The eighth in a series by Stress Matters, who have been asking those across the events industry – how are you doing?
Neil Thompson, founder and MD of The Delegate Wranglers Community, on recovering from Covid-19 and staying mindful.
I’ve been in the event industry for 22 years. Right now I’m doing okay, the first six months we plunged ourselves in to helping our community and the wider event industry which kept my head in check with everything going on, it gave me a focus. More recently I have struggled though. In October, I actually contracted Coronavirus which took me around three weeks to recover from, but thankfully I am out of the other side and I have my mojo back!
Real low points for me were seeing so many people getting ill and passing away, and coupled with the event industry ceasing almost overnight with no pathway to getting through it, that’s been bleak. But on the other side, being able to make a difference to people and the community we have created by keeping them motivated and engaged, and offering them opportunities to be able to promote themselves, some finding new jobs too, has been a real high. On a lighter note though, I hosted a virtual awards ceremony. I felt terrible at the time so I only wore the top half of the tuxedo which was visible on camera, and I had my football shorts on beneath the view of the camera!
The past nine months have shown me that everyone has their own way of dealing with things, so it’s important to be patient with them. It’s also important to be patient with your own mind as well, it’s okay to have down days, or days when you’re not feeling up to much. Use the time wisely, take a break, concentrate on yourself and how you can fix yourself to feel better. You would take a car to the garage if it wasn’t working wouldn’t you? It’s exactly the same, go for a walk, do a workout, read a book, cook a meal, the important thing is to just make sure you do whatever makes you feel good.
I am one of those crazy people who only needs five hours sleep a night. I wear a fitbit to track how much I’m getting, but it means I usually spend some time on my phone – not work focused, and I binge on a Netflix series before I go to sleep which helps me to switch off. I also aim to go for a daily walk with my son, we’re out for anything in between 30 and 90 minutes and we try to do roughly 4km a day. On top of this, I go running a couple of times a week and when I can, a few sessions in the gym. But, I do try to live in the moment and look after myself. I really try to use mindfulness techniques to enjoy my food, enjoy a shower, or anything similar, living in the moment. Occasionally I use the app Headspace, I find it really helps get me started each day.
At the start of lockdown, I wish I had tried to be more patient with myself, stay positive and learn some new skills. But most importantly, my top advice would have been to buy loads of shares in Zoom! Looking forward, I think 2021 is going to be amazing, a big year both professionally and personally, I am continuously looking to grow myself and improve on both sides, and as I’ve been doing already, helping people along the way.
If you would like to share your story, please visit www.stressmatters.org.uk/pandemic-stories for more information.
