stress of feeling like I had failed by not completing as much added even more stress to my life, but getting rid of that added stress is so important. You can only do what you can do; you’re a human, and expecting more is just setting yourself up for failure.

Prioritize Yourself

These last few months have certainly made me realize that prioritizing myself and my mental health is very important. If I don’t prioritize myself and make sure I’m healthy, then if anything happens to my partner, there’s no way I can help out. There’s also the fact that if you never prioritize yourself, you’ll eventually get overworked and burnt out. If this happens, you’ll need a lot of time to recover, which isn’t a pleasant experience for you or anyone that lives with you. So it’s better to put yourself first before you’re forced to due to burnout.

One way I prioritize myself is by making sure to exercise before I start working. It makes me happy and starts the day off with a win, so then I can transition to working with a sense of accomplishment. Kicking off my workday on such a good note usually means I’ll get a lot more done.

Prioritizing yourself also means making sure you’re drinking enough water and getting enough sleep. Making whatever changes are necessary to do these things will make everything else you do so much easier. After all, when there’s a global pandemic, it’s easy to forget how important such small, little things can be.

Take Breaks

Another big part of prioritizing yourself is giving yourself breaks. This can mean a lot of different things depending on what you do for your day job. You might need to take a break from staring at the computer screen, from being around noises, or being in a certain room.

You don’t need to earn breaks! Sometimes I feel like I can’t take a break until I get something done, but if I just go ahead and take a break, I might be able to get the task done faster when I get off my break than if I just forced myself to power through it. Plus, I’ll be in a much better mood the whole time, and I won’t be as nervous about future tasks because I know I can always take a break when I need to. Being kind to yourself can definitely pay off if you let yourself try.

Another beneficial thing about taking regular breaks is motivation. If you know that you get a break at 3 PM every day, you’ll probably be more excited and more focused on your current task than you would be if you knew you were just going to work for 5 more hours. It’s hard not to focus on the next time you can just relax, even if it’s for a few minutes.

Pomodoro Technique

This leads me to the Pomodoro Technique, a great way to ensure you’ll take regular breaks is called the Pomodoro Technique. Basically, you set a timer for a certain amount of time, and when the timer goes off, you take a break! The standard is 25 minutes of work and then a 5-minute break. This works out really well for some, as 25 minutes is such a short amount of time that you don’t even get a chance to dread working; you just dive in and get things done, then take a 5-minute break, then start the process over again.

However, I prefer to work for an hour, then take a break. That’s what works best for me and the work I tend to do. You should try out the technique and see what works best for you!

When I take my quick break, I tend to walk around a bit and fill up my water bottle. It’s a nice way to remember that I need to stay hydrated, as not having that break usually means I completely forget to fill up my water bottle and then become dehydrated, which isn’t great.

Analog Hour

Taking small breaks throughout the day is good, but you can also take longer breaks, as well. I’ve been trying to do an analog hour in the afternoon to try to break up my day and also make it so I’m not staring at screens all day, every day. My work is typically on the computer, as is anything fun like playing video games, using Tabletop Simulator, or relaxing with a movie. This means that most days I’m just staring at screens for the majority of the time I’m awake, which isn’t good for my eyes or mental health.

During my analog hour, I tend to go sit outside and read a book. I’ve now read more books in the last year than I did in the last 10 years, and I’ve been able to give my brain a little downtime. Your brain can’t work 24/7, so letting yourself think of something totally different from your work can help with inspiration and allow you to solve problems without even thinking about them.

Get Outside

While the weather isn’t always nice, you should still make sure to (safely!) leave your house every so often. When the weather is nice, it feels great to be outside, but when the weather is bad, it can make you grateful to go back inside. I really hate being cold, but if I stay outside in the cold for a bit, it makes me remember why it’s so great to have heating in the house. It’s a little thing, but the little things add up.

What Works and What Doesn’t Work

A really important thing about all of this is finding out what works and what doesn’t work for you. There’s no one right answer or one right way to live. It can also be really hard to figure out how you work best, as your brain isn’t the most forthright all the time. For instance, I used to love having a series on TV while I worked. At a certain point in the pandemic, the noise in the background ended up becoming stressful. It didn’t stop my brain from wanting to watch the show, but I had to identify that the noise from the television was too much and to put a stop to it. Now I don’t listen to anything while I work and I get a lot more done. I’ve even gone further and gotten earplugs as I’ve noticed that even small noises can distract me, but if I can’t hear anything, I can more easily get into the zone (and stay there!) and get super productive.

Earplugs obviously won’t work for everyone, but they work well for me. It took some trial and error to figure it out, but staying on top of things and thinking back at the end of the day can really help with this. You’ll want to think about how productive you were during the day and what could have influenced you one way or another, then experiment to see if you can increase your productivity and decrease your stress level. Keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with trying something and learning it’s not for you. There’s also nothing wrong with trying something and altering it until it works as well as it can.

Make the Positive Outweigh the Negative

We as humans definitely remember the negative far more than the positive. This makes sense, as we don’t need to remember everything that’s edible so long as we remember the few things that can kill us if we eat them. Our brains are also in a heightened period of stress due to the pandemic, which makes it even easier to focus on the negative, but this is terrible for your mental health.

You can combat this in a variety of ways:

• When you realize during the day that you like or appreciate something, say it out loud. Saying things out loud can trigger a different part of your brain and really make you remember that you indeed have things in your life that are good.
• Try to find something small every day that will either improve your life or stop impacting your life negatively. For instance, I was getting irritated by all the slamming of doors, so I slowly put out noise dampeners so that none of the doors or cabinets can now be slammed. This didn’t take much effort but took care of random stressors in my life!
• Put out reminders that you do have people in your life that care or that you’ve made an impact on. It can be really easy to forget that you know a ton of people if you’re never seeing them, so having a physical reminder can definitely help with keeping yourself in a better place mentally. I ended up printing out a lot of nice things that people said on Twitter, in emails, and on Kickstarter, then I taped them to the wall. It’s not pretty, but it’s great to have a daily visual reminder that I’ve made an impact, even if it might not feel like it when I don’t have human interaction on a regular basis. This is also a great way to combat those times when the negative feelings start becoming overwhelming.

• Bad things will happen, but sometimes it’s good to take the time and realize that the world isn’t out to get you and you’re not the worst. A lot of people are stressed out because of the pandemic and they’re stressing out other people and at the end of the day, that means that there are fewer things going right for everyone. If someone lashes out, it’s probably not because you did anything that was terrible, it’s just that they’re way more stressed than normal. Acknowledging this can put things in perspective and mean that you don’t get overly emotional when people get overly emotional at you.

Overall

If you can add a lot of little things together that help you and get rid of several small things that irritate you, you’ll be in a much better place. You don’t need to start with large actions, you can start with small steps that bring you to a better normal. In fact, starting small will encourage you to keep going, and the best big changes are often made in small steps.

We’re hopefully past the midway point in the pandemic, but learning how to treat yourself better and prioritize your mental health can mean you’ll be able to hit the ground running when things get back to more of a “normal state.” And, worst-case scenario, your days get a little better in the meantime.

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Did you enjoy this entry? Can you think of any small changes that can make your life better? Please let me know! I’d love to hear what you think and what kind of things you’d like to see from this blog. Feel free to send me an email or comment with your thoughts!

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