Look Ahead! A Stress Reduction Hack for Quarantine Time

Many of my readers may not know, but even though most of my professional life was spent in prehospital emergency medicine, my doctoral degree is actually in counseling. That’s one of the reasons I’m able to help my coaching clients so much by utilizing the skills I’ve learned from counseling.

Since the isolation and quarantines began in force, much of my work with clients has been focused on finding the right balance between…

  • Working from home
  • Trying to stay sane and healthy
  • Kids doing school at home
  • Out of work or on furlough
  • Trying to create something new
  • Finding toilet paper and hand sanitizer

Here’s a little secret that I’m telling everyone.

Keep a Post-Coronavirus File!

Here’s what that looks like.

  1. Keep a file, box, or envelope of things you want to do or need to do once this is over.
  2. Place physical items in your container. Digital is great, but I’ve found that things you can hold onto make a big difference.
  3. Add to it whenever needed.
  4. Pull it out and look at it once a week. Handle the items and notes in there.
  5. Once this crap is over, make plans for completing each one.

Here’s a look inside my file:

  • A note to visit the Tervis store. I returned some damaged Tervis cups, and the new ones were delivered back to the store just before everything shut down. Our family loves Tervis dishes, and they have an amazing warranty policy.
  • Two DVDs from the library. When my library closed, they said to keep any books for now so they didn’t end up in a return bin just sitting there. No late fees of course. I use my library a lot, and I can’t wait to get back to grab some movies and the new Jack Reacher audio to listen to in my car.
  • A drawing of my next tattoo. I’ll show you this one once it’s done. Don’t want to spoil the surprise.
  • Plans I’d made for celebrating my wife’s birthday in late April, which is all post-poned for now.

So tell me, what’s going in your Post-Coronavirus To Do File?

Dr. Dave

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