How to stay productive and focused during the coronavirus pandemic

When the news first reported about Covid-19 in January, I wasn’t worried. But a few months down the line, when the virus had begun to severely impact Italy, I did some maths on the exponential growth of the virus – and this quickly shifted my state from calm to panicked. For the first time in my 32 years of life, I felt as though we were about to experience the closest thing possible to the chaos of a world war.

So, how did I respond? I read everything there was about coronavirus. I did more and more maths, and I closely followed the news cycle. What this resulted in was three things: I learned a lot about pandemics, I completely lost focus on anything else, and it ruined my sleep. I was beyond stressed.

My ‘coronacation’

After a day of self-reflection, I wrote down my thoughts and realised that my stress levels were destroying me. So, I decided to take a ‘coronacation’ – I completely distanced myself from the news. I unfollowed all news outlets, deleted my social media and stock market apps, and told my family I didn’t want any news about coronavirus unless I asked for it.

A few nights later, I was finally able to get some sleep. I felt like my anxieties were finally lifting. I still isolated and washed my hands more than usual, but I felt so much better! I could once again focus on my goals and dreams with Great.com, my casino charity project.

I’d like to share some tips with you that I discovered through and after my ‘coronacation’ that left me more energised, productive, and focused.

Create a productive environment

I believe that most of the time, being productive is about 3% creativity and 97% limiting distractions. Covid-19 is a perfect example of this. You know what you need to do to stay safe, and you’re doing it. Instead of hyper-focusing on coronavirus, use this time to focus on your goals.

Try doing what I did and delete social media and news outlets from your phone. Cancel some of those meetings and lunches that you have in a regular work week and blame it on the coronavirus. Whether it’s working on a charity casino project or writing a poem, take advantage of having more undisturbed time in your calendar than you’ve had in years and get stuff done.

Establish a schedule

New goals don’t bring new results – new habits bring new results! I believe the key to success is developing good habits. If you can build great habits, you can accomplish anything. For me, a schedule is an important part of those habits.

I wake up around 7 am every morning, have a cup of coffee, and then do a 15-minute morning routine gratitude meditation practice. After that, I work until 10am and then take a break to go outside for a walk or run. After my workout, I usually have lunch and a nap before I get back to work at 2pm, finishing my day around 8pm.

This is the schedule that I’ve found works best for me. Working from home gives you a chance to play around with what your dream schedule would look like if you were in charge of your time completely. What rhythm works for you? Use this time to experiment and find out. You might even learn what you value most in your schedule for when our world goes back to normal.

Prioritise mental health

I believe meditation is like intermittent fasting for the mind. Too much sugar leads to a heavy body, and too many distractions lead to a heavy mind. Time spent undistracted and alone, such as in self-examination, journalling, or meditation, takes us from mentally fat to fit.

You don’t want your mental health to be a gamble – leave that to the casino. In stressful and chaotic times, it’s more important than ever to find a calm within. If you have never tried meditation, there’s no better time.

The only way to know what helps your mental wellbeing is to be open to trying new things. Try starting with a 10-minute meditation every day. I recommend the app Headspace – they even offer a free version!

Seize your opportunity

Maintaining emotional intelligence during a crisis is one of the hardest things to do. It’s also one of the most important.

The coronavirus is scary. It’s something that we have never experienced before as a society. This is why self-reflection, focused goals, and productivity are more important than ever. Yes, we are dealing with an unprecedented catastrophe impacting the lives of millions – but at the same time, you can use it to better your life, professionally and personally, if you seize the opportunity.

Erik Bergman co-founded Catena Media and helped grow it to over 300 employees and a $200m valuation before stepping away to start Great.com, a casino affiliate that donates 100% of its profits to environmental charities.