Well what a weekend that was.
Late on Friday evening, the Times Newspaper broke a story that a new National Lockdown was expected to be announced this week. Like many other small business owners, I then spent a largely sleepless night wondering about the impact of such a move. We knew it would happen sometime … but the reality was tough to get your head round. Then came Saturday, the delayed press conferences and rumours and finally the announcement of a new lockdown in the UK from 12.01am on Thursday.
If you feel a little punch-drunk by all these announcements and new restrictions, I hear you. It feels like a blow to receive this news as we’ve done. This second lockdown feels harder to face, with many businesses already struggling, with darker night and poorer weather, with Christmas only a short time away. What can we do?
I spent a few hours pondering these questions and came up with the following five ideas that I wanted to share. They’re not exhaustive, they aren’t necessarily world-changing. But I hope they may help.
Start by deliberately lifting your spirits
I know the temptation today will be to dive into planning or thinking for this new lockdown. Before you do, take some time to deliberately lift your spirits. Stick on your favourite music. Walk somewhere beautiful. Speak to a loved one. Make a conscious effort to lift your head.
The best thing you could do today might be to take a day for you and allow everything to settle.
Doing all this won’t solve the problem’s we are facing but it will help you look up rather than down. Looking up will make a difference to the day you have infront of you.
Reach out
The temptation today will be to feel isolated and alone. Lockdown pushes us apart and we need to make a conscious effort to come together. Reach out to friends, supporters and peers today. If you need help. ask for it - you never know what might happen.
If you’re a small business owner or self-employed in Sheffield then why not post any needs you have on our Facebook group. If you’re elsewhere, why not band together with other people and start community or small business support groups where you are.
If you need someone to talk to, reach out to a friend. If you’re struggling at all and need a chat with someone about how to look after your mental health, why not sign up for one of our Wellbeing Check-Ins which are free and can signpost you to support.
Break problems down
All of this feels overwhelming when you look at it as a whole.
Why not take a piece of paper and break all the worries and problems you have down into smaller parts. Then ask simple questions of each smaller part - what do I have to do first, what can wait? What’s in my control and what’s not? When you identify a problem thats not in your control you can be assured that you can let it go.
Check out this example we use in our training.
Break it down
We took a big problem - a client withdrawing business - and broke it down into five parts (in brown) then asked questions of it (in blue), ordered actions (in green) and noted things not in my control (pink.)
Make a plan for your own wellbeing
The following month or so will undoubtedly present us with challenges. There will be many things that we can’t anticipate. However, there are some things we can plan for. Given that we went through a lockdown before in the Spring, we probably learnt some things about ourselves and our wellbeing.
It may not feel like it right now, but you and your wellbeing are vital. Each of us are important and looking after ourselves in this time is crucial. So why not make a plan? Here’s a few questions you could consider.
What sort of routine will help you in the coming month?
Who are the people you know can really help you when it’s hard?
Who can you reach out to support?
What rhythms and routines will help you feel well? e.g. exercise, taking time off
How might you foster that sense of wonder and beauty which often lifts our wellbeing?
What challenges might you face? e.g. did you sleep well last time? Was it easy or hard to work at home?
What healthy habits can lift your spirits when you need them?
How are you going to foster connection with others?
You could shape your answers around a wellbeing model like our Wellbeing Triangle, which suggests you balance a sense of self, connection with others and sense of the other. Check out this article which explains more.
When you’ve answered these questions and any others you think of, write down a simple plan for your wellbeing for this lockdown. Refer to it regularly, add things when they occur to you and especially make use of it when you need to.
Expect the unexpected
If last lockdown was anything to go by, unexpected things will happen.
Last time we described it like a snow-globe being shaken up every morning. This can be disconcerting for planners amongst us. It is destabilising and can increase our sense of stress.
But with the snow globe in the end, if we wait, patterns form and the chaos settles down again. We can see clearly after a while.
In these uncertain times maybe resist the desire to plan too far ahead. Whenunexpected things come be prepared for them, that they are inevitable and try to accept them. When we can accept realities, even if they are challenging - we can begin to see change.
“It is clear that the coming winter will be a hard one. There is no way for us to sugar-coat what is a trying and challenging time for our country and the world. But this is what we do know. People are incredible. There have been tough times before and we have made it through.
Here at Space to Breathe we want to applaud every single one of you dealing with circumstances which would have been unimaginable a year ago.
We want to be there for you at this time, so if we can help or support just ask.
Contact one of the team or email info@spacetobreatheuk.com. ”
Andy Freeman
Director & Founder of Space to Breathe.
You can continue the conversation with Andy on LinkedIn or on twitter @AndyFMusings