Lockdown Day #1 - routines and support

We wake to a new world order after another moment of history last night.

The Prime Ministers announcement of a lockdown puts paid to any doubts about how we should now be conducting ourselves.

At 13:00 today, I'll be interviewing Sarah Buxton from FTA Law for just 30 minutes and picking her expert brain on the latest that we know about the rights of Employers, employees and the self-employed (for whom there still seems to be a lack of support).

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This morning we all have a decision to make - to react or to respond?

I woke at 03:30 this morning and just lay in my bed thinking about how I intend to respond to today's new world order.

• What changes am I going to make to my all-important routines?

• How best can I support the dental community and my clients?

Routines

Our routines are very important to us - they evidence our safety and stability - Maslow's second need. In lockdown we have to make choices about routines we can keep and those we will have to change. Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach talks about "successful habits" and "unsuccessful habits" - we now have to be very careful not to slip into the latter "just because".

Routines (both successful and unsuccessful) that I'm going to have to change:

• Annie and I cannot walk the dogs twice a day any more (a golden time to chat) - it will be one walk each and alone;

• I can't enjoy a 10 km run if I'm walking the dogs;

• I can't expect my clients to keep paying substantial coaching fees;

• I can't sit on the sofa and quaff a decent amount of red wine every night;

• I want to limit my exposure to the digital "whack-a-mole" of incoming messages and not have to try and stay focused whilst my devices are pinging. A bit of digital down-time every day.

Routines that I can keep or introduce:

• I'm staying a member of the 05:00am Club. That 90 minutes of peace and solitude at the start of each day is priceless;

• We are blessed with a large jacuzzi bath at home and that's where we have some of our best conversations (I know, too much information - but these are exceptional times) - so the number of bath nights will increase because we need to talk!

• Thank goodness for my Wattbike - I'll be altering my training regime and, no doubt, catch up on a lot of box sets. There's an old rowing machine in the garden shed - I may take a look later today and see if it can be renovated:

• It's important to keep reading good literature and planning time to do that every day. I'm currently enjoying "Arctic Dreams" by Barry Lopez, one of the greatest humanitarian and environmental writers in the world:

• Weather permitting (or with appropriate clothing) there's a lot to be gained by just sitting in the garden - I did that for 30 minutes yesterday in Spring sunshine and felt invigorated, even though all I did was just sit and think;

• Using technology to stay connected to my immediate family. With 5 adult children scattered around the UK, Facebook Messenger Group video calls have been a Godsend in the last week.

This morning we all face choices as to how we intend to re-organise our lives, both personally and professionally.

Make good choices.

Supporting the dental community and my clients

My mind is buzzing at the moment (which is why I woke at 03:30).

We are entering a three month period, unprecedented in our lifetimes.

How we show up and the things we do will lay the foundations for survival and prosperity in an economy that will take much longer to recover.

It's not going to be an all-clear from Boris in 12 weeks and then back to normal.

So I'm asking myself "what can I do to support dental business owners during the next 3 months?"

Today, on a more practical note, I'll be in conversation with each of my clients individually to drastically reduce their coaching fees for the time being but also to explain how I'm going to carry on supporting them as owners, managers and teams with a dedicated lock down and recovery Extreme Business Regeneration Programme.

In business we have to plan NOW for how we intend to transition FROM FURLOUGH TO FULL PRACTICE when Covid-19 is under control.

My intention is to create content that will assist in every aspect of Business Regeneration, looking at finances, marketing, the patient journey and team building in the regeneration cycle.

I also want to explore the personal well-being of owners, managers, team members and self-employed clinicians, firstly during the lockdown and then as we regenerate.

Looking at their personal financial planning, relationships with family, rebuilding their social lives, physical fitness, intellectual stimulation and spirituality - all through the next 12 weeks and beyond into the recovery and regeneration phase.

I'd like to show up as a personal as well as a business coach.

More on that anon.

For now - time to shower, dress and walk the dogs.

Stay safe and well - and maybe see you at 13:00.