We are faced with challenges each and every day. Some challenges are a pleasure to overcome, some… not so much.
At Business Success Consulting Group, we usually provide you with business strategies and techniques to push forward through common difficulties and expand your business. While we are still providing this information right now, many of our current articles, webinars, and one-on-ones are all provided with the unique obstacle presented by stay at home rules and coronavirus protections.
Because this moment in history is so unique, we wanted to do more than provide business tips. Our clients, friends, and networks are working through an extraordinary juncture and we want to help everyone we can to face the obstacles presented with aplomb and - hopefully - with a little bit of joy.
So, we hope you will share the below happiness tips with your coworkers, employees, networks, friends, and family. Our goal here is to provide something for anyone to use to succeed as they face life today.
Happiness Tip #1: Practice Self Care
With everyone changing their work routines, obsessively updating news apps and trying to take care of children who are out of school, it can be hard to remember that we need to take care of ourselves. Here are some very simple tips you can follow to remember to take care of yourself:
- Set out healthy snacks.
Stress eating is extremely common, so set out a stocked fruit bowl instead of making sure you have a bag of chips at your side.
- Continue to exercise.
You may not be going to the gym, but there are many resources to keep your endorphin levels up. Get an exercise app or try some YouTube videos to get your blood pumping.
- Find ways to sleep.
If you are too stressed to sleep, it’s time to create a routine that will help you relax. Sleep experts recommend turning off all electronics or simply leaving them out of your bedroom for at least an hour before sleep. Instead of doing one last-minute check of the news, set aside your phone at 8 or 9 pm and read a book, take a bath, listen to some music, or go out to the back porch and take a breath.
- Eat healthy foods.
Many grocery stores are stocked with fresh produce and fresh (unfrozen) meats. Break out your old health food recipe book or find some healthy recipes on Pinterest and try them out.
- Cut down on caffeine.
It’s still chilly, so sipping a warm drink feels great all day long, but if that drink is coffee, you aren’t staying hydrated. Drink herbal tea or warm up some apple juice with a cinnamon stick to make a comforting brew.
- Remember your healthy habits.
You likely know all of the above, but the changes in your life may have thrown them out of wack. That’s okay. Reset and remember your healthy habits. There are ways to bring those habits back into your life.
- Get an accountability partner.
Talk with a partner, friend, or colleague about partnering up and remembering healthy habits. Start sending them pictures of the awesome salads you are eating or work out with them virtually through an exercise app.
We hope this happiness tip helps to keep you healthy and happy as you make the changes needed to navigate the changes ahead.
Happiness Tip #2: Stick to a schedule
We have mentioned in several previous articles that it’s essential to keep your employee’s work schedule the same by ensuring that normal meetings are held, check-ins are done, etc. The advice of sticking to a schedule goes beyond work, however.
Now that many of us are home more, it’s important to create a self-imposed schedule so that your days at home are productive and fulfilling.
A sample schedule during the workweek is:
6 AM Wake up, have coffee, breakfast, read the news updates, and set a goal for your day.
7 AM Take a walk around the block/an online exercise class, take a shower, change for work.
8 AM - 5 PM Work (usually scheduled meetings and workday)
5 PM Make/order dinner and Skype family//friends.
7 PM Read the last news update for the night.
8 PM Read a book or chip away at a class.
10 PM Get ready for bed.
This extends to the weekend, too. Instead of mourning the lack of get-togethers you have coming up this weekend and spending Saturday and Sunday binging on Netflix, book up with virtual meet-ups or have brunch over FaceTime with a friend. Take a class in something you’ve always wanted to learn or tackle your “to read” stack. Get into your garden or start some seeds in front of a sunny window.
A schedule will ensure that, at the end of every day, you have a) accomplished your goals and b) have connected with those you love.
Happiness Tip #3: Connect with friends and family
Many of us are staying home or only going out for limited activities like vital work and grocery shopping. This doesn’t make for much interaction with those we love.
Fortunately, with modern technology, there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with friends and family. Here are just a few of our favorite apps:
- Zoom
- Marco Polo
- FaceTime (for Apple users)
- Google Duo
- Skype
All of the above apps allow families and friends to connect socially, for business, and more. We hope you continue to foster your valued connections now and into the future!
Happiness Tip #4: Create a fun way to connect
Now is the time to get creative about connecting with friends, family, and coworkers. There are plenty of ways to stay in touch while still maintaining social distancing. Here are just a few:
- Create a virtual work call where you and your usual cohort sit on the call and work together. If you are all used to working next to one another, virtually sit next to your colleague and get to work.
- Arrange a pizza party with the office, friends, or family by ordering pizzas (or some other food) to attendee’s homes and then chat and eat pizza together. If it’s more of a social occasion, you can all watch the same movie together or do some other group activity as well.
- Have a morning coffee break. Set up a call with colleagues, mentors, or networking partners where you all have coffee over a video conference and enjoy each other’s company for 15 minutes.
- Get brunch with a friend. Cook your favorite brunch meal (or order it) and ask a friend to do the same. Then reach out over video call software and chat while you eat.
There are many ways to creatively connect during this time of social distancing. Try some new ideas out and have fun with them!
Happiness Tip #5: Reach out to a mentor or coach
There is no reason to feel you are alone in tackling the challenges presented by social distancing. No matter what your goals are, we want you to succeed.
Connecting with a mentor or coach during this time will provide you with a sounding board and necessary guidance to achieving your goals. Discuss solutions and brainstorm with them so that you can face the day with a positive attitude.
Happiness Tip #6: Find ways to help others
Serving others is always a wonderful way to foster joy, and there are still so many ways to assist. Here are a few ways you can help other people during this time:
- Reach out to friends and ask what they need
- Call an elderly neighbor or family member
- Donate to a charity
- Make masks if you are crafty
- Offer free services
- Provide free articles, webinars, and one-on-ones to your network
- Virtually keep others company by setting up a call and simply going about your day with each other
- Check-in with people you don’t often speak with
- Give a stranger a smile when you go on your morning walk or run
There are many ways you can brighten another’s day!
Happiness Tip #7: Find ways to laugh
When things seem overwhelming, laughter can be the best medicine. Purposefully do something that will make you laugh every single day. You can:
- Play with your child to make him or her laugh
- Read an online comic
- Head to a feel-good news network like The Good News Network or Tank’s Good News
- Play with your pet
- Read cheesy jokes with your partner
- Try to do a physical (but not dangerous!) feat and get someone else to do it with you
- Google “Things to make me laugh” and read or watch them until you laugh!
Laughter improves your health by boosting the immune system, relaxing your body, releasing endorphins, and more! So, try to laugh at least once each day.
Happiness Tip #8: Get organized
No matter what is happening externally, organizing your immediate environment can help create a much-needed area of calm in your life.
Getting organized can be as simple as picking up your space and as complicated as creating a new structure for your business. No matter what your plan is - the important thing is to take it one step at a time and to document the process.
Even if you are simply organizing your desktop, documentation is necessary so that you know where you put essential files, and you understand what is in that “miscellaneous” folder.
So, spend some time each day getting organized and prepared for the future!
Happiness Tip #9: Set a daily goal
No matter where you are at in life, it’s essential to set and reach your goals. The important factors in your goal setting are:
- Ensure your goal is attainable
- If you have a broad overall goal, be sure to break it down so that you can take the next step on your journey today
- Create a task list related to our goal so that you can accomplish what you’d like to get done
Goal setting isn’t confined to the workweek. You can start your Saturday or Sunday off with a goal as well. This may be something as simple as connecting with a family member over a video call, or something as difficult as tackling your Crossfit at-home challenge.
No matter what your goal is, starting each day with a purpose will ensure your day is productive.
Happiness Tip #10: Give yourself time to rest
Working from home while also trying to connect with family and friends on a daily basis can get exhausting. Add children out of school or care to the mix and your days may be whirling by in a flash.
With so much going on and so many new obligations, be sure to give yourself some time to rest. Many of us are trying to use this time to tackle projects that have been sitting on the bottom of our to-dos forever. One of those projects may need to be ensuring that you have the time you need to enjoy some tranquility.
Try to take a long bath or bring your morning coffee out to the porch and take a breath. Be sure you go to bed at a reasonable time and put your phone (and newsfeed) away. Sit with a child and play. Do a puzzle or read a book. Stretch out on a yoga mat or the couch.
You may not catch a lot of relaxation and rest time, and that’s okay. Just try to take a few moments every day to purposefully rest.
Final Thoughts
Here at Business Success Consulting Group, we work every day to help business owners grow their companies so that they may have a better life and provide the resources for employees to expand and grow within the company.
Taking care of ourselves and supporting others is incredibly important to us during this time. We hope you will forward these tips on to your network and that you will follow them yourself so that you can make every day a little bit happier.
Contact our team if you are in need of business consultation. We wish you all great success in your endeavors.
