COVID-19 has caused many changes in how we lead our daily lives. For a lot of us, one of these changes is working from home. Teleworking offers greater flexibility and comfort, but it also comes with its own unique challenges. Here are some tips for teleworking success during COVID-19.

Establish a Workspace and Work Hours

If you have space for a home office, wonderful. If not, set up a folding table in the bedroom, commandeer part of the dining room table, or find another area where you can set up your workspace. Having your equipment set up and ready to go each day will save time and minimize distractions. It’s also important to communicate with other members of the household about your work hours, and ask them to respect the fact that, even though you’re at home, you’re still on the job.

Maintain a Routine

When you used to commute to the office each day, you probably had a morning routine. Sticking to that same pattern can help get you in the mindset for work and normalize your new working environment. Get up at the same time, get dressed, and eat a healthy breakfast before heading into the “office.” This signals to your brain that it’s time to work and helps you to be more productive. Make sure you take a lunch break, as well as regular short breaks to step away from the computer so you can come back refreshed.

Set Goals

Hopefully you and your boss are still communicating regularly, but whether that’s the case or not, working from home probably offers you greater freedom and less supervision. Because of this, it’s important to set realistic goals for yourself so you can stay motivated and perform your job to the best of your ability. Sharing your goals with your boss and coworkers is also a great way to stay in touch and show that you’re dedicated to doing your best work at all times.

Allow Room for Interruptions

Despite your best efforts, the likelihood is that you will experience interruptions from family members, pets, or others. Planning for interruptions and keeping your schedule flexible enough to accommodate them can prevent you from becoming frustrated and allow you to adjust to the new rhythm of working from home.

Teleworking during COVID-19 can be tricky, but you can do it successfully as you balance work and play, keep yourself motivated, and allow time to adapt to changing circumstances.

Stress, anxiety, worry—these are the emotions we expect to deal with when it comes to COVID-19. But another common reaction—which has come as a surprise to many—is grief.

What are we grieving?

While each person’s individual circumstances are different, we are all experiencing a loss of normalcy, a loss of connection, and a sense that the world will be changed after an experience like this. We’re grieving the way things used to be, and perhaps the way things could have been if a global pandemic hadn’t interrupted our way of life. Many of us may also be experiencing anticipatory grief—a sadness that comes from contemplating an uncertain future, or from thinking about something we know we’ll lose someday.

The stages of grief

As you go through the grieving process, it’s helpful to understand the stages of grief: Denial, anger, bargaining, sadness, acceptance, and meaning. These stages may happen in a different order for different people, but recognizing what stage of grief you’re in and trying to find meaning in your emotions and experiences can help you to manage what you’re feeling.

How can we manage our grief?

Mindfulness techniques are particularly useful for dealing with anticipatory grief. By keeping you centered in the present they can help you prevent yourself from grieving things that haven’t yet happened and may never happen. Focus on your breath and recognize the reality of things as they are in this moment. Even mentally describing objects in your home or reminding yourself that in this moment you are well, sheltered, and fed can mitigate the intensity of your grief.

Be patient and compassionate with yourself and those around you. Everyone grieves differently, and everyone is trying to cope with a very stressful and frightening time. It’s okay if you, your coworkers, or your family members aren’t at their best right now. Recognize that when you or someone else acts in a way that isn’t typical, it’s a manifestation of grief and fear, not who you or they truly are as a person.

Focusing on what you can control (washing your hands, maintaining appropriate social distance, etc.) and letting go of what you can’t control (other people’s actions and emotions) can give you a sense of empowerment and calm to take the place of grief and anxiety.

Although it’s difficult, accept the open-ended nature of things at this time. We don’t know when this crisis will end, but we know it will. Looking back at our history, whether global, national, or personal, teaches us that crises are temporary. Sometimes it helps to take a moment to remind yourself that this won’t last forever, and you will get through it.

Moving through grief

Remember, you have to feel and accept your emotions in order to move through them. Although grief may be an unexpected reaction to COVID-19, it’s completely natural, and you’re not alone in what you’re feeling. Recognize your grief, accept it, learn from it, and continue to move forward, knowing that this is a temporary situation and that your grief will eventually pass.

If you need help coping with your grief during this time, there is support available. Our counselors and therapists are offering telehealth services so that we can safely help you during this difficult time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you feel you need it.

Taking care of high-energy kids probably wasn’t what you had in mind for your golden years. You’ve spent your life working and raising your own children, and just when you thought it was finally time to focus on yourself, plans changed. Providing your grandchildren with a safe, stable, and loving home is one of the most selfless things you can do, but it isn’t easy. So it’s important to take steps to make sure your mental health is in good shape while you do it.

Take Care of Yourself

First and foremost, take good care of yourself. If your own needs aren’t met, it’s going to be very difficult to provide for others. So make your health a priority, set aside time for yourself, and ask for help so you can take a break when you need it.

Eliminate Guilt and Blame

Sometimes the reasons you’re raising your grandchildren can be heartbreaking. Drug and alcohol abuse, incarceration, and mental illness are just a few reasons that grandparents step into a parent’s place. In situations like this, especially if the parent is your own child, it’s common to feel as though you did something wrong and are somehow to blame. This is not true! Remember, everyone’s choices are their own, and there is no need to feel guilty on behalf of someone else.

Get Support

It can be hard to talk about and deal with the challenges you face as you raise your grandkids. Reach out to a trusted friend, religious or community leader, or professional counselor for mental and emotional support. People like this can help you talk through problems, assist with finding solutions and resources, and offer a listening ear.

Raising your grandchildren may not be easy, but it helps when you can take care of yourself, recognize that people are responsible for their own actions, and share the journey with others.

Your self-image—the way you view yourself and your beliefs about how other people see you—is important to your overall mental health. It affects your self-esteem, anxiety levels, relationships, and ability to achieve goals. Improving your self-image can help you to live a happier life, but unfortunately, many people have thoughts or experiences that lead them to think poorly of themselves. You can turn this around by embracing the process of building up your self-image with these simple steps:

Accept Imperfection

Nobody is perfect, so resist the urge to be overly critical of your mistakes or flaws. Instead, look at them as an opportunity to learn and grow. As you overcome challenges and learn from mistakes, you will learn to see yourself as a strong, motivated person who is always trying to become better, by paradoxically, accepting your flaws.

Be Honest with Yourself

To improve your self-image, it’s critical that you learn to be objective, open, and honest with yourself about who you are. Pay attention to your conscience, but be careful of your inner critic—that voice that says you aren’t good enough. Destructive thoughts like this are lies. When your inner critic starts to talk, evaluate what it says and rephrase it honestly and positively. For example, if your inner critic says, “I’m no good at this. I’ll never be smart enough to get it,” tell yourself, “That’s not true. This is something new that I’m learning. I will get better at it as I continue trying.”

Change What You Can Change

As you’re honest, you will probably identify things you don’t like about yourself. We all have them. If this is something you can change—work on it! If you’ve honestly assessed yourself and believe you need to make a change, look for small, demonstrable ways to make it happen, even if the results aren't immediate. If you recognize that you have a quick temper for instance, try doing something each day that has a calming effect, and practice apologizing if you say or do something you shouldn’t.

Let Go of What You Can’t Change

Sometimes you’ll identify something you don’t like about yourself, but can’t realistically change. It’s important to accept these things about yourself and move on. Realize that things like this are okay, and they don’t affect your value as a person.

Improving your self-image is a process, but it leads to a healthier, happier, more vibrant you. As you learn to love yourself, you’ll find that you’re better able to treat others with kindness and compassion too, and you’ll be less worried about what other people think. Rather than let media or other influences define who you should be, you’ll be able to project your positive self-image to the rest of the world, so they can see the good and unique person you truly are.

There are many ways of expressing love, and most people have one or two ways that they most commonly demonstrate affection. These are also usually the same ways that they best identify and understand love when it’s offered to them. It’s important to understand how you and your partner feel and show appreciation, so that you can recognize when they are showing love, and adjust your own way of offering love to them so that they can truly feel it. Below are the most common five ways to express love.

Gifts

Some people express and feel love through gift-giving. Giving flowers, clothes, a favorite treat, or a handmade item is one way people demonstrate that they are thinking about you.

Acts

Another way to express love is to do something kind or helpful for another person. By doing a chore or making a meal for your loved one, you can show them that they are important to you.

Time

Spending quality time together is also an expression of love. When a person gives you their undivided attention, or makes time to take a walk or do another activity together, they are expressing that you are a priority in their life.

Touch

Love can be expressed through physical affection. Holding hands, giving a back rub, embracing, or kissing are often used to express love and attachment.

Words

Some people feel and demonstrate love through words. Giving compliments and encouragement, saying “I love you,” and leaving notes of affection and appreciation are all ways of letting people know how much they mean to you.

If you and your partner have different ways of expressing and feeling love, it can lead to misunderstanding and frustration in your relationship—but it doesn’t have to. Most couples do love each other and want their partner to feel that love. Understanding how the other person shows and feels affection, and being willing to express your feelings in the way they best receive them, can help both of you to feel loved and fulfilled in your relationship.