Like so many of you, I’ve been wracked with a lot of anxiety and fear over the past week. I’ve been staying at home with my two kids who are out of school until the end of April, at the very least.

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My husband and I are fortunate in that we can both work from home full-time. So having them here with us didn’t require us to up-end our lives in any major way.

But every time I log into social media or turn on the TV, I’m met with a seemingly never-ending stream of bad news. How do can you stay focused and productive in the midst of all this chaos?

4 Ways to Stay Productive During COVID-19

Here are four ways freelancers can stay productive during this global uncertainty:

1. Don’t use feeling bad as an excuse to do nothing

I have a really hard time staying productive and on task when I feel terrible about something that’s going on. Over the past week, it’s been a huge struggle to do client work or even write posts for this blog.

Because I feel worried about the coronavirus and what could happen in the coming months, doing anything else feels somewhat unimportant. But obviously, the income I earn for my family is very important!

The thing I constantly have to remind myself is that feelings aren’t facts. You can feel your feelings without making them mean something or letting them dictate your actions.

2. Stick to a routine

If you’re really in a funk right now, then I would suggest coming up with some type of schedule. When you don’t have anywhere you need to be, it’s easy to throw routine out the window but in my opinion, this is a mistake.

Having a routine adds a sense of normalcy to your days that you won’t have otherwise. And it’ll help you stay on track and know that you’re getting your most important tasks done.

I still wake up at 5:30 every morning, journal, and then work out. I’m not going anywhere so I don’t actually need to wake up that early, but I feel so much better knowing that I got those things done first thing in the morning.

3. Get ready for the day

I can’t even put into words how much getting ready for my day has helped me. I shower, do my makeup, fix my hair, and put on real clothes no matter what.

My kids are home from school and this week, they started doing distance learning. One of our rules is that every day, they have to get dressed and fix their hair before starting on their schoolwork.

Yes, they could probably just hang out in pajamas all day and get their work done. But they’re not going to be as focused and in my opinion, they’re not going to feel as good about themselves.

I used to think that it didn’t matter whether or not I looked nice during the day. I used to tell myself, “I don’t care what other people think about me!”

Except getting ready for the day isn’t about what other people think of you -- it’s about what you think of yourself. And it’s harder to think highly of yourself if you’re sitting around unshowered in yoga pants.

4. Look for new opportunities

It’s hard to see the good in stressful situations, but there is always an opportunity available for those that are willing to look for it. But many people miss these opportunities because they usually come disguised as work you really don’t feel like doing.

Last week, I had a client reach out to me and ask me if I would write several additional articles about the coronavirus. Honestly, I really struggle with reading the news right now and I really didn’t feel like writing those articles.

But it was an opportunity not just to make more money, but to help my client out. So I said yes. You need to look for opportunities as they come and choose to take advantage of them.

Bottom Line

Everything feels a bit unsettling right now, but I just want to remind you that all of this is temporary. We won’t be stuck at home forever and in one way or another, things will change.

My question to you is who will you be at the end of all of this? Remember, there has never been a better time to become a freelance writer. If you use this time to focus and look for new opportunities, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you can make.