Social Distancing Part 2: Practicing Self Care

Many people are finding social distancing mentally and emotionally draining, especially as we head into week 3 with no immediate end in sight. It is crucial to practice self-care during this time. Since we have not been going to our Highlands Ranch property management office, we have had to invent new ways to introduce some small bits of physical activity to the day. Staying at home each day runs counter to your physical health, so you must remember to engage in some form of exercise each day. Many people have had their gym routines obliterated, and it can be quite difficult to replicate your normal workout at home. You should try to get as close to it as possible, and if not, try to do new things out of your comfort zone. There are many free online classes that do 30 minute cardio exercises using nothing but your body weight. That is a great start, especially if it something you have not done before. We guarantee you will get sore if you try a class like that.

You will need to try and get outside for a walk each day. We recommend using the time you might normally be commuting home to go on a walk in your neighborhood. As the weather improves it will become easier to do so. A walk outside is one of the few exemptions that no one will give you any grief for in the street. Some people confuse the current stay at home orders as literal lockdowns in their homes. Walks have always been permitted, and you must utilize them to your benefit. If you have dogs you likely are already going on daily walks, so we recommend adding some length to these walks. You and your dogs will like it. You must put aside some time for this each night, to prevent your days from being entirely sedentary. The air and sunshine is a large positive for each day as well.

The last tip is perhaps the most important. The constant influx of news can make you quite anxious about the state of the world, or the health of your family and friends. Depending on your news diet, these updates can be alarming, specifically engineered for maximum amount of exposure, which always lends more importance to what would otherwise be an edge case. These often mislead you to believe whatever occurrence you’re reading about is the norm, rather than a fringe story. We recommend stopping reading the news after 5:00pm each night, and to not stay constantly updated. Major news stories will come across your desk, major developments will be hard to miss and all the small stories will still be there regardless. Limiting your intake of the news will help keep stress levels down.

We continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation each day, and are still providing our Highlands Ranch property management services remotely. Please email any member of our staff for updates.