I, like millions of people around the globe, found myself suddenly confined to my home. My life was going to be drastically different for the foreseeable future. There was nowhere to go to, and no reason to rush.
My heart goes out to everyone who’s suffering because of the outbreak of COVID-19. There are healthcare workers on the frontline fighting the coronavirus. There are people who still have to go to work because their jobs require physical presence, and others who don’t have an income anymore because their services were compromised amidst the outbreak.
My own responsibility, on the other hand, is to stay home and work remotely. It’s insignificant compared to what other people are going through, but I thought it was worth sharing since many of us are learning to navigate this new experience.
The idea of being home 24/7 was at first daunting to me. Just imagining myself and my family spending our days indoors, without our daily routine or activities, sent shivers down my spine. It was similar to the feeling I got whenever I boarded the 16-hour flight between Saudi Arabia and San Francisco. How do you pass this much time?
A week into the lockdown, it turned out that, as with many things in life (including those transcontinental flights), it was worse in my head than it was in reality. There were times when it got overwhelming, but most of the time, it turned out to be OK, and in fact enjoyable.
I enjoyed waking up leisurely in the morning. Shocking, right? We were still up by 7:30 at the latest, but knowing I had nowhere to rush to made a difference to my morning experience.
There was no divide between work and life. The two became one life, as I believe they should. I always disliked the “work-life balance” expression, because it indicated that the two were somehow separate, and that we needed to figure out how to do both. Working from home helped me integrate the two and reinforced my belief. I loved hearing my son’s playful voice in the background as I worked, and taking short breaks to spend time with him and my husband. I also enjoyed having our meals together.
I found that it’s possible to be as productive working from home as from the office. The challenge was to make it sustainable. Some days it was easy to wake up early and work all morning, and then spend the afternoon with my son while his dad worked. Other mornings I desired taking a walk outside before it started raining, as it often did for the past ten days. But I think it’s a matter of time until a new routine forms.
Because my family and I are self-isolating together in a small space, it became important for us to find ways to cope with this unprecedented situation and adjust to the new normal. Here’s a list of what’s been helpful to me so far:
- Taking alone time everyday to do something just for myself
- Going out for long walks, either alone or with my family
- Creating a flexible to-do list and managing my expectations
- Embracing the full spectrum of feelings that surface in periods of adjustment
- Distant-socializing with my friends and family
- Thinking Hygge
I don’t know how long the lockdown would be in place for. It could be weeks, and probably months, before we return to our daily life as we knew it. But until that happens, I will do my best to enjoy these slow-paced days, nestled in the comfort of my home, and being around my husband and my rambunctious son.