Well, my company began furloughing people this past week and as of right now will be going through the end of May. Awesome.
This upcoming week, it'll just be me as the designer taking on multiple divisions and extra projects, while working from home for maybe 5 weeks now? I don't know. I honestly lost count. It might be going on 6 weeks.
Yesterday got frustrating. Moreso than work has been. When you're not in the office, communication is tough, internet is slow, and you can't just say Eff it, I'll do it myself. (Which is kind of what I do and also kind of what I'm trying to work on, haha!)
I was definitely reacting at my computer rather than responding by 7:00pm. Which, to be honest, I used to react A LOT in the past. After a full day of reacting, I would come home and react some more and keep busy until it was time for bed. I was so emotional in past years that it's crazy to me to think back and see how far I've come.
In the past, after a day like yesterday, I would push myself to drink some pre workout and punch it out with kickboxing. I would eat shit food, get irritated real easily with my parents and myself. I would allow it to carry over into the next day (or two).
Yesterday, working out was going to be hard. Like too hard. I don't think kickboxing or any type of video workout was going to help me calm down. It would only reeve me up. I also believe that if I worked out in that state of mind, I probably would've hurt my back or pull a muscle because I wouldn't have been in the right frame of mind. So what did I do?
I closed my computer, walked into my living room, looked at the front door and immediately put my shoes and coat on. There was no thinking involved. 5-4-3-2-1-GO OUTSIDE! That's what happened. I used Mel Robbin's 5 Second Rule. The sun was setting so I didn't have a lot of time left before it was dark out. I love a good sunset. The walks I've been taking have noticeably helped lift my mood and calmed me down.
It took about 30 mins, but by the time I walked into my home again, my chest wasn't tight, my upper back wasn't tight, jaw wasn't clenched. I was physically and emotionally more calm.
So when it's too hard to keep pushing forward, choose a calming activity. If you can go for a 10 minute walk, do it. If you can open the Calm app and do a meditation for 5 minutes, do it. If you can sit in silence on your couch, do it. The last thing you want to do is hurt yourself from working out hardcore because you're pissed. Trust me, I've done it.
Once you've calmed down, you can approach life by responding versus reacting.