One would think that I’d have an easier time cracking out blog posts as many of us had our lives effectively put on pause. One would also be wrong, but that was part of my initial plan for what I was going to do with all of the time and nowhere to go.
Consequently, here I am at quarter of five in the morning on a Sunday (It is Sunday, isn’t it?), playing catch up on this slice of my life. No, I am not drinking this early- I am certainly not to this stage of social distancing. I happen to find the name of this seasonal brew sadly appropriate for many of our lives. As the British wryly put it: what it says on the tin.
That being said, the way I have been getting through this is keeping the structure and patterns that I can, accepting that much of what is happening is completely out of my control, and taking things one moment at a time.
Keeping your $#%& Together
This involves maintaining my regular sleep schedule- this morning being a notable exception no thanks to my brain cells deciding to start up a rave party an hour or so before I normally get up. I suppose this is what I get for going to bed a little earlier than usual. It also involves going through my regular routine- showering, getting dressed, coffee- the usual things. It sounds a bit mundane, I know, but those of you who are new to working remotely, please trust me on this one. Working remotely for years before it was trendy taught me that keeping some semblance of structure to your days will save your sanity and prevent every day from becoming Blursday.
My regular workouts have been a huge help in this regard. Having the luxury of a well-equipped workout room helps, but there are plenty of exercises that one can do with a little bit of floor space. Since this isn’t a true and total lockdown, we also have trails and parks that are open. Provided common sense precautions such as maintaining physical distance and face coverings are followed, there is no reason why you can’t get a little outside time in
Lists are also a great help for these times. I typically put mine on my phone and my phone conveniently nags me at the appropriate times for critical items, but written lists one can scratch completed items off are also useful for keeping the day more or less on track. Even if you don’t get everything done on the list by the end of the day, you’re still better off having a head start on the next day’s list, which brings me to my next point.
Sometimes it’s out of your hands
This one has always been a hard one for me. Even if you are fortunate enough to have no one in your own life fighting this illness, there are things in life that suck right now. We can’t go about all our normal activities- theaters are closed, we can’t meet our friends and go out to share dinner, and most major events and festivals through the summer are right out. An In This Moment concert I was looking forward to since last fall was obviously a no-go. The two-week long camping event that is the highlight of my summer has been postponed until next year, but having over 10,000 people from around the world camping in close quarters and mingling is not a good idea right now.
Job searches are taking several times longer as agencies and HR departments reel from the effects of the pandemic and subsequent shelter at home orders. For those companies new to the concept of a remote workforce, the learning curve is steep and having the sheer number of workers who are able to converting to a work-from-home environment is only compounding the problems. Processes that would take a few days are now stretched out over months, presuming the positions in question simply didn’t evaporate.
Something as formerly mundane as a simple trip to the grocery store can be stressful, even to the point of panic-inducing for some. I’ll openly admit that I would much rather stay home then navigate the store and other shoppers, and I am not the reclusive sort.
Let’s face it- our new normal sucks. Worse still, until there is a vaccine or a reasonable amount of herd immunity (neither of which is anywhere close to happening), it is going to continue to suck for some time coming.
It’s OK to be upset about this and still see the importance of what we are doing. We’re taking this level of precaution so that things don’t suck even more. The crazy-making part of it all is that if we do this correctly and for the right amount of time appear as if our efforts were for nothing. This outcome is precisely what we are hoping for, because if we screw this up and break early, there will be dire consequences.
So, as frustrating as things are right now, it’s important to see that the best that we are able to do under the circumstances is all that we can do.
One Day at a Time
Since COVID-19 made itself felt here, time has seemingly slowed down. The absence of many of our day to day distractions gives us a chance to do something different. Yes, I was exercising regularly before, but I’ve certainly dialed things up to a point I didn’t think possible before. I also have the start of a vegetable and herb garden, now that the final frosts have finally passed. I built a few websites for others that I am launching in the near future and have a wine rack in the cellar full of libations thanks to my homebrewing hobby.
Every week, I make a batch of bread that I distribute to those in my circle who are hunkered down. I need to move about anyway, so it doesn’t hurt me to check in on them and make sure they have something simple to make this difficult time suck a little bit less. I might not be able to change this world, but I can make the corner I live in a bit better.
It doesn’t all have to be productive time, though. These are stressful times, and if we are going to weather this storm, we need to remember to breathe. Despite what some people may say, taking care of one’s mental health is every bit as important as physical health. Without these two key things, taking care of the rest- work, home, family, friends, community- becomes that much harder. Set aside some time to take care of yourself, because the effects of this pandemic are going to last quite a while.
Things aren’t going to suddenly revert to a normal we cannot go back to. Current events have cast a glaring light on the deficiencies in our economic and public health systems as well as how our political environment exacerbates these problems. There is no simple solution to either the pandemic, which has only become an issue for us relatively recently, or the breakdown of our political system, which has been a long time coming.
We’re in this for the long run, so if we are going to get through this, we had best adapt.
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