We all have bad days and bad months, sometimes bad years. But I think it’s safe to say that we’ve had a pretty rough year and a half. With baby steps, we’re doing our best to recover from this.
We’ve learned a lot from being in lockdown and quarantine, not all of them good things, mind you. So let’s unpack some of them, shall we?
1. Working From Home Isn’t That Easy
One thing the pandemic brought us is working from home. Love it or hate it, I feel like working from home is going to be a frequent thing in the future. We learn to multitask doing chores while sitting in on meetings, we learned how to make our working from home experience a much better, more comfortable space for us. We also learned how to juggle family time and work time.
I don’t know about you but sometimes working from home may seem like 24/7 instead of a 9-5 gig. But we managed to get around it. If you live with your family, working from home may be more of a struggle than most.
After all, it’s not easy sharing a space with multiple other working people with different jobs. My mother is a teacher and I constantly hear alphabet songs playing while I’m trying to figure out how to start an article.
2. Family Is Both Fun To Be Around and The Cause of Stress
Let it be said that I love my family and that I will go to the moon and back for them, but I need them to understand that just because we’re in a pandemic and that I’m at home, doesn’t mean that I’m not working.
Sometimes being in a houseful of people can get suffocating and you can’t really go out to shake yourself off. Shutting yourself up in your room doesn’t help you either. How long are you going to stay there until it’s time for dinner?
The best way is to have a conversation with them. It’s difficult at first, I’m not going to lie, but once you reach out to them, they’ll be able to understand your predicament more properly and try their best to help you out.
3. Speak Out
An important thing the pandemic has taught me is how strong the power of a voice is on social media.
People are starting to speak up and speak out on things that are concerning them that happen daily. Something people were too scared to talk about before but are now opening up to because there are encouraging people online who are there to help them out.
Last month, Malaysians had the #BenderaPutih movement whereby the community helps each other out by providing food for those who are struggling in these trying times. Since then, many other movements have been introduced as well to Malaysians’ benefit.
4. Research Breakthrough
Sometimes things can get a little overwhelming, especially when it’s thrust upon you so suddenly. I’m talking, of course, about the virus. Since it’s unfamiliar and pretty much unknown to anyone, it proved to be a difficult enemy to overthrow.
In the past, it’s taken four to 20 years to create conventional vaccines. I just think it’s amazing that scientists managed to create vaccines that could help with COVID-19 immunisation within the span of a year.
Of course, there’s still a lot of research to be done since the virus has a lot of variants and is not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon. It’s still nice to celebrate small victories. The birth of these vaccines may also be of huge help to any future diseases.
5. It’s Okay To Want To Be Alone
Some days you just need to unwind, don’t you think? Being in a pandemic can get pretty stressful and you may find that it’s difficult to de-stress because you’re surrounded by family or work stuff, and leaving it just to have some time alone seems to make you feel guilty, somehow.
I’m here to tell you that self-care does not equate to you being self-indulgent. It is very much okay to take time for yourself once in a while. After all, you can’t be expected to be doing your best if you’re already to the brim with anxiety and stress.
Pamper yourself for a day. Try meditating or spend the day binge watching Netflix, whatever floats your boat. Do something for yourself, for once.
So, What’s The TakeAway?
Being in a pandemic isn’t all bad. But it’s also not all good. I say you take these hardships as a redemption arc for yourself. You know what they say, surviving a pandemic together makes you stronger!
P.S. Another thing I learned in this pandemic is to be more budget friendly. Are you a recovering shopaholic too? Pfff yeah, okay. I believe you.
Anyway, this might help:
How Do I Stop Myself From Impulse Buying?
