April 3, 2020
As we tread uncharted waters amid the coronavirus outbreak, many of us are all dealing with very serious anxieties related to infection risk, a continued economic downturn, and more. To make things more complex, we are largely cutting ourselves off from most in-person human contact.
Aria has always prioritized wellbeing, but this global pandemic is underscoring its importance. Plus we need to stay well for our healthcare IT clients, as they need our help now more than ever to share how they’re supporting the healthcare industry’s fight against corona. As Aria’s Wellness Officer, I have been working to ensure the team stays sane in the current climate. Here’s how:
Wellness in Quarantine Challenge
Dealing with stress and uncertainty often leads to unhealthy coping (i.e. eating an entire package of Oreos in one sitting). Considering there are 30 days in April, and it takes 30 days to effectively build a new habit, however, I saw this as a great time to re-center on wellness.
Enter Aria’s “Wellness in Quarantine” April Challenge – designed to encourage healthy practices all month. The challenge includes a variety of self-care activities that are easy and beneficial — from reading for pleasure, to connecting with a loved one, to Marie Kondo-ing your closet or Tupperware drawer, to being active, etc. Participants can choose which activities they want to work on, either trying to do as many as possible each day, or trying to do a couple specific activities consistently every day.
Zoom Hangouts
Now that we’re working remotely, Aria is officially on the Zoom bandwagon! In addition to holding internal meetings on Zoom, we’re also scheduling fun Zoom hangouts too. Our crew is pretty tightknit and we are all missing seeing each other in the office and catching up at the Nespresso machine.
We just had our first Aria-wide happy hour this week, which was a welcome opportunity to see familiar faces and connect on the past few weeks. We discussed how most of us have watched Tiger King and agree that Carole was probably behind her husband’s disappearance. We also shared some favorite recipes we’ve been trying, and commiserated with the parents in our crew who have to work- and school-at-home. ICYMI, here’s a shot of our smiling faces enjoying our first Zoom happy hour, which we’ll attempt to recreate biweekly until we return to the office.
Educational and Inspirational Resources
While we are spending more time at home, might as well make the most of it by continuing to flex our brain muscles. I have been circulating resources, recipes, research, and more to keep everyone engaged and inspired. Here are some suggested readings and free activity resources I recently shared:
- Harvard Business Review: That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief
- UVA Today: How to Protect Your Mental Health During a Quarantine
- USA Today: 100 things to do while stuck inside due to a pandemic
- NPR: Where To Stream Live Concerts During Coronavirus
- MarketWatch: Free workouts from Peloton, Nike and others to help you stay active during your quarantine
- The Big Quiet: Traveling mass meditation organization that does several Instagram live videos per week spanning guided meditations, sound healings, and more
- Basically: 18 Basic Knife Skills
- Unlocking Us: New podcast from my personal (s)hero Brene Brown
- Fantastic Fungi: Beautiful and prophetic mushroom documentary (mentions mushrooms being the key to fighting off the next viral pandemic…no kidding)
In uncertain times like these, it’s even more important to focus on self-care and try to keep worries at bay. By reminding our team that we are all in this together (albeit virtually,) I hope everyone will feel a little less afraid and alone, and maybe even find a silver lining of being stuck at home for weeks on end.
How are you staying sane in quarantine? Tweet us @ariamarketing and let us know!
