The world has changed, we can’t go about our day like we once did just weeks before.

There’s a chilling silence in the streets, and an unfamiliar stillness in the air. Few cars on the roads, not a plane in the sky, and every truck passing by, a symbol of absolute necessity.
What once was, is now paused, like the ending of an old fashioned undead movie, we’re left with ‘that’ hand coming out of the ground, not knowing what comes next.

The only way to stay safe, and to keep others safe, is to stop our instincts to be physically social, and stay home.
During these scary, and unsure times, it’s imperative to look after ones mental health and the effects it is having on us, and those around us.

I would argue that quite a few people working in customer facing roles; be it cabin crew like myself, hospitality, retail, or any industry involving engaging with large amounts of people, would likely identify as Ambiverts.
For most people who work in these industries, the current isolation requirements have deemed most of our workforces, as a non essential service during this crisis. And with absolute right. We all must do our part to contain the spread, as best we can.
Suddenly the introverts are the best mentally equiped to handle the adjustments, and the extroverts are left questioning how to pass the time whilst retaining sanity.

But it wasn’t until week 4 into my self isolation that I realised the effect that the dramatic shift of lifestyle that truly meant.

We tend to work significant hours in a customer/client facing environment, that we give our all during those hours. Sometimes we share in their excitement, fears, tribulations, doubts, concerns, or even anger, all whilst expressing our best genuine empathetic emotions.
Which often leads us to want to switch off completely when work is over. Whether we are at home, or in a hotel room, sometimes the day has consumed all of our emotive capability. In order to recharge we tend to isolate from the world, and avoid human interactions that are not in our close circle (sometimes even from them too).

Ambiverts are a complex mix of both ends of the spectrum happily meeting in the middle. We tend to get our fuel from people and are stimulated from our interactions with them.
But we also manage quite well when left to our own devices (for a period of time at least).

So how do we retain or refill that ‘fuel’ to keep going when we are stuck at home, closed off from physical contact?
This is no easy task, for anyone.

If you asked me 6 months ago what I would do with a week off work without plans, I would happily enjoy a week of resting at home accomplishing nothing.

Now however, its been so easy to fall into that trap of just sleeping the day away, naps in-between marathons of tv shows.

Last week, my iPhone showed some frightening stats about my screen time that really showed how inactive I was. Averaging 12-14 hours a day on my phone.
I’m a social person, yes, but if I deducted the time I’m usually seeing family or friends in a day, it doesn’t add up to 14 hours. What on earth has made me pick up my phone 348 times a day on average? What am I missing?

The answer is Routine and Balance.

Something I didn’t realise I had until suddenly i didn’t have a daily purpose.

Like most flight attendants, we live on ‘our own’ timezone. And our schedules can be so turbulent that one questions if it’s possible to maintain a routine at all.

But the truth is, even in our spontaneous nature and disrupted schedules, we still maintain the basis of a routine.
Whether that heading to the gym, going to our favourite coffee place, getting our hair done etc. These all make up things we do consistently on a regular basis that creates a routine. Now take all those things away and what are you left with?
Empty time slots.
Vacancies.

So what do we do with all this time?
Well that’s where our perception needs to adjust in order to combat the pitfalls of emptiness.

If i said to you last year that in 2020 you will have months of copious time on your hands, however you must stay home, would you then see it as an opportunity?
You can waste your time like I did all these weeks and sit on your phone and accomplish nothing with this time.

Or you can seek to see the positive amongst this crisis.

And the best way to tackle that, is to create a routine. And the simplest schedule is most effective in order to create routine.

But first, you have to brain storm.
Start small, take pen to paper, and walk around your house. Start writing things you’ve neglected first. Like cleaning out your wardrobe, or going through your work bag and cleaning that out (you never know how much money you’ll find in there)

These neglected tasks give you a very large sense of accomplishment, and gets the brain ticking. This is where the reward system begins.

Next comes the creativity.
What have you always wanted to learn or do if you had the time? Could be online study, learning a language, or even painting.

For example, I’ve bought a keyboard and am determined to learn how to play that thing. An hour a day can make a huge difference. It might be a slow process, but what’s the rush given the current circumstances?

Make it something that you’ll want to continue to do once your life resumes. Call it an investment, as you may never have this kind of uninterrupted time ever again in your lifetime.
This also will exercise your mental capacity and keep the brain stimulated more than another episode of Buffy.

Exercise and Fitness
Most people didn’t anticipate the worlds shut down and weren’t prepared to turn their homes into a gym. But don’t let that stop you from at least doing something that will get your heart rate up DAILY.

Could be a walk to get your morning coffee, or a run around the block, or some simple body weight exercises (there are plenty available online for reference).

This is another endorphin releasing task that will help you stay in a good state of mind.

Once you have a few ideas in these three pillars, you can create a schedule!
But don’t feel like you have to set time frames on every thing you do, that’s probably the easiest way to neglect it.
But even the simplest schedule will help keep you accountable and on track until it’s habitual.

Throw in some social things in there to help keep you sane and connected, like calling someone on your walk, or FaceTiming someone over dinner, and you’ve got something you can fundamentally maintain.

You don’t know how capable you are until you put yourself to the test.

‘Success lay on the other side of Fear’

Don’t waste this time.

Stay Safe,
Stay Connected,
Stay Home

#NatsPerspective