March 30, 2020

Good evening BOSLadies,

Happy Monday!

Right now, my iPhone screen time report feels like a silly thing to look at. Obviously, it has gone up since social distancing started. If I have to use headphones for any reason, I have to use my iPhone since Apple’s latest iteration of ear buds isn’t compatible with my laptop. So yeah, my screen time has been much higher these past couple weeks and I refuse to feel bad about it.

What I’ve been much more interested in lately is the increased time spent having conversations on the phone, how many HouseParty and FaceTime sessions I’m having, how many different types of Zoom meetings are going on (my favorite has been our office’s happy hour). I’ve even started including all of this in my journal as positive “connectivity/social” time when usually the usage of my phone counts as a negative in my mental health monitoring.

Mental health is what I really want to talk about here. For some of us, locking down and turning inward for a few weeks is what we needed, the slow down, the stoppage of travel, the comfort of home a welcome reprieve. Others of us are getting depressed from the lack of in-person socialization and struggle to get outside into the sun even though we know it’s supposed to help. Those of us who aren’t in healthcare who get to stay home know we are lucky and express our gratitude. But it’s still okay to not be okay being at home and isolated. Yes, it could be worse, but the fear, anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc. that you’re feeling in your current reality is still valid. Whatever you are feeling is valid so feel it and don’t be afraid to talk about it. Chances are, you’ll find someone who is feeling the same way.

The Weekly Three (plus a few extra)

1. Something to make you laugh: Opening lines of classic novels rewritten for social distancing here from Literary Hub

2. Something to comfort you: from How to Manage Your Mental Health During the COVID-19 Lockdown

3. Something vulnerable: What things are you missing the most right now? What are you most excited about doing once it is safe to do so? I hesitate to say “when things are back to normal” because we have already seen signs of permanent change this pandemic is creating. We might not be able to go back to exactly what we had before. That’s why I really liked the part of this article when the author compares her hopes and expectations to colors being mixed with whites in the washing machine: “What’s the worst that happens? I lose my favorite shirt? Okay. So what? I’ll find a new favorite shirt….I’m weighing the odds that I’ll like the new shirt more – so much so that I can’t even remember the one that got ruined”. Thank you Lara for sending this!

4. Something beautiful: thank you Alexandra

5. Something being offered for free that I forgot about last week: Last week’s list of things to do from home being offered at no cost did not include Skillshare’s two month membership offer. Full disclosure: I haven’t tried this yet but I’m trusting Business Insider on this one.

Thank you to Sarah for sending the follow up email last week to everyone about KEXP events! Keep the recommendations coming and be well. Miss you all and am excited to see everyone’s faces on the 14th to discuss (or not) A History of the World in Six Glasses