First of all: Nobody knows CORONA, we all need patience
I don’t give up easily, but I admit that I have been experiencing moments of sadness and also fear – guess all of us have, particularly the freelance artists. All engagements have been cancelled and we do not know exactly what the governments will do to keep freelancers alive. But there is movement in politics and, hopefully, there will be at least part of the lost fees replaced.
Everybody is different, so each of us reacted in her/his way. Some just did nothing (that is ok!), some slept a lot (that is ok!), some got over-active (that is ok!)…
By now, we have understood that the time of basically not going out will be longer than what we had feared. Let’s give those crazy days some structure. Structure helps us from going insane. I’ll make some propositions – everybody picks what suits and discards the rest…
Teaching
Most important: don’t stop! Try online-lessons. We all have to adapt, and even if it is not as good as „the real thing,“ it can be done – kids find it fascinating! You might want to give the first lesson for free, then charge your standard rate – your concentration is even higher this way, your competence unchanged – and people save money and time driving to you.
Older relatives
Call them regularly to let them know that you are well. They are probably much more worried about you than about themselves. If you can, organize grocery delivery for them.
Children
For those with children, times are particularly severe – not going out is tough.
Playing games can help, hide-and-seek for the little ones, board games. There is homework to do for the school-children, so that keeps them – and their parents busy. For German speakers, you might want to try out „sofatutor.com,“ it has all subjects for all levels and is particularly well made!
If you are on Facebook, there are tons of videos with thinks to do. This one I found really amusing and very well thought.
Friends
Call each other, skype, zoom, google, facetime, it helps not to feel alone. Create group sessions, it’s fun!
Make gifts
CORONA is an excellent time to make gifts – to yourself and others:
Gifts to yourself
Clean your house: the drawers, the kitchen, the bathroom, the windows
Have a look into Marie Condo’s organizing system for drawers.
Have a look into Karen Kingston’s book about Feng Shui and Clutter.
Karen Kingston has a lovely blog:
Organize your papers
Organize your computer – documents, fotos….
Clean up your homepage! Or start one, if you still have none. Now, there is finally plenty of time to look at other pages and decide what you like and what you don’t.
Read the books you have always wanted to read.
Sports
Many of us are doing outdoor sports – as long as you can still go outside, choose a time with fewer people and go for a short run.
Follow online sports-classes; there are plenty of good ones, especially yoga-classes. BUT: if you have never done yoga before, you MUST find a class that explains very well the alignments; otherwise, it could do more harm than good.
Culture
Go to online-museums, listen to online concerts, check Spotify for instrumental concerts/symphonies you don’t know yet
Skills
Learn another language! In 6-8 weeks, you can get some basics+ done.
There are plenty of good online programs.
If you speak a foreign language in which you would like to become more fluent, try to set up meetings with a native speaker for conversations.
Gifts for others:
Social gift:
Check on your old neighbours and ask if you can run errands for them and put the groceries in front of their door.
Set up group chats with people you care about.
Performing gift:
Use one of the available programs (Facetime, Skype, Zoom, Google-Duo, Google-classroom) to perform alone or with somebody.
Think of your other skills:
Maybe you can share recipes, stories, jokes, crafts….
We are artists and have the obligation to be and stay creative during the time of social distancing – that is our task.
What comes after?
It is the perfect time to think about
what is really important in life
which goods we really need
how we want to live after CORONA
Hang in there!
PS: On the photo, it says:
Mr. Janosch – is there paradise on earth, and where can it be found?
„Sartre says, paradise on earth exists only in your soul. But the soul, you have it always with you, so you can calmly stay sitting in your kitchen“
