The rise of remote work around the world has many of us working from home while watching kids or maybe facing a major transition in what the day-to-day looks like. Yet, while we may be physically separate, we don’t need to be emotionally isolated. Here are nine of my favorite ways to connect, come together, and adapt.

9 Practical Ways to Keep Connections Alive

1. Make Video Calls More Human

Do you associate online calls with boredom and distraction? I run a fully online business. All my coaching and training sessions are virtual. I’ve put together a piece on my tips for more dynamic and engaging online meetings and collaborations (and hint? It’s not about the tech, it’s about our behavior and expectations.)

2. Reach Out to One Friend Today

I do virtual coffee dates throughout the year, and now is a great time to reconnect with people to break up a day of isolation and to get out of your echo chamber. It’s also a good time to reach out to someone new. I have a habit of reaching out to another business owner I admire monthly to invite them to a virtual coffee date (and even once sent a care package ahead with a nice mug I’d picked out for them). You can access my ‘ask out’ script for a virtual coffee date here.

3. Share Your Work-From-Home Struggles

I love what Tech Ladies has done: a spreadsheet crowdsourcing ideas for adapting to remote work. Some of the highlights? Lunch Together, a virtual ‘lunch meetup’ online.

4. Have an Honest Feelings Check-In

When we’re physically isolated, it is often when we want to be emotionally and spiritually together. Many faith groups (my synagogue included) are hosting their first virtual services. There are live meditation sit-ins, workouts from home by businesses like CONBODY (which hires formerly incarcerated people), and more. 

Join one or create one; be the one to bring together a group of friends for a Google Hangouts ‘happy hour’ or a folk song sing-along online.

5. Watch Something Together, Apart

There will be more and more ways to engage in the arts and support artists virtually. Institutions like the Met are hosting online replays of shows. The New York Times just published this list of podcasts for theater lovers who can’t get their fix in person. Pop open a Google Hangout or a FaceTime or text chain with friends or and ‘go to the opera’ together (you can even dress up and bring fancy things to drink) from behind the computer. It’s a good time to invite the emotional power of the arts into your life.

6. Start a Reading Ritual

Got that big stack of books you’ve been meaning to get through? It’s a good time. Even if you don’t, you can still order books or audiobooks, and many public library e-reader collections are so much bigger than they ever have been. I even read some of my favorite comics on Hoopla, a service many libraries subscribe to. A few years ago, I took on a challenge to read 100 books in a year, and I pulled together a list of my top books out of the 100 I read, which I still stand by. 

7. Learn Something New Online

It’s also a great time for virtual professional development. Those webinars or online classes you’ve been thinking about? Sign up for one today. Sometimes feel antsy during them? My secret is to be doing something that is not a distraction during webinars and trainings. I either set myself up to implement what I’m learning immediately: If it’s a training on better prototyping, bring up your next prototyping plan and edit it with tips you learn in the training. Or have a project on hand that keeps your hands occupied—like a quilting or knitting project—to diffuse the “I should be doing something now” feeling.

8. Bring Back an Old Side Project

Have a passion project you’ve been thinking about for a while, but has stayed on the “someday maybe” list? Well, you might have more time now to make some mental space for it and to take the next steps. And just because you’re physically isolated doesn’t mean you have to be virtually isolated. Reach out to and connect with potential collaborators or brainstorm partners on it. See item #2 for my virtual coffee date ‘ask out’ script.

9. Offer Help in a Real Way

Many of us have work that easily transitions to remote, but not everyone is in that position. There are many who are in jobs that don’t pay enough to build up savings to ride out the tough times, often service jobs that require in-person presence. Many people face housing instability or don’t have good home infrastructure, like internet. I

Final Thoughts

It’s a valuable exercise to regularly consider how we can improve our collective efforts to support one another. Take time to look for ways to contribute your resources, whether that’s your time, financial donations, emotional presence, or general support. Acts of kindness foster connection and are powerful tools for building a more engaged and positive community.