Prologue: As I said in my earlier entry, I’m aware I’m writing this from a privileged perspective. Likely, not everyone who reads this have the same luxuries as I do. I acknowledge it and empathise if you’re going through a rough patch because of the pandemic.
By the time this is posted, Circuit Breaker would have been lifted. It’s a high time to reflect on what I learned and what I hope to bring with me as we all charter into the “New Normal”.
Health is wealth – I’ve not suffered from major debilitating physical illness ever, and I’m more grateful for it now that able to go about my activities without any ailments to take into account. In May, I made some changes in my habits including calorie counting, reducing certain food and creating the habit of daily exercise. I’m getting the kick of it. My next challenge is to maintain these habits when I go back to the office.
Balancing acts for the sake of sanity – Working from home meant that I had to consciously create “walls” / boundaries to balance work and non-work aspects of life. That meant having the discipline to maintain my usual daily work schedule in office into my Work from Home schedule.
Renewing Energy – Working from home depleted my mental energy the same way when I worked in the office. I conserve it by deliberately taking some time off work to do unrelated stuff. It could be as simples as doing exercise, housework or watching youtube videos. The next day my mind thankfully comes out fresh and ready to take on the tasks of the day.
No Job is Safe – Pre-pandemic, I’ve seen people loose their jobs right before my eyes. It’s more evident now, with thousands of people worldwide getting laid off on a weekly basis (it feels like). With an economic downturn that can level The Great Depression, it would be very rare for one industry to come out unscathed. If a company needs to save itself, people have to go (even if they’re stellar employees). It’s best to come up with a career contingency plans and re-look finances.
Save – Speaking of re-looking finances, I’ve personally, decided not to spend as much as I used to on “non-essentials” and postpone big purchases. Little or small, it can help me keep as much as I could, to tide me over if the worse happens.
You can only be alone without being lonely for so long. – Even a true blue introvert like me can sometimes feel lonely without some sort of light chatter. I realised I really do need those opportunities to interact, if only to preserve my sanity or take me away from my deranged thoughts. What I do have to work on though, is to reach out to close friends and family as I admit I’m very lazy to do it even when isolated.
We need each other. – If we’re going to succeed, whether as an office team with a target to meet, or as humanity aiming to beat the virus, It’s all the more apparent that each individual’s contribution is important as we all affect each other, whether we know it or not. Hopefully as we navigate this new reality, we continue to be socially responsible and recognise how collective efforts produce so much more positive output.
Discover or Rediscover Hobbies / Passions – Surely, lots of people discovered baking, gardening, repairing, and all other productive activities in the last two months. I definitely feel my love for writing even more now, thanks to the isolation. I’m at this state where I’m brimming with ideas. In fact I have just created a personal game plan to sort of “grow” this platform beyond the pandemic.
Halfreformed 