opinion

CRAIG BLACK HAS SOME ADVICE FOR SURVIVING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS AS AN INDEPENDENT CREATIVE

- CRAIG BLACK

The coronavirus pandemic has struck and the world has seemingly changed forever. It’s scary because my wife is pregnant, my gran is in lockdown in a care home and several members of my family are self-isolating. On top of that, I’ve got a business to run during these challenging times.

The following are steps that I’ve taken to ensure that my business and mental well-being survives the crisis. They’re working for me and hopefully can help you on your journey, too.

ENSURE YOU HAVE THE MENTALITY TO WIN

Your mindset is so important right now. Those who know me know I’m a positive person; it’s the way I’ve programmed my mind and life for the better. I believe that there’s an opportunity to be found in the darkest of moments.

My wife Ally is a mental health nurse and she recommended these tips, which work for me. Start by maintaining a structured routine. Set your alarm as you would for work and get up at the same time every day. Go for a shower, have breakfast and get changed out of your pyjamas in preparation for starting work. Schedule a lunch break and a finish time, and try to stick to a reasonable bedtime as you would during a normal working week. You should structure your day in a similar format to how you would normally work. This will then separate “work time” from “chill time” because these can get mixed up when working from home.

Take daily exercise outside of the work environment. This will give you a break away from work, and enable you think about the things that you’re grateful for, such as family, a roof over your head, food in the fridge and so on.