How To Survive Relationships During a

HOW TO SURVIVE RELATIONSHIPS DURING a Pandemic

by Nada Abdelkader

We’re not going to sugarcoat this. The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on us, in a lot of facets of life. It has affected our jobs and our hobbies and even our relationships.

Actually, it has especially affected our relationships. When the self-quarantining started, we were particularly a little happy about one thing. We were getting increased time to spend with our loved ones, whether partners or family members.

Things like these are easier said and expected than done, however. As time goes on and as the pandemic prevails, we’re noticing that our relationships have continued to suffer.

Just because this is happening now, however, doesn’t mean we cannot survive the fallout. That’s actually what we hope to prove to you, as you read these tips on simultaneously juggling a relationship and a pandemic.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF BEFORE ANYONE ELSE

Though this might not fall under surviving your relationship, but it does in its own way. You cannot take the first step to nurturing any kind of relationship, if you yourself are not well.

During your free time, try your best to practice self-care, in any form you feel comfortable with. If you feel good about yourself after you work out or do some yoga, do that. If you feel better after you apply beauty masks and light aromatherapy candles, go for it. There are plenty of options.

However, caring for yourself does not mean you have to suppress negative emotions. You’re supposed to experience all of your feelings because, currently, it makes sense to not feel constantly content.

GIVE YOURSELVES ENOUGH SPACE

Whether you and your partner are living together or not, you’ll need to establish some boundaries in order to not let tensions pile up. This might sound a tad cliché, but you will need to give each other space during the day.

If you’re texting or video-chatting and you notice your partner isn’t reacting like they usually do and are giving one-word answers, you can hang up and allow them some space until they feel better and up for a conversation.

It’s perfectly healthy and normal to want some alone time and even if you don’t feel like you do, you should still take the opportunity to give yourself some quietness.

If you and your spouse are living together and you’re both working from home, create separate workspaces to not overly invade each other’s space during time you usually spend apart and reserve your together-time to the evenings.

LEAVE MORE BREATHING-ROOM FOR MISTAKES

Assuming that you and your partner are now spending extra time with each other or you’re simply having more time for more conversations, both of you will probably be hyper-aware of each other’s faults and mistakes. Even if the mistakes seem insignificant. You might even be compelled to criticize them. We recommend you cool it with the critiques, especially if the mistakes aren’t that horrendous. We’re all experiencing a tough time right now, so pointing out mistakes all the time will just be adding to your shared load and it will make the relationship itself more stifling. Remember, the other person is going through a pandemic too and they’re already experiencing their own anxieties.

APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS

Instead of pointing out little mistakes, you should practice gratitude whenever possible. Sure, no one is perfect but if you’re happy with your relationship, you and your partner should do your best to show that and appreciate each other.

You can do this by directing little comments that compliment the hard work they’re doing, whether in their work or around your shared house. Adding to this, you should also appreciate the little things your partner does for you and you should not stop doing the little things yourself either.

These things matter, especially in trying times like these. The little things here can be as small as making them coffee in the morning or even sending them a long, thoughtful message that shows your appreciation.

DON’T THINK OF THE OTHER PERSON AS A MIND-READER

Perhaps the greatest source of conflict during times of turmoil is the fact that a lot of the time one person might assume the other automatically knows what the other person is thinking. However, this is far from the truth.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that a lot of us don’t know what to do or think when it comes to our own anxieties or current reality. None of us have lived through an ongoing pandemic before, so this isn’t a surprise.

What’s important here is to communicate, instead of to just assume. If something is bothering you or worrying you, don’t stifle it in. Share and let your partner know what is it that you’re thinking about. August 2020 35

WORKING IN THE PANDEMIC:

The Exclusive How-To Guide

by Nada Abdelkader

For all of us, the past few months have been hectic in every sense of the word. This is all understandable, though, and frankly, we would have been more surprised if they weren’t, given that we have been living under a pandemic.

This ongoing pandemic has left no area of our lives unaffected either and that includes work too. However, after a long period of working from home, life is now ready to pick back up right where it left off and that means, among other things, that a considerable amount of people will be going back to working from the office.

And for those unfortunate few, we’ve cooked up this how-to guide just for the sole purpose of helping you survive the office again.

DON’T FORGO YOUR SANITARY PRECAUTIONS

As it stands, we’re still going through a global health crisis and although we’re slowly returning to our social and work lives, we cannot forget those safety measures we learned while self-isolating at home. In fact, in this situation, you should maximize your sanitary measures. Whenever you go to the office, make sure you have spare face-masks, just in case, as well as alcohol spray, wipes, gloves, and handsanitizers. Make sure your workstation is thoroughly cleaned and then sanitize it yourself for good measure. It’s always better to be extra safe than sorry.

KEEP YOURSELF BUSY AT ALL TIMES

Naturally, the best way to take your mind off the current social climate as well as being extra efficient is by keeping yourself occupied. When you do so, time will literally fly by without you noticing and you’ll find yourself acclimating faster. The key to this tip is to have a structured work timetable to making the most of your working hours. This table, of course, will only work if you’re aware of what works for you and your tasks. 36 August 2020

DON’T SKIP MEALS

When it comes to office work, a lot of us tend to fall into the trap of skipping meals or even halfeating them so we could goof off during the rest of the break.

Doing this, however, is harmful because it will cost you a lot of energy and it only end up impacting both you and your level of productivity negatively.

TAKE PERIODIC WALKS DURING THE DAY

Even during the regular work-from-home days, staying out at your workstation for the entire workday would have taken a toll on both your body and soul. To combat this at the office, you’ll need to take momentary ten-minute breaks and step away from your computer and/or paperwork to take short

walks around your office area. This will not only help refresh your mind but it will get your blood flowing and your tensions eased. Just make sure you take your safety measures.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD

Communication, as many people have repeated, is key and this is particularly true when it comes to work. You’re always supposed to be bold and make your voice heard, but this is especially important right now.

If you have suggestions on how to improve the workplace to comply with pandemic-events or if you understandably have certain anxieties about the current working climate, you have to speak up.

INCREASE YOUR HYDRATION

In the same vein of not forgoing meals, you will also need to not forgo something even more important. Hydration. Sure, you don’t forget to hydrate through coffee and tea and other hot beverages but you cannot substitute them for water.

A lack of hydration will affect important factors like your attention span, general energy levels, and productivity, which won’t bode well for any working person. Remind yourself to hydrate every twenty minutes or so and you’ll be good for the day.

GO FOR A TEST-RUN BEFORE YOU GO BACK FOR GOOD

Going back to the office, if you’re still pondering the step, might seem overwhelming for a lot of reasons. Your office is going to feel like a brand-new space and you might actually have some trouble adapting back to the old system.

To avoid this, talk with your supervisor about possibly working only one day per week from the office before you go back for good. Sort of a test-run of sorts to see how much you’ll need to adapt as well as rework your home-towork schedule to incorporate the office again.

SET UP NEW BOUNDARIES

Falling under the adapting stage as well, you’ll need to set up new boundaries and ensure them being followed, too. This won’t be anything unusual, if you already have personal boundaries set up. All you have to do is add new rules that ensure your—and others’—safeties.

Remind yourself and others to forego handshakes and add distance between your workstations. Remind other coworkers about protective equipment and regular sanitization as well as temperature checks for both staff and any office visitors.

PRIORITIZE YOUR HEALTH

Going back to working from the office will mean you’ll have to exit the comfort of your safety bubble at home. Even with all your precautions and safety guidelines, you still run some risk at getting sick.

Among other reasons, this is why you should make your own health a priority. When you are not feeling well or you have an inkling that you were in close-contact with a Corona patient, talk to your boss and isolate yourself for fourteen days until you have the all-clear.

How to: PICTURE-PERFECT FOR THE GRAM

by Aya Aboshady

Ever wonder how models and influencers usually get their Instagram feed to be so glamorous and fancy? Want to have fun indoors and take some pretty high quality and instagramable pictures without having to use or resort to extreme measures that require too much effort? We know what you have to do, and we came up with a set of guidelines you can follow and nicely execute wherever you are for the best results!

1. FIND GOOD LIGHTING

The secret to any perfect pictures is the lighting! Good lighting and exposure is actually the foundation of any decent picture. Yes, natural lighting where the sunlight hits your face, in some cases, is the best. However, adjusted artificial lighting is also one of the most important components of a perfect picture, especially after sunset!

2. WEAR BRIGHT COLORS

If you want to, not only post a gorgeous picture for the gram, but most importantly - catch a lot of eyes and gain many likes, well, bright colors are your only solution! You probably already know that a killer outfit is needed, since that’s what the attention is often centered around. However, it’s mostly not about the outfit itself as much as it’s about the colors, and since we’re currently talking summer - then again, wearing bright colors like red, orange, light blue, and yellow is recommended!

3. SET AT ‘DEPTH EFFECT’

A postable selfie picture should be shot with a depth effect. Meaning that, needless to say, the picture should be of high quality, of course. But the thing is, in order to look fancy and professional, the camera should be focused on 38 August 2020 your face and figure with a depth of field setting - through which the background is still showing while not being the center of the photo.

4. MOVE AROUND

The perfect picture is never taken from the first attemp or even a couple! This requires patience and well, it also requires you and the person taking your photos to have some time on your hands in order to take several shots from different angles featuring different poses and obviously, diverse outfits - if you like. When the picture is being taken, it’s important for you to keep moving around while striking different playful and dramatic poses and looking in various directions so that the end result is beautiful and most importantly, spontaneous - which is what we’re looking for here.

5. ACCESSORIZE YOURSELF

Just like the outfit, accessories are equally important! The more you’re glammed up and the

You don’t take a photograph. You Make it! - Ansel Adams “

more the details in the picture, the better it turns out to be. So feel free to pamper yourself with all the jewelry and hair accessories you’d want from golden chain necklaces to pearl rings, statement earrings, and colorful hair bandanas!

6. PLAY WITH YOUR HAIR

This is sort of related to the “Move Around” step, because while you’re striking a pose, moving your hair in different directions, flipping it and playing with it is crucial. Sometimes, it’s what makes a picture so beautifully spontaneous!

7. SHOOT CLOSE TO NATURE

The presence of green sceneries in your Instagram feed is always a bonus. Pictures shot in home gardens or green fields are always a treat for the eye. So if you have a small garden space at your summer home or your main one, taking a few pictures there will be perfect for the shots you’d want!

8. HOLD FLOWERS

Whether in your hands or on your hair as a flowercrown or little petals scattered around while you lie down, having a flower component with its natural and beautiful colors in the picture takes it to a whole new level of perfectionism and femininity. Don’t overdo it though!

9. CHOOSE A THEME FOR YOUR FEED AND EDIT YOUR PICTURE ACCORDINGLY

Each one of us has an Instagram theme or palette that we usually follow. Some people like for all their pictures to have the warm tones, others like the blue color scheme, others edit in the Vintage mode...etc. Having a theme or a color scheme for the gram is something that will help you edit your pictures smoothly while adding the right and perfectly-fitted filters! August 2020 39