Everything is pretty crazy at the moment; we all know this.
If you're already self-isolating, and working from home, the best thing you can do is stay off social media and the news and work like you normally would, during your normal hours.
Do whatever you want in your own time, of course.
I'm noticing people are checking the news every hour, or even just keeping it on in the background while they work, and in between all this they're on social media arguing about COVID-19...
Masses of completely ignorant people talking about something they have no idea about as if they're experts and getting their (mis)information from article headlines they haven't even read.
Everyone is doing it.
I've done it.
Just stop.
Get off social media, check in with everything after you've finished your work day, and try to get some aspect of 'normal' back in your life.
Checking on stuff like this is what your 'free time' is for, not your 'working time'.
'WORK' TIME
When you're working - work.
If you have no work, I don't believe you.
There's always something you can be doing to create a better situation for yourself in the future, whenever we get this thing under control.
At the moment, if you're finding leads tough to come by, what you need to be focusing on is re-working your offers and marketing.
What you were doing last month is not going to work this month.
It's that simple.
Running the same ads is tone-deaf for what's going on foremost in people's minds.
It may be hard for some to realise, but many people are doing very well during this pandemic because they've pivoted quickly and adapted to the new market conditions.
It's all about speed in decision making right now.
Don't worry about things being perfect, just be quick about it and refine as you go.
Do the same if you want to stay ahead during all this.
STICK TO ONE TASK
It's already common knowledge that doing anything anything else while you're doing a task reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of that task.
That includes 'listening' and 'watching' the news, or podcasts, or movies, or whatever it might be.
So 'multitasking' while stressing yourself out about something you have no control over is a surefire way to get nothing done AND feel like crap.
That's a flywheel you don't want happening.
Get back on a 'normal' schedule - work your 'normal' hours and do your 'normal' pre-COVID-19 activities where possible.
Believe me, this thing is still going to be there when you're done with your work day... so don't stress out that you'll 'miss ' something.
And this isn't me saying 'ignore the massive issue facing the world right now' or trying to play down how it's affecting people.
It's me saying there's (likely) nothing you can do about it, accept that fact, and minute-by-minute information isn't going to help most of us.
If your industry is looking like it could shut down, like my family's hair salon in Brisbane, sign up for alerts from a relevant industry body, or set-up a Google alert for your industry name and location to be sent your business email address.
For 99% of us, that's more than enough.
FOLLOWING COVID-19 IN YOUR OWN TIME
And if you're going to follow the COVID-19 news in your 'free' time, choose reputable outlets, or go straight to the source rather than your local or social news platforms.
Most of the content you're finding online is created by junior journalists or interns and I've seen some glaring misinformation when stats are misinterpreted or quotes are taken out of context to sensationalise.
So, go to your country's equivalent of the Department of Health, for business news go straight to your local and national business trade bodies, listen to actual health experts on the platforms they're broadcasting on (seems to be mostly twitter), and check peer reviewed research journal aggregators such as Research Gate for up to date, legitimate information.
(Side note: Research Gate is just one of the many places where I get trade papers and publications for market research when working for clients.)
That's it from me today.
I hope everyone is staying safe and doing the smart thing and staying away from people.
And if you need help with anything (marketing, business strategy, forecasting and modelling etc.) let me know.
