Tips when work goes quiet and stress go up. Coronavirus and being a freelance in the film industry.

March 13, 2020

[updated Fri March 20th, 3pm CET]

Updating this as I find more resources and get more ideas. Please bookmark and share with friends who need it 

Wave Boredom goodbye

A few ideas further below to take care of yourself but in this one, a few resources to get boredom at bay.

Also search for gym, yoga, craft tutorials. Plenty of people now are offering online versions of their in-person courses or services, it's handy.

Things for kids

Audible is offering stories free, no sign-up, no fee. https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

Take care of yourself.

It can be scary, heavy, bringing lots of anxiety.

There's the virus and there's the idea that work is drying out.

It's the time to double down on what helps us:

  • good food / smells / sounds / visuals to feel calmer
  • good books / podcasts / blogs & inspiring Instagram accounts
  • meditate. Lots of great apps nowadays like Buddhify, Insight Timer (if you struggle to sleep, look for Yoga Nidra for sleep there, it's powerful)
  • call our mates and family, jump on a Facebook call.
  • drink water, hydrate, move our body, check how we feel and breathe.
  • journal, doodle, use that adult colouring book Auntie Jane offered us last Christmas.
  • start a Gratitude habit. Writing down one thing a day has proven a great way to keep a better outlook on life and be more resilient facing tough times.
  • join places where your mental health is supported with people of your industry. (I have made a list at the bottom of the articles as more groups are popping up to help)

Slow down, get out of our head and back in our body with these short audio.

If you want to slow down anxiety and monkey brain, I have recorded a short body checkin you can save and listen anytime you feel pressure and negative voices popping in your head.

Listen & download here

Take care of business with the things we never get a chance to do.

There a million things we know we "should" do and don't do.

Being quarantined means we are stuck with ourselves and running around like a caged tiger. We can use this energy to good use and fall asleep a bit more satisfied tonight if we take action and check off our list some of these tasks:

  • refresh our website
  • refresh our cv
  • research people we want to work with
  • update our Linkedin profile
  • search for videos and stills to update our portolio or create our showreel.
  • learn something new (research books, search for great tutorials on Youtube and Instagram from reliable people from the industry)
  • practice something you haven't practiced in a while
  • do some accounting for the next tax return

Take care of our money

It's a good time to

From a friend’s colleague - My friend is a freelancer in the broadcasting/events world and just posted this:I have had 5 jobs cancelled now with no foreseeable work until July. (There is one large event job still scheduled for May but I will be surprised if that isn’t postponed)

If you are a freelancer too this may be of interest...

MP Tracy Brabin is compiling a dossier on how COVID-19 is affecting the self employed. (across all industries, not just broadcast/events/entertainment)

If you've lost work due to being ill or have had work cancelled due to the virus, please let her know your story. If enough people tell the government what is going on out there it may help form future policy.

Her email address is:
tracy.brabin.mp@parliament.uk

Useful articles

Being alone at home doesn't mean you have to feel lonely.

A few groups have been created or are timely to be in.

Join and be part of the discussion, chat with friends via Whatsapp, Facetime, Skype or FB video.

Times are hard, it's important to feel part of the community.

Any other tips? Please share with me, I am updating this post accordingly.

Safety measures and resources to understand self-distancing.

Times are difficult, even more when work is linked to being on set with hundreds of people, and often too close...

Hard to keep our mood up when work is canceled as well.

Here are a few things to understand better why everything starts to be canceled, be safer, and keep afloat mentally through it.

Keep yourself and others safe as much as possible.

  1. Apply social-distancing. It feels awkward to talk to people from afar but it's safer.
  2. Use Vulcan salute instead of handshake (some prefer putting Jane Austen bow in fashion or the jazz hands... I like the Ease & efficiency of the Vulcan one. We even have the emoji ) - ok, this one is to make you smile... but still. can be an option with our geeky friends.
  3. Avoid travel as much as possible.
  4. Try to shop at quieter times, and minimize your time there.
  5. Clean your hands with soaps for at least 20secondes, keep sanitizer on hand if you have any, cough in your elbow, clean regularly your tools, door handles and surfaces, your car gearstick, wheels and door handles, clean your laptop and phone.

Some reading to help understand why we need to self-isolate and why that disease is not like the flu.

The growth rate is the problem, and death will happen, not just for people with the virus, but because hospitals would be oversaturated and not able to provide basic care for emergencies and "usual" amount of patients.

Avoiding travels, contacts, while washing hands (1st thing after you've gone out), coughing in your elbow and regularly cleaning surfaces and door handles are all we can do to limit the spread.

If you work closely to people and touch them, make sure you triple check your tools and ways of using your material is as hygienic as possible.

(For make-up artists for example, you already shouldn't work directly from the palette or double dip, have your surface too close to the person you are making up. It's even more crucial right now)

A great read to understand why Coronavirus is making countries and company close:

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

https://staythefuckhome.com/

Another easier / faster to read page, the title says it all and the content is straight to the point and useful to see things at a glance: https://staythefuckhome.com/

Here's another great article to understand why social distancing is helpful.

It's really well done visually and will you or your network to get it.

Be careful with advice on Facebook, plenty are bogus.

Here's an article who debunks some fakes going around at the moment.

The introvert motto has never been so true... "let's be together, each alone in our home".

Pascale, sending virtual hugs and cuppa.

via GIPHY

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