Here is a short explanation of the New Economic Foundation’s 5 Ways to Wellbeing:

Connect – social distancing, should really be physical distancing. We still need social contact. How are you connecting? If managing others, do more now. Informal, phone, text, Zoom/Skype/Teams, quizzes, virtual cuppas.  Wobble Rooms – to download/offload/ just wobble & recover. Wellbeing Hubs.

Be Active – government advice was to exercise once a day right from the start of lockdown. Why? Because the importance of being active was recognised. Not just for physical health, but for mental well-being too. Small activities as well as longer runs/walks, games of tennis or golf, gardening.

Do whatever works for you, but don’t stay in front of the TV to relax!

Be Curious – this used to be called “take notice” but has been renamed. Curiosity encourages a state of wonder, of seeking to understand rather than of knowing. What are you curious about? Where could you ask more questions? What small things can you look at and wonder, rather than know? Flowers, sunsets & sunrises, birdsong, as well as work issues, your clinical skills and people.

Keep Learning – at the start of the lockdown, so many people were signing up to learn a new language, complete an online course, learn how to sew etc… While it is likely that working for the NHS you had enough on your plate already!

But what have you learnt? It might not have been on a formal course or workshop but we have all learnt new skills and new ways of working in the past few months. We don’t often stop and reflect on the skills we’ve learnt. Take time to acknowledge the new ways of working, the online processes, the methods of coping and many other things you will have learnt over the past few weeks and months.  And post-pandemic, we will continue to learn. New skills at work, new skills outside of work new recipes to cook, new routes to work, new ways of being rather than just doing.

Give – we can give gifts to each other, and research indicates that the giver benefits from this as well as the receiver. Many have also volunteered their time in the last few months. Time is a precious resource and giving it, even in the terms of listening to a colleague, is hugely important.

Other things that are important to give is praise, feedback and thank yous. Give these to others, to recognise them, not just for what they do, but also for who they are. Saying a heartfelt thank you, with reasons, is hugely important.