5 Ways to Stay Connected While Social Distancing
If you’re feeling like you haven’t quite wrapped your head around what’s going on in the world right now, don’t worry, you are not alone. There’s a lot of fear, uncertainty, and confusion with what’s happening and it can be unsettling. If there’s any sort of comfort or consolation that we can offer, it’s that we’re all in this together. The way that you’re feeling, the questions and concerns that you have, and any stress or anxiety you’re experiencing, we guarantee that you’re not the only one going through it. Millions of people in the US and all around the world are thinking and feeling and questioning the same way you are. The best thing that we can do right now, besides adhering to the CDC’s guidelines for social distancing and self-quarantine, is to find ways to stay connected and share our experiences.
One of the best aspects of living during this particular point in time is the access to technology and information that we have. We are more connected than ever just in our ability to call/text/message/email anyone in our social network and get a response back just moments later. With that in mind, we need to remember to use the technology we have to stay connected to our friends and family during this confusing and troubling time. If this isn’t the first weekend you’ve spent social distancing, then you might already have a grasp on ways to stay connected with your social network, but if you need some new ideas or this is the first weekend you’re spending cozied up at home, here’s a few.
Virtual Coffee Dates
If you had coffee dates coming up with new connections, potential clients, or friends/family, keep them if you’re able to. Whip up some fresh coffee or tea at home, and hop on Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom and connect! Our lives might be a little upside down right now in terms of what we can and can’t do, but if you can still take your coffee dates from the comfort of your home, then do it!
Virtual Happy Hours
If you look forward to your Thursday or Friday night Happy Hours to get together with friends or coworkers and get ready for the weekend, they don’t have to stop! Schedule a virtual happy hour with your crew, grab a beer or a glass of wine, and log on to a Google Hangout, Skype, or the like to virtually cheers your crew and keep the conversation and happy hours flowing.
Virtual Brunches/Meals
If you’re like us, the idea of not being able to get the gals together for brunch on the weekends is literally breaking our hearts. Having to postpone and reschedule the upcoming events we had planned across the country has been a tough pill to swallow. But we know that the health and safety of ourselves, our city leaders, and our chapters is of utmost importance. With that in mind, we love the idea of using technology to share a virtual brunch or meal with a friend or small group of friends.
Daily Check-Ins
A good idea even when we’re not working from home or social distancing is sending a quick text or DM to your family or close friends every day or every other day to let everyone know you’re thinking of them. Check-in and see how they’re doing, make sure they have everything that they feel they need, and that they know you’re there to support them even if you can’t be with them.
Video Messages/Chats
New apps are popping up all of the time that allow you to share videos, leave video messages, or video chat with your friends and family. Hop on Marco Polo, share a new dance you learned or a message on TikTok, or get on YouTube and start a vlog chronicling your new at-home hobbies or recommendations. Even if we can’t physically be face to face, there’s plenty of ways we can do so virtually, safely.
Another benefit of getting yourself in front of your computer or phone screen and turning on that video camera for others to see you is it could force you back into your usual hair/makeup/beauty routine. We know that it can be tempting during days spent working from home or social distancing on the weekends to hang out in your pj’s and lounge around. You may be pushing it in terms of the days between showers/hair washes and that’s all good. No judgments here. But if your flannel PJ pants are starting to feel (and smell) a bit like failure, hop in the shower and a cute/cozy outfit that you didn’t sleep in last night and you’ll instantly feel better. Whether you want to style your hair or add some makeup is completely up to you, but making an effort to look or dress similarly to how you normally do can also make you feel good!
Remember, you are not alone. Whether you want to talk about current events or not, there’s someone out there who would love to hear from you and catch up on how your week went. If you want to chat about anything, need any sort of support or help, or just need someone to check in on you, let us know and we’d love to connect with you.