31 day Challenge: Lockdown Lessons

The news says that countries are beginning to relax lockdown guidelines and while the debate on whether this is the right move continues to rage, lockdown as we know it may change. Before it does, (though honestly I think we will likely learn that it was a wrong move and we’ll be locked back indoors before we know it. But I deviate. Back to the point…) we have our last chance to look very closely at how the past few months have been. It has been different for everyone, it has been different on different days, yet we have all discovered something.

I, for example, created a list of the parts of my lockdown life that I really valued.

1. My 3.5 hour long morning routine (on most days)
2. Taking time to exercise everyday (ok almost. I try.)
3. The time to experiment with random skills (so far the list includes skipping, shuffling, statistics, origami, playing the keyboard and juggling)
4. Zero takeout (Yes, I am cooking all my meals)
5. Writing everyday (even if it is ten words, I am)
6. Getting over Social Media (my phone screen time is now down to an average of 3 hours per day. Goodbye Instagram!)
7. Reading regularly and
8. Afternoon naps thrice a week (at minimum. Shhhhh…..i am still working hard)

This is not an exhaustive list. On the other hand, there are things I have sorely missed:

1. Eating lunch with my team at work.
2. Coffee breaks with the team.
3. Dinner and drinks with the friends.
4. The annual summer break (I told myself I will take fewer flights this year. So I am partly glad that the virus took care of that but I miss my annual summer vacation).
5. Mostly all forms of social interaction and
6. Then the added dramatics of mood swings (this is not something I missed but something that is a recent addition as a result of staying home all through).

Now I intend to incorporate as much as I can of what I love about this phase and what I missed, as life begins to creep towards normal (when it does).

So what is the challenge this month? Easy – over the next 31 days, I challenge you to observe what it is about your new life that you have fallen in love with and hope to retain. Spend time observing, enjoying these moments and then planning how to make it a permanent feature.

Until next time. Stay safe.

P.S: The award for the post with the maximum number of parenthesis goes to … (clap clap).