I’ve alway had pretty bad timing in my life. This eCourse was certainly no exception.

Doing a deep dive into digital wellness in the midst of a global pandemic, which forced most of us to vastly increase our use of digital technology was likely the wrong content at the wrong time.

In spite of this, I’m still proud to have delivered 20 weeks worth of work I believe in.

Of course the question we’re all facing now is, “What’s next?”

While I’m no closer to that answer than anyone else, I did want to share four pieces of advice that may help you chart a course forward…

1. Get quiet and clear

As we discussed in Week 1, if you don’t know what you want, you’ll never find it. That’s why it’s so important to turn down the noise in your life and get clear about your values, goals, needs, and desires.

Sure, a pandemic likely doesn’t seem like the best time to figure out those things. But if not now, when?

Maybe right now is the perfect time to figure out what you want to do with this beautiful life of yours you’re currently fighting so hard to protect.

If that’s the case, maybe…

• Identify ways to reduce excess noise in your life, whether that’s finally committing to doing a digital decluttering or detox, or just making some adjustments to your daily lifestyle.
• Revisit and revise the goals you set back in January, (which may look positively quaint in the light of our current craziness.)
• Revisit and revise the core values work we did in Week 11, (which may be easier to clarify if you’re currently in the midst of stress or change.)

2. Put wellness at the center

In Week 3 we talked about what wellness looks like, and the idea of having balance between different aspects of your life…

Back in January, we were more concerned with the dangers of letting technology take over the center of that circle. However, the last few months have shown us that we can become unbalanced and unwell when anything large, powerful, and disruptive is allowed to command that center spot.

Regardless of the force currently throwing your wellness out of balance, the solution is to start shifting the center of your circle by changing how and where you focus your time and attention each day.

Start by simply choosing activities from the digital wellness paradigm we talked about in Week 10 and put those in the center of your circle, whenever possible.

These five activities won’t cure a pandemic or make you magically “well” overnight, but they can make a big difference in changing the quality of your life.

3. Consume better content

As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat,” which is why it’s so important to think about the content you consume each day, why you consume it, and if it’s healthy for you.

This is particularly true during the pandemic when we’re binging more information, education, and entertainment than ever before.

For you, that might mean…

• Bringing more mindfulness to how content affects your mind and your body each day, (and adjusting your habits accordingly).
• Posing some hard questions about the platforms you’ve allowed into your life, strategizing how to maximize their value and minimize their harm.
• Better curating the content you consume — choosing higher quality or more accurate sources, balancing out the positive vs. the negative, and better controlling the overall volume from the firehose.

4. Gently shift your habits

You’re probably more aware than ever of the habits getting you through each day — the productive ones keeping you healthy and sane, as well as the ones that maybe feel good, but may ultimately be more harmful.

If you’re not up for any big life-changing projects right now, why not start smaller and simply focus on changing some of those everyday harmful habits?

For example, that might mean…

• Working on creating better boundaries in your life — protecting yourself from negative influences, fortifying your strengths, and nurturing your spirit.
• Giving yourself permission to make small, ongoing changes, (and being kind to yourself when those changes don’t come easily or last.)
• Identifying when your little habits may have grown into bigger problems.

As I mentioned in Week 14, perhaps this crazy time in history is giving us all a chance to hit the reset button and change how we work, live, and relate to one another.

If you’re not in a place physically or emotionally to make those changes right now, that’s totally O.K. However, if you are, perhaps one of the four suggestions above, (or any of the lessons we explored in this eCourse) is a good place to start.

I want to thank you for going on this journey with me the past 20 weeks, and I wish you wellness and happiness wherever your future takes you.

Because you deserve that. We all do.