5 Things Learned During the First 10 Days of Quarantine.

We’re all rolling into the 2nd week of mandatory Work From Home routines. While the adjustments are still taking place - not needing to dress up or even shower in the morning (who knows?), avoiding the commute, not having real plans for the after work - I wanted to share 5 things I’ve learned by spending the whole week with my entire family (wife and daughter) while managing our lives, work and play, all from a 2-bedroom condo. I hope some of those ideas will be practical and may offer some useful hacks for you to deploy. We are all in this together. So here we go:

#1 - Routines make it all (more) manageable

I’ve been a fan of daily routines even before COVID-19 locked us inside our homes. For me, every day is split into mini buckets of time (usually, there are 4-5 buckets). Each bucket has key activities and outcomes. Morning bucket consists of making breakfast, getting the first cup of coffee, watching something positive on YouTube and maybe doing a quick stretch routine. As you could see, my mornings are all about positive vibes, ‘me time’ and zero distractions.

Owning mornings is super important, especially, during times like this when a million unknowns may come your way during the day. The rest of the day is split into productive chunks of work, working out, helping with lunch/cleaning mess, more chunks of work and time with a kid dedicating to yet another activity. My days fly by faster than ever despite zero travels outside of the home (physical acts of traveling somewhere to accomplish something tend to cause time contraction feelings).

#2 - Turn that camera on! 

I don’t remember having to turn my webcams on during client or internal meeting calls in pre-quarantine days. There was never much need to see more people’s faces than I was already seeing daily. Voice calls and faceless presentations were the norms.

When we went on a WFH schedule, we made a decision to have our webcams on every time for both internal and external calls. This has really made a difference in the quality of our communications and in just bringing people together. When you see people in their home environments and not in a polished office setting with whiteboards on the background, you get a different depth of conversations, you relate more, you talk about regular things in life before talking work. I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I do now. I’m sure I’m not alone on this. So, if you can, please turn your camera on when you call someone. Don’t be afraid to come as you are! 

#3 - Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with the whole family

We’re back to the old days when families used to have at least two sit down meals a day together. A true definition of quality family time, I guess. This has been lost in recent times, for sure. You were lucky if you could have at least a dinner together, but three meals a day was a luxury. Now, it’s a reality and it’s a good one. Our daughter has shown a real interest in helping us out with cooking, so she volunteered to assist with breakfast and dinners, even if that’s simply setting up the plates and forks. Our eating habits are now more stable and much healthier with zero take-out/ fast food choices for lunch. The drawback? There are more dishes to be done every day and more runs to the grocery store, but the benefits outweigh the costs on this. 

#4 - Workouts are a must

My first real pain from COVID-19 was the shutdown of all sports on TV, the second was when my condo gym closed. But because I’ve had stocked up on gym equipment in the past, I knew I could survive at home and still maintain my fitness level.

What I discovered is my love and passion for fitness could serve a real value to other people who are not as dedicated to fitness but were becoming bored out of their minds working/staying at home. I knew I could help them and have someone to be accountable for showing up to virtual workouts. Our Abacus Agency Workout Club was launched on the 1st day of quarantine and has been going strong since then. Physical training is essential to keeping your spirits up, your stress levels low and immune systems on defense! There are tons of free fitness apps for home workouts (I love Nike Training Club), but if you need a little company and some ideas on how to get a bucket of sweat in 30 minutes, join me and our crew every Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 12pm EDT (here is the address of our gym: https://zoom.us/j/408155792)

#5 - Keeping a log of pain points

These are unprecedented times. There are plenty of people who are lost, in fear, don’t know how to react, what to think, how to deal with it and what to expect. Panic buying is not the most productive form of dealing with it, but it may be comforting for some. This is a time of so many opportunities, only if you ask the right questions, turn your brains in the right direction and start focusing on the needs of others vs. your own needs. The real pain points you observe these days could be hidden opportunities for future solutions. For example, my real pain point is that despite my love for Nike training gear, their polyester shirts don’t block the natural odor of my body. It’s never been an issue before when I was working out in big gyms with tons of air conditioners, but it has become a big issue now that I’m forced to do HIIT routines in a tiny room. This is a hidden opportunity to enter a crowded athletics gear space with the right offering designed around this real pain point. 

Our leadership team at Abacus has emphasized that whatever the world is going through right now will help with a creation of new businesses and solutions that will be born today and will be world-known 10 years from now. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather focus on keeping a log of pain points around me than wasting time trying to stock up on toilet paper. The paper will go down the drain, but these logs of observations can turn into something meaningful.

Hope these thoughts help you manage your own daily routines and stay positive. If you know anyone who may need a hand with organizing their time or working out from home or seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, tag them in comments or share this article with them. We're all in this together.

Stay safe.

-Denis