Unplug to Connect

Amid Covid-19, everyone’s under tremendous stress, from home-schooling, economic uncertainty, job security, etc. The impact it has on our physical and mental health cannot be underestimated. Recently my team and I were fortunate to have attended the Unplug to Connect workshop, reflecting on how we’ve been coping with the crisis.

Here are some useful takeaways:

Label your emotion

Anxiety, confusion and disappointment are some of the negative emotions that we may have experienced more often these days. Take a moment to think and write down what concerns you the most: the future of your business? kids not learning anything for a few months? or health of your family? It may all come in a cluster, but an important first step is to understand the emotion you’re going through and identify what’s causing it.

Focus on your Circle of Influence

Whilst there are many things that can cause concerns, in our personal and professional lives, it’s important to recognise what is and what is not within our control. When will Covid-19 be fully eradicated so things can return to normalcy? That may be your concern but there’s little you could do about it. So let’s change the narrative and focus on things that we can influence, as simple as improving our personal hygiene by wearing a mask. What we eat, what we read, our lifestyle habits, etc. are all small but important daily choices that are fully within our control. As we act within our Circle of Influence, we'd also start to feel more powerful over things within our Circle of Concern.

Attitude of gratitude

Everyone’s life is impacted by Covid-19 to different extent. One small step we could take to spread positivity is be proactive in showing appreciation to people around you. That colleague who struggled to Zoom in whilst children at home are all demanding her attention, cleaners who sterilises our workplace to get it ready for everyone’s return, or even your helper who’s making extra efforts on cleaning and cooking everyday when she’s also worried about well-being of her family abroad. A few words of appreciation can go a long way in motivating every unsung hero around us.

If you could take a pause from work-related conversations with your team, provide a safe environment for people to share their concerns, and try to take a different perspective in looking at the same problem, you'll be amazed what this could achieve. How about a short 30 min after your next team meeting?