Well, 2020 has been a bit of a dumpster fire so far, hasn’t it. I don’t need to expand on this of course, as we’re all painfully aware of the gloomy-at-best, terrifying-at-worst situation we find ourselves in right now. If we weren’t already, then our inboxes would certainly have alerted us to it. Wherever you are and whatever you do, I’d confidently put money on it that you’ve received almost daily emails that contain any or all of the words “unprecedented, challenging,” or “unusual times.”
Receiving so many of these emails to both my personal and professional accounts has made me so incredibly bored and cynical that it’s spilled over into my day job, which happens to be marketing. I’ve actually banned the team from using words to this effect in any of our outbound communications. By all means, refer to the fact that life is hard at the moment if this is relevant and appropriate, but be specific, or at the very least, genuine. Sticking these generic terms into messages doesn’t make you seem sympathetic, thoughtful or tactful. In fact it’s now unimaginative, insincere and cripplingly dull.
I thought I was coping with lockdown pretty well, but actually I’ve found myself reacting in this irritable, gritted-teeth way quite a lot lately. It’s mainly missing people I guess, with a touch of stress and anxiety about loved ones and the crisis in general. It just comes out in sometimes different or unexpected ways. The working-from-home thing is generally fine, and I feel lucky to be able to do this. As you might know if you read my previous post, I live with a key worker who has to put himself at risk in order to do his job almost daily. This is something that helps to keep me in check – it’s tricky to rant about an “unrealistic” marketing campaign deadline to someone who has been dealing with something like domestic abuse all day and not been able to stay 2m apart from anyone.
Since I realised this, I thought it might be helpful to share a handful of things that have made me feel a little less murderous and ragey during the lockdown. I’ll add to it as and when any more materialise!
- Don’t say yes to every Zoom, Houseparty or WhatsApp call
Unless of course you want to, but I know I’m not the only one getting a bit bored of virtual pubs and quiz nights. Occasionally I’ll go to one that’s really good fun and almost feels like the real thing, but for me this is quite rare, sadly. It’s a bit harder to get out of things now that people know you don’t really have other plans (apart from another video call of course) but don’t stress about this. Would you always see these people on a regular basis in the real world? I have decided that if my answer to that is no, I simply say no if I don’t fancy it. It’s totally fine to just say “I’m having a Zoom-free weekend, sorry.” Last weekend in fact I took this a step further and simply ignored several chats entirely. I didn’t even bother giving a reason why I wasn’t joining. It was actually so freeing not having to do the tiring – “shit sorry, on another chat!” – rigmarole.
- Swear creatively
This is a slightly odd one that I’ve really found soothing during lockdown. It started when I bought an adult sweary colouring book – where phrases such as ‘Cock Womble’ are displayed in ornate or block lettering, and you can colour them in to make them look beautifully obscene. I’ve always been a bit of a doodler, so having this book nearby while I’m working has been great for while I’m on long conference calls, especially if they’re with annoying people. Interestingly, this has now evolved into just doodling insults in my notebook. Just this afternoon I found myself carefully writing FUCK OFF in huge block letters and shading it in, complete with a huge exclamation mark, when someone had called me for the fourth time out of the blue when I thought I had a moment’s peace. It may make me look like I’m on the brink of a Here’s Johnny moment, however it’s a really good stress reliever (I know I sound like I’m joking here, but I’m really not).
- Do something that makes you feel good
This can be literally anything, no matter how small, but I’ve found that doing a little something for others can boost my mood quite a bit. I created a fun quiz for my friends, 6 weeks ago mind, when quizzes didn’t make me want to strangle myself slowly. It was loosely based on the actual one from Friends (The One With The Embryos) and we all had a great night doing it. I also took some time to pick out a present for my brother’s milestone birthday recently, after telling him I’d have to give him something post-lockdown, and managed to get it delivered to him as a surprise which was lovely. I’ve donated small amounts to a couple of charities, seeing as they’ve been hit hard at the moment and I’m saving a chunk of money by not going into the office. I’m not saying this to be like ooh, look at me, doing good deeds – I think it’s valid to share because primarily they made me feel good! Even if the “good thing” is simply sending your mum a text to tell her you miss her. Thinking of making someone you love happy is sure to make you smile, even for just a few secs. See, I can barely feel my cynicism just for a moment!
- Follow Daisy May Cooper on Instagram
The BAFTA-award winning writer and actor of BBC Three’s This Country is one of the funniest celebrities around at the moment. She posts hilarious videos of her interacting with her cute daughter or doing alternative TikTok dances, worlds apart from the trout-pouts, protein shakes and home workout perfection we see all over Instagram. Talking of This Country, you should also stream it on BBC iPlayer because it’s hilarious. You can find Daisy’s Insta here.
- Watch Normal People
It’s intimate, it’s heartbreaking, it’s nostalgic, beautiful, raw, and so real. Not to mention sexy. The actors – Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal – have the most electric chemistry between them, more than any two people I think I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s one of the best things I’ve watched in a long time. Check it out on BBC iPlayer.
- Give yourself a break
I was on a training call recently, and the guy leading it said that team leaders should be pleased if they’re getting 4 hours of focused work out of their staff each day at the moment. Even if you’re not currently working for whatever reason, you’re probably putting some sort of pressure on yourself to use this time wisely – I’ve seen this phrase everywhere. So many recommendations, making you think yeah great, I’ll exercise more, do some DIY, learn a language, look into that life admin I’ve been putting off, bla bla bla. That’s great if it makes you happy, but cut yourself some slack. We all have foggy days, especially at the moment with next to no variety in our daily routines. If you’re working, take at least an hour away from your desk for lunch if you can. If you’re feeling stressed or unproductive, just block an hour or two out of your calendar at the end of the day and finish early – go and shag your partner or masturbate. Get the tension out! Have a secret shot of alcohol in your “glass of water” to get you through that Zoom call if you have to. I found this guy particularly inspiring in this respect, if he didn’t fail of course.
What do you think? I’m definitely keen to hear tips from others too.
Thanks for reading, and remember to try and stay sane alert…
XD
Thirty Secrets 