In Post COVID times – Will I be ready to get back to work?

Spending most of the days occupied with nothing but online exercises, taking daily walks, grocery shopping, tidying, reading and of course writing sounds like a busy day. If you think about it, deep down mentally I am still adjusting to the reality of lockdown. 

I can honestly say being at home has been a blessing and there was a moment I didn’t have work on my mind, but as I take a minute, the reality is this is my new current lifestyle from Monday to Friday and I’m sure you're noticing your weekdays are rolling into your weekends because you’re at home repeating the same regime achieved during the week, last week and the week before that and the cycle continues.

It is second nature to most of us at this point but that’s lockdown rules – STAY HOME and SAVE LIVES. As I flick across the channels on TV, these are the words that have been physically repeated to us day in and day out, channel to channel, it is a never-ending story.

However, soon or later, this regime we have all been forced to experience for the last 2 ½ months will soon come to an end and our daily jobs will start up again, some have already started back to work such as the notion of WFH (work from home), but some non-essential companies like your retailers will be making a comeback in June or even later during the summer period.

The question is, “Am I ready to go back to work and face the melody?”. I honestly do not think I am ready, and it is best, to be honest about this now rather than hide my thoughts.

If you think about it, I’m sure all of us are feeling the same way, we are comparing or should I say reminiscing about the times before the pandemic consumed our lives like an annoying cold you can’t get rid of. When I say “melody”, focus on the sound of the noisy trains moving rapidly in front of you as you stand at the platform and of course “mind the gap”, being underneath somebodies armpit on the train as I head back and forth to work (just for the record, I am short), commuting to our daily jobs and working 9-5 hours non-stop.

To put it bluntly, I am looking forward to seeing the colleagues again and having back the excitement and interaction with people in the office, but the commute to get to the office will be the ultimate struggle test especially getting back to the daily hassle of passing two of London’s busiest stations again (Baker Street and Farringdon) which are constantly jammed packed with loads of people getting on and off the trains and interchanging amongst various train/tube lines. This is what I need to get my head around - hence why adjusting to the attitude of WFH is such an easy ride for most of us.

It’s the flexibility of coming out of bed when you know jumping back into bed with such joy and your computer, but the mare fact of going back to a normal lifestyle where I’m standing at the bus stop, looking at the bus app with eagerness, trying to work out when the bus is coming scares me to my very core. 

If I had to choose, I would love another couple of months just to be on the safe side, at home with the family, enjoying long walks when I can and gathering as much sunshine and vitamin D but more importantly getting my head in the game and coming to terms with the thought of going back to work properly. Time will tell at this point but taking each journey as it comes.

Procrastination in Lockdown

As the days roll on and the months sail by, we tend to reflect on ideas of what we can do to occupy our minds, things that need our attention while we are at home. There may be online fitness workout videos to get you on the gym hype, painting and decorating to do around the house, making new recipes for dinner to baking scrumptious cupcakes, but there are always things to do that you have been putting off since God knows and this is the time to do it instead of procrastinating.

When I woke up this morning, I found myself sitting on the floor, in a daze and looking around my bedroom, contemplating what needs doing which I have been putting off for so long. It can almost be a long list of things to do such as:

• Old files, pictures, music that needs to be wiped from my old computer and added to an external hard drive. Furthermore, once I remove the computer, it will make a wonderful spot for my laptop and reduce on-wanted clutter if necessary.

• Getting vacuum storage bags for my winter clothes as the season is changing. I have too many jumpers, scarves and cardigans, so I have no use for them at the moment. This section of my wardrobe needs a tidy up which will make it a nicer and neater spot.

• The main table in my room needs a supportive office chair. This is where IKEA, Wayfair or Amazon springs to mind and scoping out the best pieces available and good value for money.

• Even the jeans section of my wardrobe needs a good pick-me-up as well.

• Looking for distant curtains for my room. Currently, I have net curtains that do its job, but you need something to block out the morning sunlight especially when you have had a late one the night before.

Indeed, there are tasks to crack on with but there will always be more to do. I think the biggest struggle is when to take the time to do it. It’s about motivating one’s self to do the task that needs doing at hand and it can be quite a struggle for anyone because instead, you prefer to lie in bed, listen to music or have a Netflix marathon at your leisure and say this can be put off until next day and then the procrastinating circle starts and goes round and round.

For those of us who would like to get around the lockdown procrastination, I call it, is not to give yourself added pressure. You have five days during the week, you do not need to accomplish all tasks in one day. Spread the tasks out evenly, for example, for me:

• Monday – jeans tidy day·
• Tuesday – scope around online for vacuum storage bags and supportive office chair.
• Wednesday – look for curtains online.
• Thursday – reduce clutter from my main table and draws.
• Friday – it is time to get out the external hard drive and back up old files and music from the old computer.

You could say the first step is laying out a basic plan for myself, now the next stage is to motivate, take control, stick by the plan and hopefully, results will be achieved. Once you get into the rhythm of things, procrastination in lockdown will not even enter your mind, it will be something you “shake off", Taylor Swift says and continue the next task that needs your attention.