COVID19 The Podcast

5 on a Friday: Feeling Positive Edition

September 17, 2021

1- Positive vibes. I finally feel recovered from call, and for the first time in a while I am feeling some positivity and hope. I am sure some of this is relief related to trends in the right direction on this graph:

I don’t entirely understand why this seems to impact my mood/outlook so much because compared to many, I don’t spent much time or energy worrying about whether we will get COVID-19 again. Yet it still seems to have an effect. I hope things continue to trend in the right direction!

2- Things I am looking forward to: I spent last night filling out Oct – Dec calendar spreads and really felt good about it. These months include Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas/holiday break (I’m on call for 7 days of that, but not the entire thing!), and 2 birthdays.

Josh and I are planning a mini-getaway (probably 2 nights). We are going to see my parents/sister over Thanksgiving, even if it means a quarantine for the kids afterwards (policy is stay home after travel for ~10-14 days unless vaccinated, and while I am definitely planning to get vaccines for the kids, I feel like the release date keeps moving and seems nebulous so I don’t know when to expect them to be eligible). Guessing it will most certainly be a long wait for G.

Full Focus (note: affiliate link) is going to be my go-to for the last 3 months of the year. I actually have a discount code they sent me that you can use if you are interested in shopping their fall release – SARAHFALL10 for 10% off

3- Work has been a challenge but I feel like I have good support from colleagues and that is truly wonderful. AND I am caught up on my work email!! Today I am going to time block and spend at least 2 hours on a Physician Well Being talk I have to give in ~ 2 weeks. I am definitely no expert on this topic but I am going to try to become at least a mini-expert. I have to say that most of the articles I have been reading go into SOOO much depth about the problems and issues but are SO LIGHT ON SOLUTIONS! Frustrating, but I guess it is a hard problem to solve.

4- Reading life. I ordered Anne Bogel’s Book Journal because a) I love Anne Bogel and what she does b) I love the concept of a book journal!

5- FUN ANNOUNCEMENT! For quite some time, Laura and I thought it would be fun to start holding some live interactive sessions for BOBW listeners — just a chance for people to share experiences, chat, with more of a community feel. So we decided to do it via Patreon! We will be offering live monthly meetups (recorded for those who can’t make it — first one is Sept 28th!), topical PDF tip sheets (Sept: kids’ activity checklist of things to consider; Oct: nanny/childcare hiring guide), and weekly fun questions on the patreon site.

BOBW Patreon is live!

If interested, go here to sign up!

8 Comments

  • Reply Lisa of Lisa's Yarns September 17, 2021 at 10:18 am

    I pre-ordered Anne’s reading journal, too! I’m excited to get it!! I love her show so much. She has had such a big impact on my reading life so I’m happy to support her.

    That is exciting that you guys are launching a patreon community!!

    • Reply Vanessa September 17, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Excited for Anne’s journal too!

  • Reply Irene September 17, 2021 at 10:40 am

    I’m happy for you that your Covid numbers are improving. Ours have not been nearly as high but are kind of plateauing. I am feeling hopeless our kids are ever going to school with out masks. It’s just stretching on….

  • Reply Linda September 17, 2021 at 11:05 am

    I’m interested in your physician wellbeing talk. I hear you on all the articles being light on solutions. I’m a clinic RN, not a physician so my stresses are different but I am feeling so burnt out after this summer. Today I start 2 weeks of personal leave time. Hubby and I are flying across the country to visit our families and daughter/son-in-law. I am so excited and I hope the break refreshes my enthusiasm for my job. Please share with us any tips you learn.

  • Reply Erika September 17, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    Yay for the meet ups! I’m curious if your kids school will offer remote learning if they have to quarantine after vacation/travel. I’m desperate for a trip but our school has been very strict that you’re just out of luck if you choose to go anywhere… and 2 weeks at home with no school sounds entirely miserable and not worth it for a 1 week family getaway.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger September 17, 2021 at 1:45 pm

      Hmm. I think they might — that’s a great question. I might have to ask! At the minimum they will probably send a work packet.
      They are offering some online instruction for kids who have to quarantine due to exposure or illness, so perhaps they will do that for travel.

  • Reply Jenny September 17, 2021 at 12:43 pm

    I’m not sure if this is a fit for you, but Congress appropriated funds through the American Rescue Plan for grants related to physician and healthcare provider resilience and well-being. They are being administered out of HRSA, it might be something you want to take a look at and see if you can get your work funded through your healthcare system.

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger September 17, 2021 at 1:43 pm

      very interesting! I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “my work” (my wellness position at work is a volunteer one, essentially!) but absolutely worth looking at if we could get some institutional funding trough this! Good too know about it – thank you!

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