Top 10 Things I've learned or done while being home during COVID-19
I’ve been home 97% of the time in the last 47 Days and every day I’m learning new things about myself, doing things I’ve avoided for years or become more patient about things I used to flip out about when they weren’t going my way or on my time table. While there have been a heaping handful of bad days and sad moods, there have also been some breakthroughs, wildly fun times or things I’ve accomplished that I’m super proud of!
47 Days @ Home
Here’s what I’m learning and how I’ve grown.
1. In a virtual world, I'm always on time. I have zero excuses to be late and being punctual is being gracious with other people's time. Prior to this, I've struggled to be anywhere without being 5 to 10 minutes late. Right now, it feels good to be on time.
2. I've taught 5 online workshops about self-care, mindfulness and how to tap into good energy in uncertain times. I’ve taught for SWEAT MINNESOTA, MOVE4MASKS and Jasna Burza’s UPLEVEL TOGETHER MASTERMIND since this all began and it’s been such an opportunity to be of service while growing personally. I'd never done online workshops before and the first 2 were tough because it's different to lead people in meditation when you can't read the energy of the room. One time my FB live wouldn't start. There have been hiccups but they all somehow worked out. I've become a better speaker and teacher - something I might not have experienced before the slowdown. An opportunity to deepen my skills has presented itself and more than ever I see how relevant the work I'm doing is. My next workshop is Saturday May 2nd @ 9am CST. Click image below for details.
My next FREE workshop is on May 2nd at 9am CST on Facebook Live. Click for event details.
3. I finally made the vision board I've been talking about doing for 4 years and it feels so good to create art out of pictures and magazine clippings to manifest good things for my future. I was also able to make a video about a GOOD MOOD BOARD I created for an ArtBuddies project. It’s a fun project for adults or kids to do (or the whole family together). It’s the same idea as a vision board, but it includes things you love or make you feel good. Looking at things like that bring you a spark of good energy, which you can build on!
4. In March I started taking virtual classes to learn Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. When I hired Windmiller Designs to re-do my website this fall, I got so into the design process and loved it so much. I felt at a disadvantage because I didn't really know the tools, so I've decided to learn them for myself. It's actually been so hard, but I force myself through the online lessons.
Windmiller Design Group created an amazing logo for The World of Doug and Halle Hauer did my illustrations. Now, I get to play around with them and create cool content to promote my workshops and events.
5. I have a vintage chair I bought 3 years ago at FindFurnish and the seat cushion is so depressed from being sat on for years before we got it. I opened the seam in the back and stuffed it with cotton from another pillow that was too fluffy. I then sewed it back up. I'm not the DIY furniture fixing type, but I'm at home a lot more and want to use the chair more so it got to a point that I fixed it.
6. I started taking online college classes. I graduated college 20 yrs ago and never wanted to "go back to school". I'm currently taking "The Science of Wellbeing", an online course developed by Yale University and it feels so good to learn in a virtual classroom environment. I'm also taking a class on Buddhism in the modern world at Princeton. All these courses can be found on Coursera and some are free. I'm learning a lot and it's stuff I can add into the workshops I teach about mindfulness and happiness. I've also got 100% on my last 2 quizzes in my Yale class. It feels good to learn in a structured environment.
I have dedicated Sunday afternoons to taking my Science of Wellbeing Course from Yale on Coursera.
7. I appreciate my husband more. He used to travel about 40% of the time for work and I was running around here and there for my work or social life and at times we were two ships passing during the week. We've been together every day for 47 days and it's been wonderful. As he works from home I’m really able to see how hard he works and how much he cares about what he does. I’ve also learned that there are 4 ways to refer to the same type of meeting: 1) A stand-up meeting, 2) An all-hands meeting, 3) A Huddle, and 4) A State of the Union. They all mean the same thing: A meeting with several people. He also says things like, “We’re chewing at that today”, which means reading a presentation or reviewing a document, or in essence, digging into it. It’s been fun having him home.
I will also say, I'm a pretty independent person partly because my husband travels so much and as social as I am, I’m at times introverted. So being among a husband and a dog at all times has been good for me. I'm becoming a lot more interdependent and welcome the love and companionship of my husband on the daily.
The two men in my life who have been by my side for the last 47 days bring me a lot of JOY!
8. I'm more patient. Like way more. A week ago I realized my car battery is dead. My AAA membership had lapsed and I felt compelled to take matters into my own hands. I bought a portable jumpstarter over the weekend that took 40 hours to charge before I could use it. I called my mechanic and he walked me through how to do it. I was sending him pictures and he was calling me to direct me. I tried it on Monday and it didn't work. So I reinstated AAA and have to wait 3 days to use it. So, I sit patiently. Months ago I would have had to figure this out immediately. Now I'm like, it will happen when it happens. My need for immediate answers and fixes has waned. That's huge.
I’m a Popular Mechanics hopeful, taking images, marking them up and sending to my mechanic!
9. Sometimes I eat candy for breakfast and just allow it to happen. There are days I feel like I should work out, but then don't. As someone who teaches mindfulness and tools to cultivate good energy, there are some days I just don't want to participate in doing anything to feel good or take care of my emotional wellbeing. Some days I just want to feel like shit and eat junk food I allow myself to. I tell myself Marie Antoinette would want it that way. Then, the next day I'm back on my work out game, eating healthy and meditating. Each day is a new mental health adventure. I am not trying to force it on days I'm not feeling it. Some days you just need to feel bad.
10. I have spent HOURS creating good lighting, making sure I have good sound and creating a visually pleasing background environment for my Zoom calls. I have turned my tiny office into my studio and it feels really good to know I can make it work and look good. I got to go on Twin Cities Live for the first time and it was virtually and my lighting and sound were flawless because I'd spent so much time tweaking it weeks before when I started teaching workshops at home. If nothing more, I'm 100% dedicated to my craft of visual aesthetics!