How to Cope in Seasons of Sudden Change

I swiped forward as far into the future as my weather app would allow, and the temperatures only seemed to climb – overnight lows in the mid to high 50s and highs that inched closer to 80 each day. This year, winter in my neck of the woods limped in like a coward. It dropped buckets and buckets of rain, then disappeared. No goodbye, no see you later. Reality settled like a rock in the pit of my stomach. Just like that, winter and all its crisp, easy to breathe air was gone. 

For me, the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, happened pretty much the same way. In the beginning, it was a bad thing happening thousands of miles around the world. Slowly filtering into our daily news cycle. Slowly getting closer to home. My employer, a global company with more than 250,000 professionals around the world, went from one day suspending travel to and from one location to BAM – everyone needs to work from home. Everyone. “Until further notice.”  

Thankfully, I was used to working remote a few days a week, and greatly appreciated the flexibility. But as a new employee, only three months in, I also didn’t mind the short drive to my downtown office with its “hotel style” work spaces. I was just getting used to seeing some faces, learning a few names, meeting more people, finding a rhythm when suddenly the season changed.

I don’t know about you, but sudden change can really knock me off balance a little bit or a whole lot, depending on the change and the season I’m catapulted into. So how do we hold on, find our balance, then stand up straight and move forward? I don’t have all the answers, but here’s how I’ve been working to find my footing in this seemingly unstable world:

1. Create a consistent routine. When the normal you knew is no more, it’s important to create a fresh sense of normalcy. A consistent routine can help a lot in this season. How I begin (the time before I log on for work) and end (the hours between work and bed) my days feels especially key to me. And those are the two time slots in the day where I have the most “control” (using that word super loosely, if you know what I mean).
2. Look outside myself. Very uniquely, we’re all experiencing this season of sudden change. Because of it, there are some intense emotions on the hearts of our friends, family members and colleagues. I’ve felt a heightened reminder to listen and pray for those around me, and it’s my pleasure to do so. This focus on others helps me take my mind off me and lessens my own anxiety tremendously. I’m not saying I never get concerned, but when I feel it taking over, I remind myself to look outside myself. 
3. Get fresh air. Social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t take a stroll (power walk or run) around your neighborhood. Now more than ever, fresh air is imperative to protecting our physical AND mental and emotional health. And who knows, you might meet a new neighbor or two. Just don’t shake hands or stand in each other’s personal space. My goal is at least 30 minutes outside a day. Even if I’m just standing and breathing. 
4. Make rest a priority. Working from home and being home all day can really throw off a schedule, especially if you’re not already used to it. We must be intentional about getting everyone – including yourself – to bed at decent time to ensure you get appropriate rest.
5. Read a book. Being cooped up inside is a great time to catch up on that reading list. And reading an actual book (not on a device) is a good way to wind down and prepare your body for a more restful night sleep.
6. Try something new. Since I enjoy all things books, journals, pens, paper, etc. I recently sprung for a new planner, some stickers and a book on Hand Lettering. If I’m any good at the hand lettering, I may share a few pics down the road.

It’s sort of weird, but in some ways the current imbalance in our world is bringing about more balance in me. Less social media scrolling, more reading and writing. Less web-surfing, more goal setting. Fewer distractions, more determination to get back to the “main things.” And to be honest, as I pray – for family, friends, colleagues, those losing jobs, those working overtime, small business owners, large corporations, the ill, the healthy, the medically fragile, the economically vulnerable – my one consistent hope is that this season of sudden change leaves us better, stronger, kinder than we were when it found us.