My Journey with Covid-19, Lockdown & being Furloughed.

I must admit I did not take Corona-virus seriously at first, took the approach the news was blowing it all out of proportion in February & early March. I was like – I rarely catch the common cold & maybe the odd infection once every few years. The world will be fine.

The call came to work from home from 16th March which I was already working at home 2-3 days with going out networking & other business-related adventures the other 2 days.  This became a busy & a stressful week with suddenly contracts & bookings being cancelled or postponed all at once.  

Suddenly I found myself having to undo months of booking preparations in a matter of a few days. The death rate was increasing along with more & more depressing news updates. Hang on the world seems to be heading for an apocalypse. I need to wake up, this has become real! Cobra meetings, being told to Stay at Home, panic buying, mass events, sports etc. being cancelled. 

Then on 23rd March the news we had after the prior week all been expecting LOCKDOWN. I was thinking yeah, no problem I can do this for a few weeks. Then on 25th March I started with a Migraine & Dry Cough, not really thinking too much of it as I get the odd migraine (hormonal ones) & dry throat with hay fever. However following Government advice, I decided to self-isolate. Yet unknown to me I could have been carrying the virus for 1-2 weeks, I had been to shops, out on my bike, out walking on work related business. The first few days, I was extremely thirsty and hungry with a muzzy head, my appetite was huge then the chronic fatigue hit with awful neck & upper back ache. I was sleeping for 7-9 hours a night, strange as my days I was too exhausted to do anything but sit & watch Netflix even having a shower wiped me out.

Then I thought, I’m getting a little better, so I started with very gentle exercise, not really exercise at all, just movement as I am an active person by nature. The next day I started to feel chills, I could not regulate my body temperature & started regularly taking paracetamol as my temperature on paracetamol was around 37.2, normally I sit 36-36.5 so I knew I was ill.  Once the virus hit my chest it was down all tools, a slight crushing sensation coupled with feeling like having a bad chest infection, white as a sheep, heavy breathing & no energy for 4-5 days. Touch and go for a day on feeling how bad & long do I leave it before calling 111 for help. 

Luckily, I gradually got better day by day although I tried to ween myself off the paracetamol too early, yet my temperature just shot up to 38.2 until the very last day. The aftermath of the virus lasted another week after being ill for 11 days, I was still in need of 8-9.5 hours sleep but slowly increased my exercise and intensity with now being back to full fitness within a month of enduring the awful virus & out doing 30 mile cycle rides.

During the next two weeks from 5th to 22nd April, I felt lost, my body clock and whole routine had gone out of the window as I now was furloughed! I was sleeping well yet in no rush to get up properly in the mornings, so I just rested in bed to around midday, scrolling on social media, feeling lonely, hugging my pillows. I live on my own & was replacing close contact with people with duvet hugging psychologically. I was struggling for motivating, weeping, not knowing what day or date it was. Eventually I was getting up & became more productive from mid-afternoon & into the evening however the process would repeat itself daily.  I think my body in hindsight was in the process off adjusting & processing to lockdown as from the beginning it never got a chance with being ill.

Then I had a couple of calls & zoom calls with some close contacts, friends & it dawned on me I was on the top of the slippery slope to depression. During the next 7 days, I fought hard to recompose myself, figure out my next move then it was all so clear. Being furloughed had become one of my biggest opportunities in my life. A forced sabbatical, hell no I’m not wasting it, so I started an online free digital marketing course, I got serious about finishing the decorating in my flat I had started, & decided to finally go for a side hustle that had been in my mind for some time. Plus managing to fit in my daily exercise into my newfound routine.

On Tuesday 28th April after seeing a post on LinkedIn from a fellow networking buddy I have got to know over the past 2 years, I joined Forever Living to become a business owner. It was a no brainer; I have a passion for Health and Fitness & already love a few of the products plus such a low cost to start up a business & with full support from Forever every step of the way.

Now my days are filled with purpose, with splitting the days up with various tasks & making sure my short attention span is stimulated! I have a real newfound motivation & with the days flying by. 

I miss my close family, friends, companions, however we are all having to find a new normal & I believe I have done just that!

Plus, some of the training for this side hustle will also be transferable to my main job so it will be a win win situation. When I do go back to my full time job, I want to be ready to go full pace & absolutely nothing is going to stop me in this world. Not Covid, Not Lockdown, Not being Furloughed, Not an economic depression!

Time is precious, use it wisely, be kind, look better, feel better & enjoy life!

Thank you for reading.

Stay Safe

Jo x