Strange Times, Be Kind

Hi Everyone,

You've heard it a million times already; we are living in strange and unprecedented times.

It is unnerving and frustrating and putting us all out of whack. Many of us are restless to do something that contributes to the 'greater good' and when we have no outlet for that we feel hopeless and our mental wellbeing takes a beating.

I want to take a moment to remind you to be kind.

Outward Kindness

First and foremost, be kind to others. Doing the right thing for the greater good is relatively simple; stay home as much as possible. While I'm repeating shit you're probably familiar with, I feel like it'd be wrong to write this post and not include it. If you do need to leave the house, take every precaution to ensure you are not contributing to the spread of this illness.

Recommended measures include

Wearing a mask to prevent spread or inhalation of droplets.
Social distancing; maintaining a 2meter radius between yourself and others.
Washing your hands frequently with hot soap and water (more effective than antibacterial gel).
Wearing gloves when shopping; avoid touching items unnecessarily, only touch what you plan to buy.
Avoid touching your face.

Additional measures I have seen

Wiping down common surfaces before touching; eg handles on doors, trollies, baskets, self service tills, card machines, mobile phones.
Take shoes off before entering your house, clean them thoroughly.
Take off clothing worn outdoors and wash asap.
Washing purchased items before putting shopping away.

Worth knowing:

The Covid19 virus survives and remains viable longer on some surfaces than its predecessor - notably plastic, cardboard and stainless steel.

The virus can remain viable in an aerosol form for at least three hours.

Reference here

This virus is deadly; not just for the old and immunocompromised. Be responsible.

Inward Kindness

Now to the reason I really wanted to write to you.

I know that a lot of us feel pressured to be hella productive and make use of all this time we suddenly have. Especially if your passion is normally relegated to a side hustle due to a day job.

Of course, there is enormous potential to be productive and do awesome shit but take a beat first. If you normally don't work from home, it's going to take time to adjust. Your work space is created to be as efficient as possible for work, that doesn't happen at home immediately. You may not have all the gear you're used to using and there will be distractions. You will have to make compromises. That is totally fine. If its taking you a while to get going, don't sweat it.

I work from home full time and honestly, I have never been so unproductive as I have these last couple of weeks. It's okay. I have given myself some time to think about this shit, to go through the emotions that come with an event of this scale. I'm making more effort to check in with friends and family. I'm spending a lot of time on my phone. All fine until a point.

I know that if I endlessly keep absorbing shit without creating I will make myself unhappy. So I've given myself a couple of weeks and now it's back to regaining order; tidying work spaces to reset, making a to do list; promising myself to knock at least one thing off a day and then two and then three, until I'm back on track.

It's cool to give yourself a break. We need that. Play video games, binge watch shit, surf stuff online. Distraction is fine and necessary. Just make sure you have a line drawn in the sand for when it's time to get going again.

For myself and many others, passive pursuits (like watching stuff) provide some enjoyment but no sense of achievement so prolonged periods spent in that state can lead to wellbeing crumbling. We're in this for the long haul taking care of your mental health is every bit as important as taking steps to stop the spread of Covid19; because the impact of this pandemic will survive far longer than the virus.

Classy Burd has many a handy tip for routine building/maintaining, I recommend giving this a watch.

Other acts of kindness

If you have cash to spare;

Support (local) small business and independent creatives order from your favourite local joint and request contact free delivery if not specified.
Support those artists you follow on instagram via Patreon
Attend digital events and shows; if the option is available tip the performers through paypal or other applicable cash apps
Ditch big highstreet retails and surf apps like depop, vinted and ebay.Many people will be turning to these to support their income in light of many work places being closed.

If you don't;

Funds are understandably really tight for many people but by sharing small businesses and creatives, you are still helping. Even if people can't purchase now, every follow is a potential customer after everything has settled down.

Every additional person you share your favourite virtual event with, is another potential person that can throw some cash to the organisers.

Right now connecting with people - from a government sanctioned distance ^_~ - is one of the best ways we can make it through this weirdness.

Stay healthy, stay safe,

Much love,
Tiffany xo