9 Things You Now Have Time For Because of COVID-19

With businesses needing to hunker down and weather the economic implications of COVID-19, you may find yourself with more time on your hands than expected.

I’ve had a number of business calls with clients in the last couple of days. Some have been emergency-style calls, as we try to determine how to handle this situation we are all in.

A lot of people are feeling really overwhelmed and panicked- especially about money and business. They’re worried about taking care of their family, taking care of their employees and their customers.

We’re all feeling this way. There are some things we cannot control, but I also wanted to suggest some ideas of things you can do right now to fill your time wisely.

Do you spend your time creating more fear in your life?

It matters how you’re spending your time right now. It’s extremely important. Here’s why:

The tendency right now is to scroll Facebook or consume the media and CDC website. Everyone wants to really stay abreast of everything that’s going on.

Here’s the truth: It’s a scary world we’re living in right now. But, if you spend your time doing that, you’ll give yourself an anxiety attack.

If you over-consume scary content, you are actually affecting your emotions. You’re creating more overwhelm and you’re creating more fear.

There’s a better way.

Here’s my suggestion: think about some of the things that you keep saying you don’t have time to do that maybe you have time to do right now.

What are they? Write down your list.

9 Things You Now Have Time To Do:

I’ve made my own list, and I want you to consider that maybe now is the time to do these things:

1. Start planning your marketing strategy.

Start thinking about what you want your marketing to look like during these times and once we come out of this pandemic. Take some time to think, plan and get organized around your business marketing.

The one thing that every business continues to need, especially if we end up in a recession, is marketing. Don’t put this off.

2. Reach out to clients and have a personal conversation with them

Now is the time to have intentional conversations, especially with “social distancing” in full effect.

Reach out to your clients via text, email or the phone to check-in and see how they’re doing.  See if there’s anything that they need from you or if there are any ways you can provide additional support to help them.

One of the things I always ask my clients when they’re complaining about not having enough business or sales is this: When was the last time you reached out to past clients just to say hello? 

You’re not reaching out to sell something, but to actually invest in the relationship with those people because you care while you have time right now.

3. Send snail mail.

Writing in any capacity is a really good idea. It helps you process, brain dump and encourage others.

One of my goals for this year is to send snail mail. Snail mail is going to be safe by the time it gets to somebody. Even if you do have the virus, it’s going to go through the mail.

Write a thank-you card to someone. Focus on positivity and gratitude.

4. Write content.

Now is a great time to sit down and write.

• Write blog content. If you are behind on your blog or if you are thinking of things that you’d like to talk about, jot them down. Even if the timing isn’t right, right now to post it, you still have it in your arsenal to pull out later.
• Write that book. I’ve been thinking a lot about my book, Money Over Mindset, and about how, during times like these, money is so incredibly important. But I recognize that the timing for me to start talking about what you should do with money isn’t right now. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be writing that content and getting that content ready for other times. The same goes for you.

5. Organize your space.

Maybe it’s that messy office, closet or cabinet that you’ve been eyeing for forever but haven’t touched… now is the time to organize it.

No more excuses. You’ve got time to get your work digs organized so that things are the way you would like them to be. A clear space is a clear mind.

6. Catch up and sort through your email.

You’ve got time to go back through your inbox and file things and delete things and respond to things that maybe you’ve been procrastinating on.

7. Read a book.

Perhaps even better than obsessing over the news online is reading a book.

I’m not suggesting you should put your head in the sand – I think we all have a responsibility to know what’s going on. However, one thing I learned from Deepak Chopra years and years and years ago, I think it was during the Sandy Hook shooting, is this: “Bless and release. Don’t bless and obsess.”

There’s a fine balance between how much you consume and how that affects you versus looking at other things that you can do.

So if you haven’t sat down and read a good book in a while, if you’re like me and Amazon delivers two or three books a week that you just haven’t gotten to – sit down and read a book.

8. Learn something new.

Watch an online program or those educational materials you’ve spent good money on.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a whole bunch of “shelf help”. These are programs that I have bought over the years from online marketing gurus that I have never watched.

Now’s a good time to pull those things out and start looking at those things.

9. Review your website copy.

If you’ve been wanting to refresh your website or update your messaging– but you just haven’t had time to work on it- now’s the time to do it.

You Get to Shift from Urgent to Important Tasks

When it’s business as usual, we never have enough time to do the things that are important because we’re always doing the things that are urgent.

We’re in a situation right now where many of us are working from home and not commuting to work. Maybe your work looks different. Some of us have businesses that are slowing down dramatically.

While it’s easy to see this as a negative, there’s a silver lining:

You have more time than usual.

Use this time to be productive. Do things that contribute to your overall health and wellbeing, and the health and wellbeing of your business.

Don’t just mindlessly scroll and consume things that are just going to make you feel more anxious, more overwhelmed, and more afraid of the situation.

Let’s start caring for ourselves and other people while respecting the limitations.

You don’t need to fall behind – you can get ahead.

If you take some time to do these things, you can start planning for how you’re going to rebound out of this situation. It will take you out of reactionary mode and you’ll be further ahead because most people are not spending time doing any of that.

Don’t just consume information.

Disrupt your consumption and instead, focus on getting some of those things done that you never have time to do.

Do you have any other items to add to my list? Comment with them below.