The Covid situation: Let's explore some quick wins?

This is not the first pandemic and may not be the last. This too shall pass!

As we all start getting accustomed to work continuously in our home office setups, I could see some quick opportunities (four to be precise) which are waiting to be explored. Do you also see these silver linings as I do? Do share your thoughts, add to the list and we can learn together.

Create awareness and be empathetic

There’s the kid who gets your morning newspaper and then there’s the cleaning staff who takes out your trash. Why not spend 5 minutes and educate them on how we all can avoid spreading the virus. Why not listen to them as to what do they feel about this pandemic. People in the lower income groups will be hit badly. It is important that we help them by making them more aware and by being kind to them. An extra month of wage will help them sustain longer.

Remember, "Kindness don't cost a dime!".

Invest in new skillsets

Right now I would have been on an airplane, had the pseudo ban on travels not been implemented. I can’t deny, this sudden cancellation (or postponement) of workshops has created windows of available time. This in turn gave me an opportunity to relook at my learning schedule. I started building that Smartsheet solution (as a personal project) which I was deliberating on for last few months. And that's just one of the skills which I wanted to learn.

Invest in being future ready. Right now is good time to relook at what skill sets you may need in future and get started on building one of those critical skills.

Work remotely but don't distance yourself

Remember meeting your batch mates after summer break? There was this feeling of not having seen them for 2-3 months! With technology (like Zoom, Skype, Facetime etc) we can overcome that feeling now. When we are back in office (and I am hoping that happens soon) there is no need to feel distanced! While we right now connect with colleagues for work, why not set some time aside for a social chat. Just to say, ‘How was your weekend?’. Something that we do at coffee counters/ pantry?

I will be honest, I borrowed this from a message posted few hours back by Simon Sinek.

Get (re)started on your health

One of the widely discussed topics globally is around mental health. We all know that a good physical health is the first step to mental well being. While the gyms, playing courts and swimming pools have temporarily been shut down (at least here in India), dedicating a specific time during the day (preferably early morning) to do some home-bound exercises using body weight would be an excellent start in that direction. While this may not show immediate benefits, it would be a start to a great lifelong habit.

Continuing on health; be mindful of what's on your plate. While most of us are home bound and constantly think of that creamy pasta or donut (or soda, or whatever unhealthy attracts you) this is the best time to start eating clean. I am doing this out of compulsion than a choice as I can foresee a chubbier me the next time my colleagues meet them after a few weeks!

Be mindful of the bandwidth which you use

I know this may ruffle some feathers. Staying at home, who can avoid not binge watching that Netflix season which you have been planning for some time now. But then, can we be a bit mindful of the bandwidth which we will use? 3 days back Microsoft Teams crashed when most of us starting this work from home routine. As most of the digital solutions are on cloud, using only the needed bandwidth would mean as a society we all can benefit equally from the usage of these digital solutions.