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(upbeat music)

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- Hi, I'm Liz Segran.

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I'm a Senior Staff Writer
here at Fast Company.

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And I've been stuck at
home, just like you have.

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Here are a couple of
things I've been doing

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to stay sane.

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So my first recommendation
is a new show on FX

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called Mrs. America.

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This show reveals how hard it
was to pass the equal rights

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amendment in the United States,

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and how many women
actually opposed this fight

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for equal rights.

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Cate Blanchett is the
lead actress in the show,

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and she basically embodies
all of the women who were

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opposed to this fight for equal rights.

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And I think this show
is fascinating because

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it gives us a glimpse into how hard it was

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to achieve the women's
rights we have today,

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but also it gives us some
insights into the fights

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that are continuing to go
on in the Constitution.

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My next recommendation is
a great podcast that I've

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just discovered called Deep
Background with Noah Feldman.

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Now usually when we're not
in the midst of a pandemic,

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I have NPR in the
background while I'm cooking

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or doing chores around the house.

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But lately I've been
finding it really stressful

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to get this kind of barrage
of really scary headlines.

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But I love this podcast
because Noah Feldman

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is a law professor and
in each episode he talks

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to some expert, who is
dealing with some aspect

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of the Coronavirus crisis.

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He's spoken to economists,
and epidemiologists,

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and data experts and
even a religious scholar

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about various parts of the crisis.

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And it really comforts
me to know that there are

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real experts, hard at
work, fixing our country

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during this time.

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So my next recommendation
is not something necessarily

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to consume, but it's a range of activities

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and things that I've had
around me that have made me

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feel cozy and intellectually
engaged during this period.

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So I found this amazing
company in California

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called Coyuchi, that makes
lots of organic cotton things.

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I've personally been
living in their organic

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cotton robe and I'm little
bit embarrassed to say

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that when I'm not actively
filming a video for you guys,

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that is usually what I'm wearing.

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A lot of the things that
I do in my spare time now

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are very slow, deliberate activities.

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So for instance, I've taken up knitting.

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There's this amazing startup
called We are Knitters

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that will send you cool
patterns and instructions

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for how to knit simple things.

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And I've already knit a blanket.

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I've also taken up doing puzzles,

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which was not something I
ever did before this crisis.

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But this amazing startup called Piecework,

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makes these beautiful,
but very complex puzzles.

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So over the week, my whole family sat down

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and did a puzzle that was
an enormous photograph

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of bagels, which is our favorite food.

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So that made a lot of sense for us.

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I found that this has been
an incredibly stressful,

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anxiety inducing time and
I've been finding that

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these TV shows and podcasts
and activities have

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been making me feel a little bit happier.

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And so I hope that they
offer you some joy as well.

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(gentle music)

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- I personally have been working from home

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for the several years, so
this isn't entirely new

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to me, but there are
definitely new challenges

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that I'm up against and
ways that I need to adjust.

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You know, one of the biggest
things that I'm dealing with

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as a business owner and
a leader is making sure

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my employees are okay.

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We have employees spread
out around the world

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and everybody's dealing
with this crisis differently

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and it's really critical
that we are giving them

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the space they need to
figure out how they're gonna

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navigate through this.

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Checking in regularly, and you know,

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just supporting how we can.

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On that note too, I think
a lot of us get really

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hung up on this idea that we
have to have a rigid schedule.

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You know, we're trying to
mirror what our schedules

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were like when we were at the office,

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but when you're at home it's different.

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It's okay to work at
night and to, you know,

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take long breaks off during the day,

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maybe we're parents who
have children we have

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to attend to right now.

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But really, you know, pay
attention to what time of day

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works for you and what
environment you thrive most in

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and just adjust accordingly.

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Really I think overall just
cutting ourselves slack

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is so critical.

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I do know that we will come out of this

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and we will come out of it stronger

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and more capable than ever.

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(airplane engine roars)