5 Life Hacks for the Furloughed

I've been speaking to a lot of clients, friends & contacts recently who have gone through the process of furlough.

There are a lot of common threads & themes in those conversations that I want to address here as I feel it's an important topic & message for people in that situation to here right now.

'Furlough' is a word that I hadn't even heard of until the COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic & I know I am not alone in that.

However, the process of furloughing people has been brought in to provide a layer of protection for employers & employees.

What is furlough?

Furloughing is designed to support firms that have been badly hit by coronavirus, and to prevent mass unemployment. It will temporarily help pay the wages of people who can't do their jobs, to help companies retain them.

Being furloughed means employees are kept on the payroll, even though they aren't working.

Businesses can claim 80% of their employees' wages from the government, up to a maximum of £2,500 per person, per month before tax. The company can top up this pay if it chooses. It must write to affected employees to let them know they have been furloughed.

The scheme came into effect on 1 March and was due to last an initial three months. It has since been extended until at least the end of June. However, reimbursements to companies will not start until at least the end of April.

Look, I am not a furlough expert or indeed a details guy - so I'll leave that to the professionals - but the area that I am concerned about is the effect that it is having on people's Mental Health, Wellbeing & Confidence/Self-Belief.

With that in mind, I wanted to give you a handful of tips, tools & techniques that may be of use to you - if you have experienced being furloughed & it's triggered an anxious response.

1) Just know - it's not you!

It would be very easy to take this personally.

You may have asked yourself 'why me?' - questioned your overall importance within your organisation - or maybe considered your place in the pecking order of things - as you are one of the people to have been 'let go' whilst others remain.

It's not you.

It's the position.

The position that we all find ourselves in - facing unique, unprecedented challenges - and having to make tough decisions.

The reason why YOU have been furloughed - is because you are being safeguarded, ready to bring back in as soon as 'normality' resumes - and only a skeleton crew remain to manage the essential runnings of an organisation.

This DOES NOT make YOU any less important or less wanted - in fact, the reason you are furloughed is to ensure you can remain - ready for that call to come back!

So soak that in - in no way should this affect your confidence or self-belief.

2) Change & Procrastination

When I deliver talks to businesses & corporates in the UK - the overwhelming feedback I get on the biggest anxiety triggers are CHANGE & PROCRASTINATION.

Change is inevitable.

Procrastination not so much!

Things always change - even pre-pandemic - personally & professionally - in life & business - things are always changing.

Which is why our focus should be on building RESILIENCE - and a great place to start are the following tips - but also subscribe to my YouTube Channel as next week I will be doing a series of daily #2minutetopics videos on this very subject!

But if you find you are putting things off - check out my previous video on Procrastination!

3) Power-up your routine!

Right now we are living in Groundhog Day!

Actually, I feel really strong & happy right now - because for me this is an old recovery mechanism!

What do I mean?

Anxiety to me was regret from the past - or fear of the future - but rarely TODAY - so the way we are now living really empowers me!

Look, no one knows when this will end - or even what the end looks like - so all we can do is to give our very best TODAY and having a positive routine will certainly help you!

How could this look? Here is a great example of what I do to make me feel human again!

• Morning: 6am start, coffee, exercise, affirmations, breakfast & shower.
• Daytime: Regular movement, hourly hydration, meditation & Country Music!
• Evening: Personal or Professional Development, family time, do something I love, walk the dog, gratitude list (10 things that I loved about the day) & sleep - lots of it!

This is just my example - however, the important thing is the routine - it ensures we go into every day with positive intent & maintain focus!

4) Personal & Professional Development

I bet - as I have said many times - you have said to yourself 'I wish I had more time'!

Well - now you have!

Ok, we never asked for a Pandemic - but, you do have some valuable free time now (largely paid) that would be SUCH a shame if we just let it idle by.

I'm not sure if you feel the same - but so far, this lockdown has flown by! So it will easily be wasted if we are not careful - but also know it is ok just to use this time to REST, RELAX & RECOVER!

But if you do want to up-skill, up your game or generally 'power-up' - now is a great time!

There are lots of workshops, learnings and courses available online - a lot of them free or low cost (you can find mine HERE) - plus I have found most employers that I work with are laying on fantastic learning opportunities for professional or life skill trainings - you just need to ask!

Check out platforms such as Meet-Up & Eventbrite - as a lot of 'in-person' events have now been shifted online.

I have also started to do online #Business #Networking events & even launched my own group for 4Networking - 4N Forging People, Monday evenings 630pm - 8pm - opportunities are everywhere - you only have to ask or find them!

5) Manage the Manageables

It's time to focus on what you CAN influence and what you CAN'T.

Given that the world's best minds don't know when this will end - or indeed even what the end looks like - who are we to take a stab at it?

Also - we are all so busy creating a new reality - that I guarantee that life & business will never return to what it was.

The world has changed - permanently.

So - now more than ever - it's time to 'manage the manageables' - focus on creating YOUR new reality.

What does your ideal 'big picture' look like?

Get creative. Get busy. Try stuff.

The best way to test your new reality is to follow the process;

We will be trying new stuff, learning & evolving for a long time - so get comfortable with being uncomfortable...

Your best future lies outside of your comfort zone.

All we have right now is the ability to manage what we can & let go of what we can't.

Live in day tight compartments.

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I have also put together this broader video on managing Anxiety at this time which you can find HERE.

If you would like to reach out - please do drop me a line - nick@nickelston.com or find me across social media, the links can be found at www.nickelston.com - I'm always happy to speak to people - especially right now!

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong.

Cheers

Nick 🧢