Like a lot of people these days I found myself with a little extra time to think about what is happening to us all. I just could not resist sharing a few thoughts with you as many of you are working from your home for the first time ever.
As I started to put keyboard to screen, I realized I had two very different articles.
The Serious Version
1. Go Outside And Take A Walk At Least Once A Day
If you stick around inside your home or apartment all day everyday you are going to go insane. I am speaking from deep experience here.
No matter how bad the weather, you need to breathe fresh air or whatever it is we are breathing these days.
Since the gyms are closed, you might want to go out for a jog or a bike ride. That is exactly what I’m about to do.
Spring is here and, as far as we know, you can’t contract the virus should you accidentally touch a tree.
2. Do Not Watch The News 24 X 7
Binge watching the news now is not good for you. There is nothing good going on – in case you have not heard.
- No one knows how long this will last.
- No one knows how bad the stock market will get.
- No one knows when we will get to the other side of this.
If you just watch the news all day, you will go insane – another thing I know from deep experience.
I’m almost praying we get regular news soon. There has to be something out there that will change the conversation – an earthquake, a bus crash, something…please. We are desperate.
How bad could it be?
3. Stop Working All the Time
Now you know what a dream it is to work from home, right? No more miserable commutes. No more being 30 minutes late to a big sales pitch.
But wait, you can now work when you want right?
Yes, but that’s the problem. First time home workers are seeing the double edge sword of remote working. You can sort of work when you want – which means you are probably working more than usual!
Remember, dinner has not yet been put in quarantine. It’s ok to stop working when you usually do (assuming you usually do).
4. Learn WordPress
That’s right. You now have some extra time and you’ve always wanted to make a web site. Maybe it’s just a little blog to discuss what it’s like to work out of the home.
Maybe it’s a little more ambitious. Maybe you’re thinking of building the next Amazon where you’ll actually be able to buy toilet paper.
This is what you do. Go to my Complete List Of Free WordPress Videos For Beginners and start from there. If you’re already a WP Ninja, tell your friends.
The Funny Version
1. Do Not Go Outside
If you’re a bit of a hermit or a couch potato, this virus is the greatest thing to have ever happened to you.
Just sit around all day and eat the worst food you can. It might not be that good for you but you will feel so much better eating Snicker bars all day instead of your usual lunch time diet of kale.
No one is going to see you for weeks or months to come. Time to pack it on.
I’m giving you permission to have that third Dove bar today. It’s ok.
2. Watch As Much TV As Possible
Forget all the coronavirus news.
With Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and the rest, you can catch up on every episode of anything you never saw.
Did Mommy and Daddy not let you watch the Sopranos? Go for it. Missed all of Homeland? It’s waiting for you. I’ll bet you can even see every episode of Thirtysomething.
It’s National Binge Time baby!
3. Work All The Time
Now you’ve seen that you can work from the moment you wake up to the time you hit the hay. It’s a dream come true.
You don’t have to worry anymore about the bad coffee breath you get by 10AM. Hell, you don’t even need to brush your teeth or comb your hair until the Zoom conference starts.
But you still have to wash your hands.
4. Learn WordPress
Oh, I’m repeating myself!
Karen J Radley says
Very amusing and all of it true. I am doing my best to hang in but fall into all the traps listed above. Last night I stopped working at a reasonable hour only to spend the night doing laundry, substituting one type of work for another. I am buying fruit and trying to snack on that while planning the next thing I bake. I spend nights offering to pay mom to turn off MSNBC, just too depressing, and my days trying to avoid the NYTimes headlines. I am hoping this thing ends soon so I will not be subjected to one more COVID-19 task force briefing.
You forgot one major stress reliever at this time, reading! I haven’t been able to do as much if it as I like since I spend most of my time working.
One other note, you cannot stream Thirtysomething, it is not available anywhere. However, all episodes of Dallas and Dark Shadows are available on Amazon at this time for free but Dallas includes commercials.
Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Bud Kraus says
Karen
Thank you for your thoughtful input here. I’ll stop looking for Thirtysomething now.
Linda Willis says
I loved both the serious and the funny versions, Bud. Now everyone can enjoy the version that suits their mood. I can imagine the adjustments people are making as they learn to work productively at home. It’s been years for me now, but I still remember my biggest adjustment: not having a huge group of fellow workers around me. I still miss the face to face personal interaction … or at least knowing it’s there, right outside my office, whenever I need people contact. Thanks for posting this!
Colleen says
Thanks for the post, Bud! You’re right: how we approach this situation will change how we feel about ourselves and our world. I echo Karen: Read! And when you venture outside for a walk, pocket your phone and enjoy nature. Perhaps tired from all the abuse she’s taken, Mother Nature is reveling in this unusual calm. With fewer cars and airplanes traveling these days, I hear and see more birds. And the sky looks scrubbed clean too.
Bud Kraus says
You know it’s funny, I suppose. I wrote this post a few weeks ago but did not publish until recently. Now things have take a turn for the much worse. I am frightened for me, my wife, my kids, everyone. In the space of two days my Mother-in-law and an Aunt died from Covid-19. How are we going to get through this. The toiler paper jokes now seem like a distant memory.