Today’s Read: 2 minutes

While the beginning of a new year tends to be a season of renewal and refreshment, this January will mean much of the same, courtesy of the coronavirus. Today we try to provide solutions to find rest and create calm.

Thank you for all your contributions to the betterment of your communities and the health of the citizens. This has definitely been the Year of the Nurse and hopefully society will learn from, and act upon, your insight and experience.

So good-bye 2020, we look forward to a better 2021.

Happy New Year! We’ll see you January 4.

MORNING BRIEF

Come home to a calm space

After a long shift, the last thing you want to do is come home to a space that doesn’t envelop you and make you feel relaxed. More so, you don’t want to spend your time off cleaning. Use these quick tips to bring some calm to your space when a deep-clean is not in the cards.

• Before you leave the house, clean off your kitchen counter.
• Make your bed every day.
• Banish paper clutter before it starts by opening your mail by the recycle bin and placing mail in its place.
• Keep dirty dishes out of the sink (and teach your family to rinse and place them in the dishwasher).
• Stick to your laundry plan. And if you’re not up to it, take it to a local laundromat or cleaners and pay them to do it.

If you want a more hardcore home shape-up, check out Apartment Therapy’s library of tips and tricks to organize and clean your home.

Talk to your future self

We don’t have to tell you that you are working the frontlines of an once-in-a-hundred-year event. What do you want to remember from this experience? What do you want your future self to know on the other side of this? What are your hopes and dreams at this moment that you want to be reminded of later? 

Consider writing yourself a letter outlining it all. You could tuck the letter into a drawer to be found at another time, or schedule it to be emailed to yourself, or you can go FutureMe.org to write your letter and schedule its delivery (where it will be out of sight until it hits your inbox).

Sleep better in the new year

Falling asleep can be difficult, especially after a particularly grueling shift. In many cases all the sleep hygiene of a cool, dark, quiet room isn’t going to be the only thing needed to help you fall asleep and stay that way.And so, we looked to science to find out diet, exercise, meditation, and your sleep environment may help you find rest. Here’s your guide to science-backed sleep strategies.

ONE BIG NUMBER

45%

The percentage of healthcare providers in the U.S. that sleep less than seven hours a night, according to NPR. This can be an issue because a lack of sleep negatively affects mental health and work performance.

DAILY DIVERSION

Behind the scenes at New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.