How to manage your anxiety, stay healthy, and adjust your goals or create new ones!
When faced with a crisis like the coronavirus, one of the most important things is how we can manage our emotions, anxiety, and make adjustments.
We quickly learn to accept how we feel about the situation, and also we quickly learn what we can do about it.
We have to create a routine that can give us stability since everything is uncertain. What we can do is to set out our goals on paper. This is old fashioned but grab a piece of paper and create two columns. Then, in one column, write down what we can control. In the other column write down what we can’t control.
What we want to do is shift our focus to what we can control. We want to create goals focusing on what we can control.
You can control to take care of your basic needs, your health, also create a daily structure, create a comfortable environment, and set up goals around it.
Our health is the most important goal. We need a strong immune system since the virus is all over the world and we need to be healthy to be able to cope. We also have to take care of our mental, physical and emotional health.
When you are setting up new goals, use the SMART guide.
[S]pecific: Focus on concrete, specific actions. For example, eat healthy and exercise regularly.
Your goals have to be Measurable. For example, measure how many meals you will prepare and when you want to have them. Have three meals per day and don’t eat too late (i.e. after 8pm). Exercise three or four times per week, or whatever is right for you:
[M]easure your progress. Keep score.
[A]djustable: You can adjust your goals. Everything is uncertain. For example, you might have to readjust your goal because of your health. And [A]sk others for feedback on your progress. Get some coaching. A coach helps you measure your progress and keep score, and has experience so you will know your mistakes and also know how to correct them. For example, you can start eating nuts and dried fruits instead of cake and ice cream. Or maybe use the cake and ice cream as a reward. Everyone needs coaching on this subject!
[R]ealistic (attainable): Set challenging long-term goals rather than easy ones, but they should be achievable. For example, if you only want to lose or gain 1 pound, it might be too easy. Or if you don’t exercise it might be a too big step to set up a goal to exercise every day as a first step.
[T]ime-based: Identify target dates for goal accomplishment, give a time frame.
Use this guide when you are setting up new goals. Set daily and weekly goals as stepping stones to your long-term goals and keep your goals clear and positive.
Create a daily structure because it gives you stability.
Whenever there is a change, the hardest part is always the beginning. If you have a structure it helps to manage your anxiety because it gives you a framework for your day, your week, your life.
Here is an example for getting started:
6:30am – wake up
7:00am – meditation
7:20am – exercise
8:00am – breakfast
9:00am – 12:00pm work
12:00pm – 12:30pm lunch
13:00pm – 6pm work
6:30pm – 7pm dinner
7pm – 9pm downtime
10/11pm – sleep
We are social animals and we need connection with others. Making time to keep in touch with friends, family, colleagues, and adding some humor always helps.
If you need some help to create a daily routine for you or your family, with structure/goal setting, or if you want to get some help on how to cope with stress in this uncertain situation — reach out to me!
Best,
Dora