Goodbye March, Hello April

End of the first quarter of 2020. It's been a stressful first few months. I am just thankful that my family and friends are all okay and keeping busy at home. At the end of February I wrote about how it is to live in the time of the coronavirus. I was super stressed at that time because the situation was getting really serious in Singapore. I was in a better place at the end of January and at the end of the month I aptly coined my month end post "Jarring January". I was in a better mood then and wrote about what I learned for that month. 

A huge load was lifted off my shoulder when we were given the strong recommendation to start working from home. 2020 has been a huge dark cloud that refuses to leave. I like the thoughtful slogan they made for the Philippines, "We heal as one." I think you can extend this to the whole world. The messaging across the world has been to stay home and do social distancing. And that's how my month is ending. 

I've been more busy at work the last few weeks and I know I need to be mindful to take proper breaks and eat while working at home. I've been working longer hours too. So I thought to end the month I'd make my WFH and stay at home survival guide. This is to remind me what I should do to take care of myself better -

1. Take proper breaks to eat, stretch and walk around the house. 

2. Reduce use of airconditioning during the day. Do not ruin the progress my lungs have made!

3. Exercise! Remember that exercise is like brushing your teeth for your body. 

4. Manage my meeting calendar better. Block off work time and reduce to a more manageable number of daily meetings. 

5. Delegate or get help where needed. 

6. Allot time for my hobbies! 

7. Make sure we have enough supplies for food/toiletries. 

8. Keep writing!

9. Focus on the positive. Be grateful. Be happy.

10. And most importantly, reach out to family and friends to check on them more often.

*And supporting of of these, pray.