It has been close to two months since the San Francisco Public Health Order (PHO) was executed. There are plenty of things that I cannot do from home for work, but I have come to prefer working from home in the long run. Even though my current home workspace is not ideal, the mean difficulty has been concentrating in the first place. The first week was pretty straight forwards, reality had not stunk in yet. After the original date to remove the PHO was postponed, I began to mentally prepare myself for this to last for the rest of the year.
During the first two weeks, I was eagerly planning out my drawing and study schedule since I would technically have more time available. I will admit that with the PHO in place, my sleep schedule has improved, but as weeks go by, my motivation is slowly deterring. While I still have long term goals in place, I am now feeling more burned out more than ever. Working from home is ideal for me, but the current living situation is almost unbearable; this only felt more prominent as the weeks went by.
While in the middle of struggling to focus on work and then right after draw/study, it's important to finally be realistic with myself to admit these feelings instead of ignoring them for almost a month. Since it seems like this will be the case for the following months, it's been a rough start.
I am sure many feel the same at the moment. It is very frustrating and disappointing that many plans are at a halt. Here are some key notes I try to practice or at least be mindful of every day to keep mentally going.
Pay attention to your emotions.
We are going through a strange time, nothing is stable, and it feels like anything can happen. Our mind and body are reacting to high critical stress in various ways, which might have impacted our ability to create and execute basic tasks. The way we are feeling is normal because our current situation IS NOT normal.
Keep creating even at a snail-pace.
There are still a lot of projects I want to finish. Having many things to create helps switch on tasks I would like to focus on at that moment. But what happens when it is impossible to concentrate on anything and cannot do anything. Setting small task has become a better alternative in this situation because the smaller the task, the more appealing it becomes to get it finished and then continue with the next one. Similar to the snowball effect, start small, and the momentum will be picked up straight after. Mindless doodle pages help when I cannot concentrate on drawing character designs or writing my novel.
Protect yourself to protect others.
Unfortunately, many do not take this pandemic seriously as if this were just the regular flu. The current healthcare system is impacted and is not suited if the whole country is sick at the same time. Therefore, we, as individuals, have to take extra precautions when going outside. Disinfect surfaces areas, especially the places where it’s touched most often throughout the day, such as desk area, car steering wheel, door handles, etc. Wear a mask or make a mask, there are plenty of online resources that have sprung up in the call to the mask supply demand. Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds and use hand sanitizer if you can, when you’re outside on and about. Please, protect yourself to also protect others.
Stretch often
This is especially important if you’re working at your desk most of the time. There are many occasions when I am so immersed in my current tasks that I forget I have not moved from a sitting position in over five hours. I try to take a quick break and stand in the backyard for a few minutes for some air. This small action has helped keep my claustrophobia to a minimum. Sharing the room with two other people makes the room feel tinier.
Check-in with loved ones online
It helps keep tabs on people just to make sure they are holding on well with the situation. My best friend is an artist as well, and it’s been helpful to check-in with each other to see what new projects we’re working on at the moment. It’s also a time to help us vent and understand our surroundings from just talking about it instead of just keeping our thoughts to ourselves. There are people I keep in touch daily, which significantly helps to not feel emotionally overwhelmed. Surprisingly, there are many times where friends can detect an internal change we have not otherwise have not noticed before. Keep a lookout for one another.
Be safe, be healthy, and talk to you soon! (´･ᴗ･ ` )