We are in, wait for that word…. unprecedented times! We’re all adapting to the change and it can feel a little overwhelming deciding which areas of our lives we need to focus on first. Here at Co-Women we’ve compiled a list of essential survival tips that we hope will help ease that burden and save you hours of search time.
We hope you find this list really helpful, and we advise printing this out and keeping it on your fridge or desk, so you have all the information easily to hand.
BUSINESS
1. Business Advice
Business development consultant Tim Healey has assembled a team of professionals offering FREE services worth £1000's to support business owners in need during the corona crisis. Offers include: Social media strategy, PR, SEO, Personal development and Business development and marketing advice. Visit Shoot4TheMoon to find out more.
Jez Kay is a business mentor offering a heavily reduced one to one Webinar Essentials course to help you get your head around all the latest tech to help your online business and events run smoothly. Find out more here.
It may feel like events are the last thing on your mind right now, but with all this time in quarantine, you can use this as your perfect opportunity to plan your business come back with a bang and a great way of doing this is with a showcase event. If you have an idea for a comeback event but aren’t sure how to get started, Co-Women founder Jo Child is offering free 30 minute discovery calls during this lockdown period. Email Jo at jo@co-women.org to find out more.
2. Virtual events.
Taking events and services online is the talk of the town right now and it can be a daunting concept if this is new to you. For a really good Youtube tutorial on getting started with Zoom, check this out.
Co-Women will be hosting a string of virtual fun events available to everyone, including quiz nights, open mic nights and more, plus a timetable of business events for Co-Women members. To stay updated, subscribe now to the newsletter at www.co-women.org
3. Preparing for the future as a woman in business.
Undoubtedly when normal services resume, you’ll be excited to reacquaint with your network and meet new people. Co-Women is passionate about showcasing our members to the world and giving you the platform to be seen by our wide and growing audience. Our schedule is full of ways, both now and in the future, to bring our tribe together, providing genuine support from women of all walks of life who care about inspiring and helping others.
We stand out as an all women organisation with our strict “No Clique” policy and are passionate about supporting our community of messy women. Find out exactly what we mean by this in our blog here.
Our membership subscription is packed full of benefits designed to make your business BOOM, and if you sign up now for standard membership, we’re offering two months’ worth of premium benefits worth £100’s for just £10 per month. Ready to join the best tribe for women? Click here
LIFESTYLE
4. Home deliveries.
This is a great time to get the best out of your social media pages and look up all your favourite places that you follow to find out if they will deliver. Now more than ever your local shops need support so get in touch and ask them if they’re offering deliveries. If you’re in Brighton and Hove check out Co-Women’s amazing Facebook group for a directory of local shops delivering to the area. The list currently stands at over 70 retailers offering everything from groceries, eco friendly jewellery, pet supplies, gifts, hardware and more.
5. Financial advice and updates.
These are confusing times for both the employed and self employed. The employed are receiving advice on TV that they have access to 80% of their salary, although not all employers are complying, notably you may have seen on the news that head honcho at Wetherspoons has told his employees to “go work at Tesco” The self employed are on tenterhooks waiting for more announcements to be revealed towards the end of this week.
Limit yourself to these two reliable resources for all your updates. Gov.uk is where you’ll find all the latest advice directly from government. For everything explained in a way you can get your head around, and for a whole world of money saving knowledge all in one place including free stuff, how to freeze your bills and even how to apply for refunds on your bank charges, visit the superhero and money expert Martin Lewis at www.moneysavingexpert.com
6. Entertaining the kids.
Now is not the time to concern yourself with limiting screen time! We know it’s going to be tough and you’ll be forgiven for letting your kids get a bit feral. Hell, you might even lose one under a pile of washing! How tempting is it to play a game of hide and seek, find a hiding spot so good that you get a bit of peace and quiet. I remember years ago when our kids were little, a friend and I played hide and seek with our boys. We both sat either side of my lounge window with a curtain wrapped around us, a magazine in one hand and cup of tea in the other and the kids didn’t find us for like, half an hour! Ah, memories. Anyhoo, I digress. There are literally thousands of great apps and games on devices but I personally recommend Plants vs Zombies, an oldie but a goodie, and the relatively new House Party. House party is like Zoom but fun! You can hang out with your favourite people on video chat and play games at the same time.
Next, try these:
*arts and crafts*baking*hide and seek*build a fort*grow plants and vegetables (see below*stargazing*research something new*create quizzes*play board games*make a new board game*watching tv? Play guess the ads*teach them to sew* paint stones from the garden* create a home gym* family yoga!*
7. Mindful Activities
Again the internet truly is your best friend here and you can find a tutorial for literally everything these days. Here’s a few ideas to get your started:
Gardening and growing your own produce
If you’re lucky enough to have your own garden then you’ll most likely be finding yourself spending a lot of time there over the coming months. It makes sense to make it your sanctuary and if you’re not already naturally green fingered you can find tons of resources online to help get you started.
Growing your own vegetables is a highly satisfying activity that the whole family can enjoy and you can buy kits both for you and brightly coloured children's kits from www.suttons.co.uk
Also try:
Bake a cake
Make mandalas
Decoupage
Sketching and painting
Read books and work your way through that pile of magazines that have been piled on your desk for some time.
LIFESTYLE
8. Exercise
Check out my local online exercise class recommendations, all led by women in the Co-Women community.
Yoga – Bryony Hamerton, owner of BeYoga has just set up yoga classes online. Subscribe to her Youtube channel.
HIIT – Helene Evans brings her mix of drum n bass boxing, kettlebell classes and high intensity training online. Find her on her Facebook page Freeki Fit
Pilates – Lisa Be is another superheroine providing online pilates classes and specializes in pilates for sciatica. Find her here
Cardio – Christine Chessman. You’ll love starting your day off with this super cute mother and daughter duo, bringing you a high energy workout each weekday.
9. Community
Use your social media for good. People are needing each other more than ever during lockdown and now is the time to get on your socials, join your local groups and see if there are ways to help those less fortunate than yourself. It really does wonders for your own mental health to take the time to look out for others. If we are learning anything from these times its that we’re naturally communal as human beings. We need each other and the reassurance to see so much good in people is just what we need to fight off anxiety.
Pick up the phone. Talk to someone you haven’t spoken to in a really long time.
Make a list of the people you know and care about. What might they need? Do you have the capacity to help someone?
Final thoughts:
We are so lucky in the digital age that even when we are homebound, we can access pretty much everything we need with a laptop and decent WiFi connection. It’s well worth shopping around for free offers on products, services and learning resources. Consider using platforms you haven’t before if it means saving on your monthly subscriptions. For example iplayer have recently added a huge range of box sets for live streaming, meaning you may be able to pause or let go of a streaming platform you currently pay for.
Check your bank statement for direct debits and standing orders you can cancel. Contact all your creditors and ask how they plan to serve their customers better during this period. They may offer you options to pause your payments.
BREATHE AND REMEMBER WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. We will be ok.
What would you add to this list? Add your own survival tips in the comments.