By L.W.
The covid-19 pandemic has brought with itself positive and negative aspects. Whether it was during the lockdowns or due to the restricted measures, we all have our good and not so good experiences that we will live to tell.
For some people it has been more time with family. But on the other hand, domestic violence has increased as people are “forced” to live with one another or worse still in instances where people live in limited spaces. It has also been a time for many to discover new ways of passing time. Some have developed a greater appreciation for nature – going for walks, jogging or simply discovering our balconies and homes. It explains why most hardware and furniture stores were open even when other shops were restricted during the lockdown especially, as the need to make these spaces better rose. For others it was a time to discover Do It Yourself (DIY) as it was also not an easy time to get a craftsman. But then there has been the broken delivery chains that has led to some items not being available on time for sale.
Somehow this time has made some of our lives slow down in some aspects. This is in the case where one has been “forced” to just do the bare necessities – not leaving the house if one doesn´t really have to especially when only the most necessary places were allowed to open up. Due to this, some have been compelled to cancel for example their monthly ABO tickets for public transport because they realized they did not need it anymore.
Then some discovered the comfort of online shopping from home. A challenge for those who are reluctant to do this but have had to adapt. For businesses that were able to do business online or stay open and could meet the given health criteria especially during the lockdowns, these benefited quite a lot. Of course, there has been losers and winners in the businesses and sectors as well. That´s a topic for another day.
Reverting to home office has had many saving up on so much commuting time and the hassle of getting ready to go to work. Having to think of what to wear and settling maybe just for a basic shirt or blouse and scarf, with or without a jacket, depending on how warm it is. But thinking less about what to wear these with and being tempted to just leave the pyjama bottom or? No, not a good idea as it might be an embarrassing risk if the need to stand was called for during one of those ZOOM, Google Meets, Skype or whatever platform one is on. And out goes professionalism.
For parents with home-schooling, the time has been quite a challenge to do all this all under one roof. But through it all, most people benefited from improved IT skills as this was really needed in this time.
So what have been your positives and your negatives during covid-19 pandemic? I think it is a good idea to do this check and find out which side of the coin is weightier in your circumstances. The most important thing is to look out and focus more on the positives. Keep positive!