Home for the Holidays

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: The COVID-19 pandemic is still with us — and that means that the winter holidays this year are going to be somewhat different than we’ve all come to expect.

Profound Changes to the 2020 Winter Holidays

Financial uncertainties, the move to remote work by so many, and the demands of social distancing are a trifecta of influences that are changing how we celebrate the season. Annual office parties are canceled, holiday attractions are closed, and nobody dares risk a kiss under the mistletoe.

Remote workers may, in particular, start to feel more pressure from their situation than ever before. Those who have abruptly (and unwillingly) moved to remote work this year for the first time have never had to cope with the holiday isolation remote workers can feel. Those who have worked remotely for a while may also be struggling to find ways to adapt to the sense that they no longer have any other option. 

Either way, stress, and loneliness can pile up during a period when we are simultaneously bombarded with images of happy people doing happy holiday things together.

Self-Care During the Holidays Amid a Pandemic

How can you cope with everything without losing your holiday spirit? Self-care is a critical component of remote work. Without it, you can lose your drive, lower your productivity, and begin to feel overwhelmed. Start with these steps:

• Identify Your Feelings: The shifts in your working environment, the Zoom fatigue, the abrupt changes in your work environment. and the breaks in your social structure can all leave you feeling out-of-control and confused. Take the time to assess your emotional state so that you can start to address those feelings.
• Grieve Your Losses: The changes to the holiday traditions may be necessary, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t profoundly disappointing. Don’t romanticize holidays past, but do let yourself mourn the visits with your extended family members or the Black Friday madness you had to forgo. Give yourself permission to be a little nostalgic.
• Create More Balance: Juggling your work-home life is always a challenge, but the lines get really blurry when you’re working on the couch or at your kitchen table. The demands of the holiday season can make it worse. Whether you live alone or with your family, adhering to a schedule can keep you from either getting distracted or overwhelmed.
• Find New Ways to Celebrate: You can’t go to your grandparent’s house this year, but you can Skype with them over the holiday dinner. You can bake cookies and mail them to your friends or participate in a long-distance gift exchange. Even if you’re all by yourself, put up a tree, pour the hot cocoa, and flip on the holiday movies for some well-earned relaxation.

Essentially, the best way to cope with all the changes is to embrace them. Treasure your memories of holidays past, but don’t stop actively looking for new ways to celebrate.

Looking Forward to a New Year With Optimism and Hope

As 2020 winds down and 2021 approaches, we know that nobody expected to start the new year this way, but we’ve all learned a lot. Creatives Scale is growing fast. Our beta team is active, and we look forward to inviting hundreds of new content writers and marketing specialists into our freelance marketplace very soon. Change is always unsettling and hard, but it’s also the process that can ultimately create opportunities for growth — both professional and personal.