Dealing with Pandemic Fatigue
We have arrived in the middle of 2021 and the pandemic is still within us. I have been trapped at home for 1.5 years and every day I am trying to keep myself sane despite the crazy number of COVID-19 cases. Seems like these coronaviruses can not move on from us and keep coming back with new variants. I am at the point where nothing can excite me anymore. The thought of going to the mall, having good food, or traveling is gone. I think we all agree that we are tired and feel hopeless about when this pandemic ends. This is what we call pandemic fatigue. However, you are not alone in this battle. I believe we all feel the same way. In this article, I would like to share some methods that work for me to deal with pandemic fatigue.
1. Writing a journal
Writing is a powerful thing to understand yourself better. By articulating our wandering thoughts into writing, we train ourselves to be more aware of the way we think and feel about our problems. After I write down all my problems and read them again, turns out they are not as bad as what I think in my head. Writing helps me to find the silver lining from my issues and the solution to my problem too. Based on my experience, when I write, I become more mindful about what I am thinking of, and without I realize, this is one of the ways to practice meditation.
For you to take action: Grab your pen and paper and start writing whenever you feel down or stuck in your life. You can also go online and type in your google docs. Then, throw everything that strikes and disturbs your mind into your writing. Forget about the grammar, structure, etc. You are writing not to impress others, but to understand yourself better.
2. Reading books
I have some book recommendations that I found super good and really calm my mind. These are my go-to book when I need a first aid kit for my mental health.
- The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down — Haemin Sunim
- Love for Imperfect Things — Haenim Sunim
- Search Inside Yourself — Chade-Meng Tan
- Wherever You Go, There You Are — Jon Kabat-Zinn
If I may choose my favorite one among those books above, I will go with Haenim Sunim’s books. I like his story of becoming a Buddhist Teacher and the way he lives his life with compassion and mindfulness. Reading his book feels like healing. His words are simple but meaningful. If I am not lazy, I am going to create another story of me reflecting on Haenim Sunim’s book :D
For you to take action: Spend 10–15 minutes to read the book and make time to reflect on every chapter. Write your interesting findings in the journal and revisit your writing when you need to calm yourself.
3. Listening to a podcast
This is one of my favorite activities while I am cleaning my room or sourcing candidates for my pipeline. Basically, for all activities that do not require full concentration and are a little bit repetitive, I will get a podcast accompanied me during the time. Listening to podcasts is the same as “hitting two birds with one stone”. You complete your task while at the same time, you also feed your mind with inspiring talks.
Here are some of my favorite podcasts:
- For light and funny stories and jokes — Rapot
- For instant inspiration — Brave with Jeremy Au, Endgame with Gita Wirjawan, Thirty Days of Lunch
- For navigating your career and life better — Follow your flow
Unfortunately, most of the podcasts are in Bahasa Indonesia, except Brave with Jeremy Au.
We can not control our external (things around us), but we can control our internal (mind and thoughts). It is better to find another way to create small happiness in your life every day instead of grouching about this life full of uncertainty. To conclude my writing, I really hope each of us can find our own way to deal with pandemic fatigue. Never lose hope.
