COVID-19 has been kicking our asses. It has. We’re locked in, fed up and broke. Many of us. Just stating the facts. About three weeks into COVID-19, I got sick and tired of being well, sick and tired. I decided to call a couple of my business colleagues and get some advice on how to get out of the COVID-19 blackhole. BlackTVFilmCrew.com will be sharing a series of articles on how to use COVID-19 to help us overcome.
My colleague who is the inspiration behind this article is Bruce Gordon, of Bruce Gordon Media. He’s a writer, producer, editor and giver of good advice and had a lot to say when we got on the call. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation.
What do we need to do to get out of the COVID-19 blackhole?
Me: Bruce, I’m bouncing off the walls. I like to be able to go outside or at least know that I can go outside.
Bruce: Well, let me tell you how I’m handling COVID-19. I’m doing everything I couldn’t do when I was working full time.
Me: Huh? What do you mean?
Bruce: When I’m working full-time, there is never anytime to do some of the projects that I really want to do. Now, I’m taking the time and making the time.
Me: …
Silence. There was absolute silence on the phone. My silence. Had my good friend Bruce dropped a heavenly gem? Had he just given me the secret to COVID-19 success? When we got off the phone I sat on the edge of my bed and reflected.
I had not thought about what COVID-19 had given me: More Free Time
The entire three weeks that I’d been on COVID-19 lockdown all I thought about is what I couldn’t do.
I couldn’t go hiking in Baldwin Hills. I couldn’t go to the production offices where I work. I couldn’t go to BJ’s where I order my favorite gluten-free pizza. I couldn’t go to the Apple store and look at a new iPhone. I couldn’t shoot the new web series that I’d been thinking about.
I’d been so consumed with what COVID-19 had taken from me that I had not thought of what COVID-19 had given me: More Free Time.
An Attitude Shift’s Coming…
So today, I urge everyone who reads this post to remember the time you’ve been given—if in fact, you are laid off, working part-time or are otherwise unemployed. Is there something that you’ve wanted to do but didn’t have the time? COVID-19 is giving you the time.
Black TV Film Crew’s 3 COVID-19 Tips:
- 1. Do something you didn’t have time to do when you were working full-time.
- 2. Call a colleague with some good sense.
- 3. Think about something that matters to you and then go back to tip #1.
This article isn’t meant to make light of COVID-19 so let me be clear. COVID-19 is a monster but what we choose to do with that monster is our business. I wish you productivity, creativity, safety and success.
Call to Action: Do you have any tips that are helping you get through COVID-19? Share them with us. Write an article and submit it to us at blacktvfilmcrew AT gmail.com.
Photo above: Bruce Gordon, courtesy of Bruce Gordon Media.
Yasmin Shiraz is a Screenwriter and TV producer who has worked for Lifetime, A&E, Bravo and PBS. She’s a best selling author of more than 11 titles and the founder of Black TV Film Crew. She is the CEO of Still Eye Rise Media.
