Are you feeling some kind of way about the Coronavirus pandemic?
A lot has been happening in 2020 and I know I’ve experienced a myriad of emotions, sometimes going from happy to sad to angry in less than a minute. According to articles I’ve read, other emotions people have experienced during this time were fear, isolation, sadness, depression and stress.
To maintain my sanity during the pandemic, I’ve been journaling or freewriting almost daily. But there are other things you can write to help you cope during this time. Following are suggested ways you can write your pandemic blues away.
Write Your Pandemic Blues Away
Journal
Journals are the best tools for unleashing your emotions and ideas without excuses or judgment. You can write what you want, when you want and how you want. You can write single words; doodle pictures; use expletives; or compose long paragraphs with no punctuation marks. Write whatever makes you feel better as long as you express your emotions.
Blog
While journals are more personal and private, you can blog your thoughts. By using an online platform, you are opening yourself up to judgment and criticism, which is the exception and not the rule. On the other hand, you can incite conversations with readers, which could be therapeutic for everyone.
Remember, some people like to be negative and argumentative, which would interfere with your good energy and intentions. You can always moderate and delete comments.
Business Plan
Before the pandemic, a lot of people were thinking about starting businesses or side hustles. Now is a good time to put your thoughts into action by drafting a business plan. It doesn’t haven’t to be elaborate, but it should include your idea, target audience, marketing plan and business model.
Because a business plan is only a blueprint, you can start your venture before or while you write it. The most important thing is to put your plan into action.
Resume
With over 40 million initial unemployment claims filed since March 2020, the virus changed work life as we know it. Whether you are unemployed, working from home, going into the office every day or working an adjusted work, schedule, now is a good time to revise and update your resume.
Make all necessary changes to accurately reflect your professional accomplishments. Depending on the direction you’re going professionally, you may need more than one resume.
Letters
Write letters to the sources that are affecting your emotions with no intent of mailing them. For example, if you are angry at federal leadership, your employer or even the virus itself, write a letter pouring out your thoughts and feelings. Do not hold back.
Your feelings are important and you need to release. Write more than one letter if you need to. But don’t mail those letters unless you’re willing to own the consequences.
Bucket List
What were or are some things you are looking forward to? Write them down on a bucket list. This is a list of things you want to do before you die. But I want you to focus on things you want to do in the short term and try to do them.
Short-term activities could include simple things like sending cards to friends “just because” or spending more time with friends and family or rearranging furniture in your home. Whatever you decide, make sure to actually do things you put on the list.
Freewriting
Freewriting is timed brainstorming. You’re just writing everything that comes to mind within a set period of time. The content doesn’t have to flow and it doesn’t have to make sense. You just have to do a big brain dump and get things off your mind, literally and figurately.
As I stated earlier, I’ve been mostly journaling and freewriting during the pandemic. But I’ve also written several letters and visited my bucket list to see what I could check off.
How about you?
Have you been writing during the pandemic? Have you written any of the tools used above? Let us know in the comment box below.
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