365 Days Later: My Thoughts On Pandemic Life

The 23rd of March marks one year since the UK went into a national lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak. While this may not be an anniversary that we want to celebrate, with many of our actual celebrations being postponed as a result, now seems like an appropriate time to round up everything that I’ve learnt over this period. 365 days later.

Did you catch any of that? Am I on mute? Sorry, I’m having some connectivity problems. Should be fixed now!

It’s no secret that the pandemic has sucked in some way for everyone. There’s no way to dress it up. In fact, 2020 was all about dressing down. My suit and shorts combo is most definitely a fashion moment that I never anticipated, nor will forget anytime soon. But that was our reality for a short while and we were all in it together.

There’s something rather moving in the fact that although we had never been further apart physically, the world had never been more connected. Lockdown gave us time to become experts in the kitchen, work on those side-hustles, reach out to old friends, focus more on mental health, celebrate the healthcare professionals (the true rock stars), and more.

It also gave us the opportunity to think. I started to think about what I valued as an individual, a business owner, and a family man. These are some of the lessons that I’ll be sharing with you in this honest piece. 365 days later.

Life is about experiences and we all need to keep making more

If anything, the past year has shown that we take life experiences for granted. Whether they’re big or small, it’s all about creating a moment that we can later reflect on. Time is completely relative as proven over the last year, turns out Einstein was right! We use these experiences as markers, or what Facebook likes to call Memories, and without them, whilst the days often drag, before you know it, we’ve entered a whole new year. This is the paradox of a lockdown.

With this mindset, I realised that spending time with my family is more important than anything. From vlogging with my little girl all about her Harry Potter obsession to completing countless jigsaws and LEGO sets, it’s true what they say – a full life is a long life. Or in Gracie’s words, a magical one.

I also started thinking more about my own travel experiences and how lucky I am to have so many stamps in my passport. You may have even seen my recent LinkedIn post, where I shared my home office ‘Wall of Fame’, highlighting some of my favourite destinations from across the world. Combined, these places have created so many memories for me both on a personal and professional level. From family getaways to travelling overseas to expand my social media and digital marketing agency, Curtis Gabriel! Despite this, it’s my goal to make sure that each travel moment remains meaningful, and I’ve come to an understanding that jet-setting is a luxury, and that’s how I will treat it from now on.

Looking to the future, I’m excited to reinvent the wheel. Forget about the previous year indoors and just live through normality again. While the hospitality and travel sectors were hit the hardest, you can always count on them to facilitate good times and great memories when things are back to normal. Just think about dining in a restaurant or sitting at a bar next to a stranger and buying them a round with cash! It’s those little things that matter to us all. Most importantly, I can now confidently say I will never turn down an invitation to the pub, or a soft play date with a fellow dad.

Knowledge is power, and sharing it can change the world

I’ve always had a passion for helping people, turning their visions into a reality, and pioneering business growth. It’s something I do every day at Curtis Gabriel alongside my incredible team of marketers. I’d go as far as to say it’s the mantra we live by.

COVID-19 hit differently than anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s safe to say that all of us were unprepared for something like this. Government guidelines instructed venues to close their doors, services to stop operating, and our streets soon became ghost towns. For a short while, it was a weird space to navigate and to properly digest. Seeing images of Sheik Zayed Road in Dubai car-less and Times Square in New York people-less was surreal.

However, I knew that my team and I had a role to play in this. We hustled hard and worked with many of our clients to develop new and inventive ideas, assisted with the creation of a private hire transport safety Charter, and ensured that brands continued to have a voice in their community when many businesses went dark. It would be a mistake to ignore that having multiple sales verticals helps to make you pandemic proof and knowing how to utilise them can make you a winner in your industry.

Positive team spirit gets the job done

Over the years, many businesses have adopted working from home flexibilities, but this came into full swing when lockdown occurred. Businesses and their staff did not have a choice in packing up their equipment and downloading Zoom or embracing Teams.

I think that we can all work from home effectively, given the right support, but there will always be a place in business for office working. I’m sure we can all agree that a change of scenery is needed every now and then? Not only that, but the ability also to converse with your teammates in person, get creative, and even go out for lunch together is something that just can’t be achieved online every day of the week.

Working from home will likely still have a place in society and it’s crucial that people invest in their home working spaces. My new home office is now my pride and joy with décor that makes me happy and starts the day right. I really recommend investing some time in this! I also recommend you do still take the time for meaningful in-person engagement, something I will always cherish a little more after this lockdown.

The political landscape and new conversations

We thought the constant political conversations would end with Brexit, but COVID-19 proved to be the perfect transition. If we take anything from this whirlwind of a situation, it’s that we’ve learnt a mistake isn’t a mistake unless you make it twice. Or if you’re the Prime Minister, make it seven times. You can bet that this will be a huge learning curve for many people and business owners in the future.

On a positive note, the pandemic highlighted some amazing community spirit. It hit home the fact that a welfare state in the UK is a glorious thing, but also a fragile one and it must be protected at all costs. The NHS staff, volunteers, and key workers across the country are truly amazing people. Good guys will always win in pandemics and have their chance to shine.

I have enjoyed reflecting on the past 12 months and sharing my personal and professional journey with you all. It’s something I encourage you to do too. Take the learnings, embrace the positives, and never forget what you missed!