100 Days of Lockdown

Lockdown started 100 days ago, when my children were sent home from school. Since then we’ve lived within these 4 walls, but it looks like the new normal will start on 4th July. Time to reflect. blog.mindrocketnow.com

Over three months on, and I’m still trying to come to terms with how the world has changed. Some things I thought I knew turned out to be different, and I realised that many things that I’d taken for granted were great privileges. I did also get some things right. Let me know in the comments if any of these ring true for you.

Which predictions I go right

Family time

We have become closer as a family. Even though we’re within these four walls, we have that healthy combination of personal space that we enjoy being alone in, and companionship whenever we want it. Family was always important; now it’s central, and we’re all thriving as a result.

Indulging

The additional time gave me opportunity to indulge my hobbies of playing music, gardening, reading comics, geek cinema. The additional time also gave me the opportunity for physical and mental self-improvement. It feels like an indulgence to be able to spend the time to go for a run or meditate or learn a new drum fill or just sit still and read, without worrying about what I should be doing instead.

Job hunting sucks

I’ve made a career of doing interim roles for the past decade, and I’ve enjoyed the pattern of changing contexts every couple of years. However, the job market slowed to a stop, at least for my niche. The hot opportunities I was pursuing before lockdown became cold. One might return, but the others have just evaporated into silence. And new ones to replace them are few and far between. Job hunting is a test of resilience at the best of times. This isn’t the best of times. This is going to suck even more than normal.

Financial impact

It took a long while for our financial health to recover from the fallout of the banking collapse, because we were fortunate in that our careers remained relevant in all that time. The economic collapse after the pandemic crisis always looked more serious to me, as it was forcing re-factoring of pretty much all aspects of our economy. Rather like bee hive colony collapse, where worker bees are forced to leave hives that look functional, but are actually sick. I’m worried that like bees fleeing a sick hive, we’ll have to flee our careers in the sick part of the economy, to find a healthier part. Do we have enough years in us to re-factor and still retire with all our debts wiped clean? Or will we be bequeathing our debts to our children? If we’re lucky enough to remain in our current careers, then probably yes. If we have to find a new hive, then possibly no.

What surprised me

New skills

I’ve enjoyed learning new skills. I really enjoy cooking, making use of knife skills, combining new flavours, but most of all, seeing my family eat the product of my labours. I enjoy learning Python, thinking within the structure that coding mandates, and can now create web sites, data visualisations, financial analyses. These might even be useful new skills.

Life slowing down

My to do list didn’t disappear. Every day, I look at it and wonder why I haven’t been able to just burn through it. But each day brought a new couple of things to get done, and my capacity to motor through the tasks diminished. My productivity slowed along with the pace of life. I don’t miss the pace, and I find the undiminished to do list an acceptable price.

Smaller world

Video conferencing has brought distant friendships closer. Some of my friendships have drifted due to lack of opportunity to nurture; people are abroad in different time zones, people are busy with their own lives, people had their quota of social interactions at (=quick drink after) work. When that stopped, we turned to video conferences, which turns out to be better. It’s more inclusive as you don’t have to be within physical reach, and it’s more convenient as you don’t have to worry about the last train home. However, it’s no replacement for a large-scale shared experience; I’ve been to a beer fest, a cinema festival and a football match and they were all insipid. However at the personal-scale, it really works.

Nature is uplifting

Sunshine spills into my study. Bird song and the susurration of wind is louder than traffic noise. The rambling rose over the arch is in full bloom of 80s pink. Bees are constantly examining the lavender. I can see a whole world through my study window. I had no idea that these simple quotidien events would have such a profoundly positive effect on my wellbeing.

The new normal

The UK government announced that further easing of lockdown measures will come into force from 4th July. This feels like the moment the country comes out of hibernation. We’re starting to plan again, to think about holidays, to encourage social growth. It feels good to feel positive again.