Elevated exposure to COVID-19 is part of the territory when it comes to my line of work in real estate. We have to focus on ensuring our community of tenants and investors are served, and that means that, at times, we are at higher risk for exposure while performing tasks like due diligence and site visits. With Omicron becoming more prevalent, I had the likely inevitable happen after completing a site visit: a positive COVID test. I was fortunate enough to only experience mild symptoms like a stuffy nose and low fever, but the real impact I felt was during the required isolation period to protect my family and others from infection. 

While at first I was frustrated and focusing on how bored I was because I couldn’t do things that I normally would, something clicked during that isolation period. It was actually a rather very enlightening experience. I realized that without the constant distractions from my family and work obligations, I was able to truly be in control of my time and my life. It made me realize how much I typically blame external factors for why I can’t get things done, but really I am always capable of owning and managing my own life. I just need to shift that locus of control belief back a few degrees towards myself vs external factors, and shift my mindset back to focus on the positive opportunity this down time was providing to me

A quick disclaimer: In no way do I mean to downplay the impact that getting COVID can have on one’s health or family. Everyone’s recovery does not look the same. If you are feeling the serious impacts of having COVID on your health or family, of course we advocate that you take care of yourself and your family first and foremost. There is no need to feel any kind of pressure to be productive. 

For those of you who may have experienced a mild or asymptomatic case like myself, and are finding some extra time on your hands while you are in isolation, I wanted to share how you can focus on the silver lining instead of the grey cloud. Instead of fixating on all of the things you can’t do during this time, focus on what you can do! Here’s a list of the best ways to make your time in isolation beneficial, both personally and professionally.

Experiment with your morning routine

In the absence of waking up at 6:30AM to my kids jumping in my bed, I actually had the opportunity to focus on what I wanted my daily morning routine to be and establish some new habits. I have made a lot of excuses in the past year about why I wasn’t able to get into this rhythm and putting off making the morning routine I wanted into a daily habit. This isolation period put an expiration on my excuses. 

So, I first started by not setting my alarm and trying to find out what my natural wake up time was. Then, after I was awake and alert, I started each day intentionally starting with meditation, followed by journaling, and then by listening to an audiobook on my “reading” list. Why these three things? Because these are proven habits that high performers do every morning to start their day. If all of those feel like a lot at once, try picking one habit and focus on doing it consistently, every morning. Then, once it is part of your routine, you can build in additional habits.

Practice mindfulness

This kind of goes hand in hand with the morning routine, but you don’t have to restrict it to just the mornings. There are many ways to bring more mindfulness into your day to day life. In fact, mindful morning habits such as meditation, yoga, journaling, or simply writing down what you are grateful for each day are common habits of high performers. It can feel like a burden to try to change up your routine when you have a full day of work, family commitments, and just all around adulting to juggle. So why not try to incorporate one of these habits while some of these pressures are lightened. 

Think of this as a trial period. Try one of these for a few days and see which one you enjoy and seems to make a positive impact on your mood and daily outlook. Then you can decide which you’d like to take forward into your post isolation life. 

Focus on your health

This might sound a bit obvious because you are literally recovering but I did find I was actually able to incorporate some new exercise routines into my day during this period. Of course, only do this when you are asymptomatic and have gotten the ok from your doctor to do so. While I do not recommend doing strenuous exercise or going on an extreme diet while you are sick, I do believe this can be a great opportunity to experiment with some small healthy tweaks. 

Case in point: I have 2 energetic kids that seem to always have a snack in their hand. Quite frankly, it’s really hard not to constantly nibble on whatever they leave on the table. Over the years, that nibbling has added up to some weight gain that I decided I wanted to focus on losing this year. Being by myself during isolation allowed me to break that snacking habit and focus on my own intake of food. For exercise, I started practicing light yoga, which helped improve my concentration and ability to stay in the “flow” state longer when I was working. I then capped off my evenings with a few lavender salt soaks in the bathtub to calm my mind. As strange as it is to say, after 5-7 days of this routine, I emerged a better, healthier and more patient person. These are habits I decided I would carry forward into regular, post-isolation life.

Revisit your reading list

If you're like me, you have an ever growing list of books that you aspire to read. And every time you cross one off, you hear another recommendation from your favorite podcast or a friend and the list grows. Why not use this time to sit down and actually read through one of those books end to end? It’s way more productive than a Netflix binge, and can actually help unlock a new idea or overcome a challenge you’re currently facing. If you’re reading a nonfiction book like The Go Giver or Who Not How (two of my current favorites), try keeping a notepad nearby and writing down the key takeaways that resonated with you and what you will implement going forward.

Review your goals (or create them if you haven’t yet)

Now is a great time to sit down and take a look at your annual goals, or write them if you haven't already tackled this task. Goals can be one of those to-do’s that feels daunting to tackle. Typically, it’s because we don’t set aside the time to really focus on them. If you haven’t written your goals for this year, start with envisioning what you want your life to look like by the end of this year. If you need some inspiration, use this article as a guide for creating impactful goals that cover all facets of your life. 

If you already have your goals mapped out, try breaking them down into actionable steps that you can focus on each quarter, or even each week for the next few months. This way once you’re back up and running you can have a plan of action to make progress on your ambitions. 

Brainstorm a new idea

Let’s face it. One of the things you definitely have too much of during this period is time to think. Instead of letting your thoughts spiral towards negativity by focusing on what you might be missing out on or being held back from doing, try harnessing some of this down time for a creative brainstorming session. Maybe you have an idea for your business you’ve been wanting to dig into more but keep setting aside, or maybe you have a problem you want to solve but it feels too complex to tackle. 

The key here is to take advantage of a time when you are feeling productive and energized. Turn off any distractions, like your phone and email, and let yourself just think. You can use an old school pen and paper if you want, or try using an online tool like Miro, that has a lot of templates for brainstorming to help guide you a bit more and make your idea easy to share once it’s captured. You’d be amazed at what you can come up with when you set aside time to focus on one thing!

Declutter

According to psychologists, clutter actually makes it difficult to relax both mentally and physically. It’s like seeing all the work you need to do in front of you. I decided to use my isolation time to do some decluttering of the space I was in. When faced with confinement, I was able to examine my surroundings and really decide what is important in my life and what is not. That stack of mail finally got either addressed or shredded. Three bags of clothes that I hadn’t touched in 5 years went to the donation pile. It wasn’t until that clutter was gone that I realized the negative impact it was subconsciously having on me. The act of actually decluttering in and of itself was meditative. Use this time to really go Marie Kondo on an area that has been bothering you and see how it feels when you are done.

Make a new connection or renew an existing one

Sometimes in fleeting moments, I think “I haven’t talked to so and so in a long time, I should reach out!” And then life gets in the way and I typically forget an hour later. Now is a great time to truly connect with someone you’ve been meaning to reach out to, whether personally or professionally. Make a list of people you haven't talked to in a while but would like to catch up with and reach out. If you have new people you want to network with, send them a message and start that conversation. Thanks to all of the various platforms we have available to us today, you can do all of this from the couch. Whether it’s an old friend or a new business contact, one conversation can make a tremendous impact on your personal or professional growth.

While COVID-19 isolation is top of mind right now, in reality, these actions can be taken during any period of downtime or recovery throughout the year. Remember that mindset is everything. You get to choose how you spend your time and what impact that has on your outlook moving forward. If you practice the skill of taking ownership and control over how you experience life in these down times that were not necessarily your “choice”, it will become easier to do in the future and can have a massive positive impact on how you handle experiences in the future. It can’t hurt to try - you have the time, right?

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