What have we been doing these past two and a half months in restricted living? How is quarantine life changing us? How ready are we to go out there again?
Having more free time than usual is certainly getting us doing more thinking and asking, yes, than usual. When done with WFH duties, in between Skype, Viber or Zoom meetings, after exercising, meditating, reading, gardening, writing, binge watching and all the other new hobbies we’ve developed, we find our thoughts moving to all sorts of directions and raising questions, mainly about what life would be after quarantine. These random thoughts attack with more intensity on weekends and all chores are done and we just sit in front of the TV or computer counting the hours away.
Riding the roller coaster of thoughts and emotions while stuck at home, we’ve certainly realized the advantages and disadvantages of this temporary quarantine life. Even as we get bored or feel anxious about our health and finances, we have more time for ourselves and with family. We are able to catch up on things and activities we have put on the backburner for so long. We can think more about our plans for the future: Students can think about what they really want to do. Young professionals can reflect on where they want to take their career and how. Businesses and organizations can assess their strengths and weaknesses and start working on whatever necessary changes they need to secure long-term viability.
But then our thoughts turn again to when returning to normal would be, if at all. When all this is over, how different would post-lockdown life be?
Continue reading “Shifting to the New Normal: Changing Perspectives and Behaviors”
