BY: Alicia Marinelli, Founder & President at Living Sport
Surreal. Crazy. Unfathomable.
Those are all words that I have heard the COVID 19 epidemic referred to. We certainly are in uncharted waters here. One year ago, when the job market was flourishing, we never could have imagined that COVID 19 was just a few months away and it would change the trajectory of the lives of people worldwide.
Even though the uncertainty of the situation we face may be overwhelming at times, I encourage everyone to stay positive. We may be down, but we are not out. Babe Ruth left us with a timeless quote, “It’s hard to beat a person that doesn’t give up.” Indeed Babe would encourage us to continue to push forward.
While we are at home, let's keep our mind flowing! Each day this week we will countdown our top 5 things that the world is learning and so could you.
#5: How to work or school from home
I’ve spent my entire professional career reporting to an office building for work. At each building I had an office or a cubical, coworkers, report times and office etiquette that most people followed. When I decided to pursue Living Sport full time in 2019, I went from an office space to a home office.
Little did I know that there are many more challenges than I originally thought would occur while working from home. The world is now experiencing that first hand as well. The hardest part, I would say is staying focused, while any number of distractions can be going on in the house as well. Some distractions throughout the day include family interruptions, speed of home internet, personal phone calls, pet interruptions, lack of exercise, and not ever truly being able to walk away from work, because it’s always there!
Now, do I enjoy working from home? Absolutely. But there are some guidelines to set into place to conquer some of these challenges. Let’s break down some of the distractions and see how they can be overcome.
Family Interruptions: This one is tough. Let your family know that you have specific work times that you are unavailable. It will help to set up a private area that allows you to separate yourself and provide an area that you know it's time to work. This separates work mode from personal time. At my home office, there is a rule in place that if the office door is closed, I am off limits for the time being. It may take your family some time to realize the importance of this so in the beginning be patient with them!
Weekly Monday morning Zoom meeting with the team.
Speed of Home Internet: One of the most crucial parts to your work or school day is your internet connection. The faster it is, the faster you can work. A slow internet connection will hinder productivity, so you may want to check into upgrading your internet speed. It's not a fun thing to spend money on, but trust me it will save a lot of time and headaches. If it's a problem that doesn’t happen often, then (if and when possible) check out a local coffee shop that has wifi for you to use that will also provide a different atmosphere for you.
Pet Interruptions: I love my pets and thoroughly enjoy having them visit me in my office. Though, there is behavior from these lovable creatures that may not mix so well with working from home. When my dog Roscoe hears another dog outside the house, he will begin barking in his loudest, deepest bark he can pull off. When I first started working from home, this happened while on a conference call. That is when I learned my lesson!
Dugan in midmorning form after walking away for a few minutes!
Then there is my cat, Jimmy Dugan (named after the coach in A League of Their Own), who graces me with his presence for two different reasons. If he is vying for attention he will jump on my desk and start walking on my keyboard before sitting directly in front of my monitor. The other typical reason for his visit is if he is tired he will lay in my lap while I work. Cute, right? Yes, but this doesn’t seem like a problem until I have to get up to get look for paperwork, get a USB, or grab a file folder. Then I feel bad getting up and waking him! The trick with this one is again, shutting the door to keep pets out during important times. If you don’t have a door on the room you're using for your office you may have to reverse the idea, and place the animals inside a room with a door until you're finished.
Personal Phone Calls: When working or schooling from home, you become much more accessible than being in an office or a classroom. I even found that I get a lot more requests to do errands from friends and family, because I am the only one they can think of that can leave work easily. Don’t get me wrong, I always love helping people and most of the time I find a way to get it done. Whether it is a phone call to catch up or a phone call asking for a favor, understand that each time you answer the phone it takes you away from your work that you will have to make up for later. I find the most challenging aspect of taking personal calls happens after the call when I have to remember and refocus on what I was doing prior. If it was a spreadsheet or calculations, I may even have to start over to make sure I’m fully focused. This process takes up even more time out of your day. Just like you would if you were working from an office, it is okay to call people back when you are finished with work.
Roscoe and I on an afternoon walk through the neighboring campus of Kutztown University.
Lack of Exercise: Simply working/schooling from home eliminates so many steps from your day. Just think about walking to your car, walking inside the office/school building to your desk, walking across campus to meetings or classes, etc. Getting up from your desk throughout the day is important for exercise, but also to refresh the mind. If you have a dog at home, this is where a walk could be very beneficial to you both! Remember, this is important and is definitely something that is easy to forget to do.
Walking Away From the Work: Having a home office means that work is easily accessible at all hours of the day. No matter how hard of a worker you are, unplugging and giving yourself some time is much needed and will pay dividends in the long run.
With many people around the world learning how to work and school from home, this experience can set the tone for more flexible work schedules post COVID 19. Building good habits now or learning from those who are doing it could also enhance a future employer’s confidence that you can handle a work from home position.
4. Creating Ways to Stay Connected
I think we are all starting to get to the point where social distancing is becoming a bit challenging. We are social butterflies. Our world is built around connecting and conversing with each other, and we just want to fly! As much as we want to get out there into the world, the responsible move is to follow orders to stay at home and do our part in the fight against this pandemic. Just think how sweet it will be when we are back to business as usual.
Let’s dive into creative ideas on how you can stay connected to family, friends, and coworkers during this time.
Social Happy Hours: I have been seeing so many group social hours on social media and it is a fabulous idea! You can choose any of your social groups to make this happen. The social hour provides a way to step aside from business or school work and use the digital platforms for everyone to connect, chat with each other, and have a good time. I even saw a good friend of mine dress in a suit while attending a digital party! Now that's the spirit!
Zoom is my top choice platform for video and audio conferencing for groups. It's simple, if you plan to be the host you will have to set up a free account. Instructions can be found here. Those that join your conference do not need to have a zoom account.
Digital Wellbeing: Business and individuals are getting very creative and offering all types of classes online. Get the day started with a friend or two while participating in a digital group workout or an evening group yoga class. To compliment your workout, check out some online cooking classes that can help improve your cooking skills and teach you how to cook healthy meals.
Living Sport Mentor, Murv English conducting Form Follows Function (3F) Training Zoom workouts.
Movie/Games Nights: Are you missing movie night? Me too. It is very simple to recreate! It can be as simple as using Facetime with a friend or family member, both turning to your favorite streaming app, and timing it just right so both of you press play at the same time.
Chelsie Bingham & Jess Garcia (Barcelona ‘17) started a weekly movie night!
Another way to watch movies with others is with Netflix Party, an extension that lets multiple Netflix users watch a show together from different locations. The extension is only available for Google Chrome browser. Get the extension through the Google Chrome store within the same browser. Install it and you are able to watch Netflix with someone. Netflix Party also provides a personal chat room for your group.
Apart from Facetime and Zoom, HouseParty is another video app you can use to stay connected. HouseParty gives a split screen look at callers in the “house” and allows eight people on the call at once. It also allows you to play trivia games with whoever you are chatting with.
If you are interested in playing board games digitally with family and friends there are many options out there for free! Monopoly and Settlers of Catan are two popular group games. There is even an online game called Remote Insensitivity that is very similar to Cards Against Humanity. You can share the link to have multiple people join in on the game. If you are into card games there are options that include Hearts, Canasta, Rummy, Crazy 8’s and more!
Mike Wasco, Barcelona ‘17 alum and Alumni Board Chair, posted about an online gaming platform called Quiplash. This is a party video game where you come up with answers for the questions the game presents to you. Everyone playing answers the questions and then votes on the best answer. You can even see everyone you are playing with via video. Those that win the votes, get points. The game has a $4.99 fee to download (on sale from $9.99), but I think it is totally worth it for hours of fun with friends.
Don’t forget about Facebook for online games. Who can forget that time when the world was addicted to Words with Friends? It’s one of my favorite games that also allows us to brush up on our spelling.
Take your meetups online: Organize a Zoom with your Sport Management Club, Young Professionals Club, Book Club, Sorority/Fraternity, sports team or any group you may be involved in. During these types of groups share ideas and help encourage others to stay positive during this time while still being productive! Is there an initiative that your group could take on to make a positive impact on something that is important to you? Go after it!
I had a conversation with Sport Management students from East Stroudsburg University who were conducting an interview for a class project. One topic we discussed was that in order to find success in the sport industry, it is more than just going to class, you have to do what other people are not doing. Here is an opportunity to take leadership amongst your peers and create stories for future interviews!
This all sounds great, right? The one trick with is that with all of the ideas that were shared, someone has to step up and do the planning. Be the person in your family, friend group, office staff, or college class that organizes this to help everyone get together. Whether we know it or not, we can all use some social time right now, and afterward, people will be thrilled they joined in.
3. Creating Opportunities From Home
WIth the internet the world is right at our fingertips. If you come up with something clever you can share with people from all over the globe in seconds. My social feed is filled with really great ideas. Below are some of my favorite ideas I have seen thus far.
A bit of encouragement came from Nike’s latest ad campaign, “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance. Play inside. Play for the world”. I processed this campaign in two different ways.
Stay at home. By doing this you are contributing your part to this team effort to fight against COVID 19.
Play indoors and share your videos so that you can be seen by millions around the world like you always dreamed.
My initial thought from this campaign was #2 and I thought it was brilliant. This brings us to our first way to create an opportunity while at home.
Hop on the TikTok Train: My favorite entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) has been talking about TikTok for over a year now, maybe longer. He has been raving that it is the next big thing based on consumer metrics. This stay-at-home order has pushed TikTok to the next level making it mainstream and something that is here to stay...at least for how long it’s trend cycle lasts.
Why I really like TikTok is because it encourages creativity and it is giving millions of video creators time to focus on creating great content. I specifically love the trick shot obstacles where you can see it took time and effort to build out the obstacle from household items and even more time to make the shot actually work.
If you are not into the dancing part of TikTok, stick to what we all know, sports!
If you are someone that is home with their parents, TikTok has been a vehicle for families to do something they wouldn’t usually do together. This type of getting out of your comfort zone activity creates for excellent bonding time, and is really special during unprecedented times.
Learning how to develop successful content on social platforms like TikTok isn’t only for personal gain. Social media is so important in business and if you utilize these social channels to build your portfolio you can have examples and statistics to share with potential employers.
Take Your Love for Cooking/Baking to the Next Level: I am seeing a lot of online cookie shops pop up. It is a perfect side hustle for those that have a passion for baking and it's a business that doesn’t have too many upfront costs associated. After all of the equipment is purchased, the business can market through social media and word of mouth.
Cookies made for medical staff and first responders.
A former Minor League Baseball coworker, Tyler deRouen and his wife opened their cookie business a few years ago. It has been really fun to see the business grow. They are very creative with putting out ideas that are attractive to different demographic markets. Just last week they had an Easter cookie pre-sale and sold out in days! I’m sure their sights are now set on the next upcoming holiday.
Another idea with this same concept is to create a cooking club style video session helping people make a certain type of dessert or meal. Provide them with a shopping list prior to the session and then everyone can bake/cook together! This provides both social interaction and a meal/dessert for their family!
We could list thousands of ideas here but it is important that you find something that really interests you.
Do Research for a Future Project: With most stores closed, some ideas may have to wait until businesses are open again. Don’t let this discourage you. Now is the time to put it research for a future project. Remember that Google is your friend. If you simply Google a few key words you can come up with an article like this one, 22 Best Side Hustles, that could provide inspiration and direction on how to get started.
A large piece of advice is to be patient with your ideas. Opportunities, side hustles, and especially businesses take time to grow. We may think that some people have had overnight success, but the question is if they would agree or would they inform us that they put a lot of time and effort in before they found success?
2. HELPING YOUR Community
When humanity is dealt with an unfortunate situation it is the sense of community that allows our heart to keep believing that we will all get through this. It's the people helping people aspect that touches our soul.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller
This quote defines the concept of community and the overall montra of COVID 19, that we are all in this together.
There have been so many great stories of how people and businesses just in the sport industry alone that have come together to help. Here are my favorites:
A look at the face shields Bauer is able to provide to protect medical workers.
Bauer, a hockey equipment manufacturing company shifted its focus from equipment that serves players on the ice to materials such as masks and shields for medical professionals as hospitals across the world have faced a shortage of protective equipment.
Sports apparel maker Fanatics’ halted production of baseball jerseys to begin making safety masks and gowns for healthcare workers on the front line.
Mark Cuban led the charge to commit to continue to pay arena workers during the stoppage of play. This action prompted other teams and even players from across the sports world to follow suit and announce plans to help compensate those workers who are typically paid by the hour. Many teams and athletes have also been donating to COVID 19 related charities.
Medical staff are provided with a new team look from Fanatics to aid in the shortage of protective equipment.
Outside of sports, there have been so many other people helping to do their part as well. On my social feed, I have seen many sewing machines come up from being packed away in the basement to be used to make masks for health care workers and first responders.
We have seen musicians play for neighbors on balconies, group workout sessions from apartment buildings, and even police officers getting out of their vehicles to dance in the empty streets to put a smile on the faces of people that reside in nearby buildings.
You too can make a difference in your community. How can you utilize the skills you have learned through school and work experiences to make a difference?
Here is a great idea that took place in my neighborhood of Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Our town is a small, tight knit, college community with a main street filled with shops, restaurants, houses, and apartment buildings.
To help raise the spirits of the community, last Friday an event was organized for community residents. The event titled “The Whole Town Toast”, invited people (via social media) to step outside on their porch at 6:00PM. At 6:05PM, the mayor broadcasted a message to the community and afterward neighbors shared a moment and toasted from afar. Afterward, a parade of first responders in fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars with flashing lights and sirens came through the town’s Main Street. Residents had the chance to wave and thank those responders who were honoring all the medical staff throughout the world that have been working tirelessly throughout this pandemic.
The Whole Town Toast Parade on West Main Street in Kutztown, Pa - headquarters of Living Sport.
It was a very touching moment that brought tears to my eyes. Seeing a community organize an event that provided everyone a bit of hope in a time we need it most was something very special.
How can you help your community? There are endless possibilities. Delivering groceries to elderly neighbors, mowing the lawn of someone that may need help, volunteering at a food kitchen or donating food to your local food bank are all ways you can help.
Taking the example I provided about my community’s event, it is a fantastic idea to raise your community’s spirit and also gain experience organizing an event. A story like this is something you can be proud to discuss in a future interview.
Is this something you can try to organize in your own community? All it takes is a few phone calls. Will you make the call?
Making Family Time a Priority
It's no secret that people around the world are busy. We try to squeeze in as much as we can into 24 hours a day. With each individual being out in the world working longer hours, attending more events, and getting sucked into that social app or Netflix series, over time one thing has gone missing from many of our everyday lives.
The more we do, the more family time has to be put on hold. Why is that? Maybe because we think it is always going to be there, or maybe we think we will get to it later. I don’t think it is because we don’t want to spend time with family, it's just impossible to do everything. Prior to COVID 19, many homes didn’t have a family meal time in some time, children went to practice instead of playing ball out back, and of course there were so many other things to do that left the house empty for the majority of the day. A Lot may be wrong in the world right now, but I think this is one part that is right.
When I look back these past few weeks, I think about how the world has slowed down and that is the part of all of this that I love. We now have time to come up for air from the daily hustle and bustle to accomplish tasks that were on the to-do list for sometime. My favorite was seeing a little girl outside chasing her dog around in the yard on a beautiful spring day. She was laughing and her dog probably loved it just as much. I have also seen parents in the backyard playing baseball and football with their kids. A York College student that I spoke with last week showed me a scoreboard his family made to keep tally on different indoor and outdoor games they have been playing with each other. I have seen posts of all kind of family activity (see #4 of this blog: Creating Ways to Stay Connected). This is something that I know I haven’t seen in quite some time and it truly warms my heart.
I think families have connected in ways they never would have without this time in quarantine. Now that we got a taste for it, I hope we will continue to make time for it even after our lives move toward our new normal.
I think it's important to add that we can’t forget those they may be in a different situation. On the other side of the spectrum, there are young professionals, amongst many other groups, that have moved halfway across the country for work that don’t have family near them. I am sure they are doing fine and I do think this period will serve as a growth moment for them but it is almost inevitable that at some point during this quarantine they would have enjoyed some company. Maybe they wished they had the chance to spend time with family. Whatever the case, as a community of young professionals I ask that if you know anyone that is staying by themselves, give them a call and schedule a time to connect. We have our immediate family, but our friend families, work families, etc. are so important as well.
Do you have family you should check in with? How about a family member that may enjoy a phone call? Now is the time more than ever that a simple phone call could brighten someone's day.
Continue to be kind everyone!