Self-Care in a Stressful Time

Since I will be meeting with all of you this week in zoom office hours for more substantive conversations, it seemed a good time to launch the first Monday Message contest of 2021: Silly Love Songs. (Yes, that’s a Wings’ reference and I’m old enough to remember when it was cool to look like this.)

With February 14 right around the corner and with all of us oh-so-tired of social distancing and needing that shot of serotonin and dose of dopamine that love provides, I invite you to share your favorite love song with me at presidentsoffice@nvcc.edu by February 3. I’ll compile all the songs into a single list and create a Spotify playlist and post to my Monday Message on February 8. Plus, I’ll draw the name of one participant who will be mailed a suitably sweet surprise for the season.

On a more serious note, I know that it is a stressful time for everyone. When I say, “You Matter to NOVA,” I mean it. But, you must also matter to you. Remember, there’s a reason that the flight attendant instructs passengers that, in case of emergency, they need to put on their own oxygen masks first before helping others.

Make time to take care of yourself. (I know that’s not easy but try.) Reach out when you need help, and know that you’ve earned the resources available to you, so use them: apply for the spring flex schedule, take a few hours or a day of leave when you need a break, connect with our employee assistance program. A growing body of research conducted during the pandemic also provides suggestions for ways that you can ease fatigue: opt for good old fashioned conference calls rather than zooms for meetings; define a set physical space for your work to separate it from your home life; take an actual lunch away from your screen; make time between meetings to get up and move; stop multi-tasking during a zoom; at least a few days a week, shut your laptop at the day’s end as though it were your office door and do not open it again until the next day. If you have other ideas, please pass them along.

I look forward to seeing the silly love songs you fill your worlds with!