If you — like us — are suddenly co-working at home alongside your spouse, kids, and pets … you may be finding it to be a bit, ahem, challenging. We’ve got the guest post for you today.

Margot Schulman is an activist, author, and facilitator as well as a love, sex, and relationship coach with more than 16 years of experience helping others to create peace, freedom, and love in their lives. Known as the “Love Activist” and as the founder of the Choose Love Movement, Margot is the author of Choose Love: A Simple Path to Healthy, Joyful Relationships.

And, today, she’s sharing three mindfulness practices with us to help us get through this crazy, crazy time.

Suddenly Co-Working with Your Family? 3 Mindfulness Practices to Try By Margot Schulman

We are all in an unprecedented situation. Emotions are big and tumultuous and we are each processing a LOT. I know for me and my kids, it’s been a roller coaster of different emotions, concerns, and worries. I find myself relying on my mindfulness and nervous system soothing practices constantly for myself and my children.

Each of us has unique needs and ways of handling stress. So far there are a few particular strategies that have been helpful for everyone — me, my kids, and my coaching clients.

1. Set intentions or goals for the quarantine time for yourself and with your family.

This is so helpful to remind you and your kids that you still have control over many things — even now, at this topsy turvy time. Call a family meeting and get specific on what goal is important to your family.

Here are some examples of both general goals and specific projects:

• Our goal is to stay healthy, enjoy this time together as much as possible, and have fun! Isadora will learn how to ride a bike, Oliver will create three new designs for t-shirts, Margot will get 10,000 words written in her novel.
• Our family goal is to stay healthy, feel more connected to each other, and stay connected to our other family and friends. We will sort through all our stuff in order to clear out things we no longer need or use, study Spanish together, and stay fit through daily kitchen dance parties.

2. Bring awareness to your mindset.

At a time like this it is easy to focus on fear, insecurity, and inconvenience. It takes courage, commitment, and practice to reset towards gratitude, joy, and peace.

• Create a gratitude practice with your family — every day at breakfast or dinner you each say three  things you are grateful for.
• Start a gratitude journal that you write in every night before sleeping.
• Share your gratitudes on social media and encourage friends to share as well.
• Start a joy journal. Begin with a list of at least 20 things that make you giggle, feel delighted or joyful, and then make sure to do at least one every day. Encourage your kids to create their own list and make sure to participate in each others’ joyful activities.
• Take time every day to connect to nature in some way (if that’s something you can safely do where you are right now). There are a gazillion studies showing how calming, grounding, and soothing time in nature is for our nervous systems — and kids definitely need time outdoors.

3. Remember that difficult times offer powerful opportunities to strengthen relationships when you feel like you are all on the same team, committed to everyone’s well-being.

A crucial piece of wisdom to remember is that, just like on a sports team, everyone has their own skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Focus on creating space for each person in your family to have their own feelings, fears and emotional needs –including yourself!

How has your experience been co-working with your family? Consider also using these two free meditations I created to support you in finding peace and ease during this crazy time. –Margot Schulman