I'm not going to lie, the last 4 weeks have been rough, for everyone including myself.
When you scroll through your Instagram these days, it seems that everyone is doing great,
enjoying life, being productive. But this life right now, locked down at home, this
is nothing normal. It's time influencers start sharing how they are really feeling, because
acknowledging the situation is necessary to be able to cope with it and then move forward.
Personally I found it helpful to see how other people were coping with all this so I want
to share my journey with you, in case it can be helpful for you as well. So here is my
journal of one month in strict self isolation. Week 1: I remember thinking everything is
ok, I work a lot from home anyway so I can adapt my schedule. Internet works fine thanks
to the 21st century, so I can pretty much keep working normally - and I can stay at
home so that's what I'm gonna do. Newton wrote the law of universal gravitation while self-isolating
from the Great Plague of 1665 in England, So I'm going to do the same, use this time
to reflect, focus on creating, do great things, get ahead of my 2020 goals. I now have an
excuse to order gym tools. I never really enjoyed exercising at home alone but hey,
this is an opportunity to change my mind. Energy level: normal, doing OK. Fine. Remembering
how it felt to do a plank. Or squats…
I researched the corona topic intensively to see how other countries were doing, which measures were likely to be implemented in
the future, what the hygiene and safety measures recommended were. I prefer to know, even if
it's bad news, rather than not knowing what's happening. But then towards the end of the
first week, a minor thing happened, a detail really. I was just starting a workout with
a YouTube tutorial, in my living room, and the internet broke down and the connection
didn't come back for an entire hour... and at this point I freaked out.
Week 2: throughout the week, I had completely lost my mojo. I was not going out of my loungewear
anymore, I was wearing pyjamas all day, basically. I was not wearing makeup, I was not wearing
my rings, I was feeling way too comfortable, lazy, unmotivated, blup. When telling the
date I was off by 2 days. It took me a while but it did hit me eventually: when the government
said we would be at home for 2 weeks and then maybe another two, never ever ever. We are
already way past the point where we could contain that thing. Like this thing is going
up it's gonna peak somewhere there. Because there are people who walk around without symptoms
so they don't even know they have it. So they are contaminating everyone. There are people
who don't care, they also exist. And then apparently there are not enough tests for
everyone to be tested. So the numbers are completely underestimated. I have to say the
idea of spending not two weeks but two months at home is not super good for the mood. But
I guess we're all going to have to get used to it. That's one thing and then there was
also the other psychological effect, when I started to see a growing and pretty heavy
impact on my own business and finances, as well as friends and family members losing
their jobs, basically. Freelancers getting kicked out of projects they had recently been
booked for, employees being sent home, period, entrepreneurs having to close shops. Around
me, people I know personally. I observed myself getting angry at people I had never met in
my entire life for not sticking to the rules. For example mums meeting outside together
for their children to play together. Show the mums would keep a distance of 2 metres
between each other but the kids would be mingling and hugging each other. Or I saw people rushing
to the supermarket to stock-pile toilet paper, milk, boxes, flour. The thing is: in German
and in France, productions are running absolutely normally So there is no shortage - there is
no shortage apart from the one that we self-create. If people kept shopping normally we wouldn't
be missing anything in supermarkets. In a Facebook group of French people living in
Berlin, I saw a French asking why on earth are the Germans buying hamsters like crazy
and why do they think that could help against the virus. He had heard the word “Hamsterkauf”
which in German literally means buying hamsters but it actually means panic shopping. Energy
level in week 2: lowest. I felt swollen, slow, stupid. I couldn't focus. At the end of that
week, I looked up if there was a secret island somewhere in the world that I could move to
until 2022. Week 3: I can't exactly say what triggered
it but there was a moment when I remembered something that I actually already knew somewhere
at the back of my mind, which is circle of influence vs. circle of concern. The small
one is inside the big one. We are worried, stressed, overwhelmed by many things that
don't belong to the inner circle of the things we actually have control over. So stop focusing
or feeling guilty or miserable because of everything you have no control over, focus
on what you can actually influence. Conclusion:scratch my first two weeks entirely and start over
with a new routine. Get rid of everything that bothers me, tidy up, clean. Get up at
the same time every day, get dressed in the morning or at least make an effort. I'm working
on an upcoming video on how to add some chic to a casual outfit I found that useful, I
hope you’ll do too. I did not manage to remove my gel nails but at least I could trim
them and fix the broken ones with superglue for now. Who knew that having gel nails could
become an issue one day? Add shelves to my kitchen so I can display my teas nicely - and
be happy every time I pick one which is 10 times a day. New world order at least in this
fridge. Instead of sorting it by categories I have at the bottom the things that can be
kept for longer, in the middle the nearest best before dates, and at the top is what’s
already open and needs to be eaten soon. Add healthy supplements and vitamins to my food
routine. Since this thing looks more like a marathon than a sprint, I want all my parameters
to be brought up to 100%.
Increase sports, decide on a fixed routine and then stick to it so that you don't have to think about it.
Control how much I eat vs how much I exercise,
track my steps, track my exercise. Energy level: rising again. Now able to get a plank
kind of right. Getting used to the workouts, building up strength and endorphins.
Notice that all these little changes and details had nothing to do with actual work. It had
to do with my well-being and with my environment at home. But as a side effect my work was
now also getting done much better and faster. I came out of that week 3 thinking: I can
do this and I will. Week 4: in week 4 I kept improving and fine-tuning
my new routine but it did not change that much anymore. My main achievement in week
4 was to make a plan. Because what bothered me the most about this whole situation since
it started was that I did not know when it would end. And that's not good for the spirits,
at least in my case. I was missing a prospective so I made up my own plan and timeline. Energy
level: high, even higher than in the first week.
I needed something to look forward to - so for me, since I am self employed, preparing for the after-Corona means working both on
my skills in on my business plan. I did the exercise of the three circles, which I hadn't
done in years. What are you good at? What does the world want/need? What do you love?
Then the sweet spot is where the three circles overlap This is what you should strategically
spend your energy on. I did that on the Sunday afternoon at the end of week 3 and it instantly
broadened my horizon. It was so good to know that I had options and so do you, you have
options. If you are a freelancer and you do not currently have a project booked, it's
a chance to improve your portfolio, build or improve your website. This way when the
economy starts again, you will have a head start. If you have lost your job where would
you apply for a new job and which skills can you learn right now to help your application
later on? If you have free time, why not develop a side hustle that could bring money, now
or down the line? It might even be a hobby that you've had for years and that you just
haven't put out there yet. It always makes sense (not just now, always) to not be dependent
on one source of income. So diversifying your revenue is essential. Whatever you do to prepare
for the future, for the after-crisis, it is your call. But it is within your circle of
influence. You have control over it. We do have to wait until that crisis is over, but
it does not mean that we have to be passive during that time.
Speaking of existing businesses and new business, I'd like to introduce you to Shopify’s initiative
to support the online economy through this crisis. Shopify is the platform with which
I have built in my webshop and I’m very pro Shopify because I think it is the best
platform out there. They are currently offering a 90-day free trial: it is the longest trial
period they have ever offered. Let me give you a couple of examples on how you can use
it. If you're a café, restaurant or shop owner, any kind of shop, you have to stay
closed right now and you don't have a website: go to Shopify, get one of their ready-made
templates (some are free, some aren’t, pick the one you want). Build your website, activate
gift cards, and then go put a sign on your shop window saying: “we have to stay closed
right now because... well... we have to. But you can support us by buying gift cards until
we can open again. In Berlin I see so many shops that are closed including some where
I am a regular customer. They are not getting any cash flow right now… They could. if
they gave me a way of supporting them. I'll give you another example: if you sell something
that can be dropped off, like books, food or furniture: you can also use the local delivery
feature. Customers from your area, when they place an order on your website, can choose
the option local delivery & then you bring the order in front of their homes. If your
customers are not coming to you right now, you can still go to them. If you want to take
advantage of this Shopify offer (to support your existing business or start a new one)
I will put a special link down below in the description. It will take you straight to
the trail of 90 days, with resources and tutorials to help you build your website.
Thumbs up if you enjoyed this video! Thank you very much! It's as close as I get to vlogging.
I have the highest respect for people who vlog their lives & film everything by themselves.
You have no idea how many takes I had to do for this video, alone in my house :-) I hope
that this video showed you that what people share online vs what they go through in private
is not necessarily the same. In fact it is really the same. If you have a business with
a website and would like to share it with potential customers among fellow viewers,
feel free to share that in the comments below. Self promotion is totally fine and we all
should do more of it. If you'd like to hear about 23 things I learnt about running an
online business since I started mine, I will link that video here in the corner and down
below in the description, if you're interested. I will see you soon in a new video until then:
take care, bye!