As our sense of “normal” shifts — seemingly by the day — it’s natural to be experiencing a range of emotions. Grief over the lifestyles we’ve temporarily lost; fear of the uncertainty we continue to face; gratitude for the things that really matter most; our minds and hearts are grappling with a ton of conflicting thoughts and feelings each day.
Someone recently shared a framework developed by Erin Sills of High Impact Labs that I found to be equally realistic and impactful. She calls it RAAR for reflect, assess, adjust and repeat. I love the patience, awareness and acceptance this framework requires us to have. The ability to identify how we’re feeling and take measures to shift our mindset and actions accordingly is what makes humans so incredibly resilient.
As you’re reflecting, assessing and adjusting, consider some of these best practices:
Honour your routine.
Continue to set your alarm clock as you typically would, get dressed and ready as though you aren’t working from home, build boundaries around your working hours and spend time outside every day if you’re able to. This is a small part of life that you can continue to control, as you relinquish control in other areas.
And build upon it.
If you don’t often make time for self-care in your day-to-day life, this is the perfect opportunity to prioritize it. Self-care can take any number of forms, from knitting and reading to exercising or even exfoliating. Focus on building new routines that rejuvenate you, be it emotionally, mentally or kinesthetically.
Find new ways to connect.
The B.C government has recently shifted their language from “social distancing” to “physical distancing” to help emphasize that just because we’re staying in our homes, doesn’t mean we should sacrifice the value of our relationships. FaceTime, Google Hangouts and Zoom make it easy to keep having face-to-face conversations. Or try apps like Houseparty that include interactive games within a private video call that everyone in your family will love. Most importantly, when you do connect with loved ones, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Practice increased patience.
The RAAR framework really all comes down to being patient with yourself. It’s natural to be operating differently than how you’re used to — whether that means needing more time to process information or extra motivation to get off the couch. Keep in mind that we’re all in this together, and everyone else is deserving of a bit more patience right now, too.
As a society, we will come out of this more resilient and better equipped, with improved healthcare infrastructure, advanced science and greater compassion for one another. Let’s do our best to keep that in mind as we take this one day at a time.