As you can imagine there aren’t very many good scenarios around at the moment so this is a valid issue to address.
To take my own situation as an example.
One of the first challenges for me, was that by the second week of March all of my work for March April and May was postponed.
This situation was made worse, because as a director in my own company and no longer receiving a salary (I am over 65 and so receive my state pension) I am unable to benefit from any of the government’s schemes which means I am having to finance this period of business inactivity by using savings, for however long that may be!
So, how to be resilient, stay positive and most importantly see a way forward – My three top tips are,
1. Search for the positives – as with most things not everything is wholly good or bad so
• First of all I am fit and well and not suffering as so many are with Covid 19.
• From a business perspective with deposits paid the postponed projects could happen some time in the future.
• When things were going well I didn’t spend the profits so I do have savings which can sustain me through these difficult times.
2. Search for new opportunities
• Not going out delivering away days, marketing my company has created time I wasn’t expecting so this can be a fantastic opportunity to tackle all those jobs I have been putting off!
• Updating my database – GP surgeries contacted several years ago and marked as not active because they were too small are now worthwhile contacting because they are part of a Primary Care Network
• This can also be a period to review strategies and plans without the everyday distractions of running a company
3. Be grateful for the things you do have. Each day make a list of the things you can be grateful about, say five or ten things – not my idea but a technique used in a lot of recovery programmes
• Top of my list each day is – I am grateful that I am fit and well and so far none of my relatives have experienced the horror of contracting Covid 19
• I am grateful I live in a country with a fantastic NHS staffed by dedicated and caring teams and individuals
• I am grateful that our isolation has bought my partner, Lynn and I closer and so have been doing many more things together.
• I am grateful we live in the beautiful Chilterns so our walks together are in glorious countryside.
What I have found during this period, is that many things I probably used to take for granted, I now see in a new light and some of those small seemingly insignificant moments in a busy working day now have a value and importance with is uplifting and enriching to life.
Stay safe and well during these extraordinary times.
