A gift amid Covid-19
Miguel Guinard • Mar 25, 2020
In Central Florida, most of us will bunker down for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow, March 26, 2020. Whether we like it or not, we are forced to rearrange.
Rearranging, for many people, is catastrophic. We get used to our routines. If you have young children, you are also dealing with keeping them safe and entertained. If you lost your job because of this situation, or sick, fear and anguish are lurking to disrupt your mental and physical state.
There's always a silver lining if you stop and look.
Covid-19 brought in its path of health and economic destruction, a gift. To have the ability to see the gift, you need to stop and give yourself a few moments away from the news and electronic devices.
When was the last time that you sat still and meditated? How about a short walk early in the morning or evening?
In my neighborhood, the mailbox is a 5-minute walk to our amenity area. I make it a purpose to walk around the park after checking the mail, giving me a few more moments to breathe in the fresh air and meditate.
My own meditation includes the words of Philippians 4:4-7:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
You may not believe the same way I do, but practically, taking a few minutes away to ponder and analyze your situation, will help you focus on what really matters in your life.
I've been pondering and analyzing since the beginning of the year as I took a jump into entrepreneurship without knowing that Covid-19 would wreak havoc. This jump, in a Providential way, prepared me to deal with the situation at hand.
As a family, we were already rearranging and adjusting our budget and life to accommodate this entrepreneurial journey.
Based on my experience for the past few weeks, I want to share five thoughts on how I saw the gift amid Covid-19.
1- More Personal Time
We are now forced ( for a good reason) to stay at home. This opportunity will give you at least 1-2 hours a day without a commute. You can take a few minutes from that surplus to meditate, dream, and plan for the future.
2- For business owners: Time to strategize
If you are a business owner with employees, You've facing probably the most challenging situation in your life. Your business may cease to exist if you don't reduce the workforce. The government is going to help some, but if your business is considered "non-essential," you are going home still.
The "essential designated" companies and online businesses are thriving during this time. If you don't have an online presence or you haven't visited your website in a while, This is the perfect time to work on it. Create a content strategy, update your website, add pictures, enable your blog, and share your experience. Social media has been a great outlet for businesses, but remember that social media posts are here today and gone tomorrow unless you spend money. If "boosting" is not driving traffic to your site, you can use this "forced time off" to formulate a strategy that will help your website work for you and keep your clientele involved.
3-Make the best of working from home.
At our home, we rearranged our home office to accommodate my wife. Since she uses dual monitors in her office, I "sacrificed" my multi-screen setup so that she can have an upgraded experience working from home. Since most of my work now revolves around content strategy, I can write and edit from my laptop or iPad with noise-canceling headphones.
We have a little four-year-old "munchkin" who is full of energy, so I hired him as my assistant. His job is writing his letters and words and to "work" for a predetermined amount of time on his iPad. We take a break for lunch, and he goes to nap for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Who knew that you will become so productive during a child's nap time. Work that would typically take four hours to complete now gets done in two.
4- Show your employer that you are efficient at working from home.
One of the unintended consequences (or benefits) of this Covid-19 situation is working from home. Chit chat among coworkers is non-existent, and online meetings are now "the thing" to do.
This is the time to show that working from home will make you more productive and beneficial to both your employer and your wellbeing. I'm pretty sure that after this situation is over, you can negotiate work-from-home at least one or two days of the week.
5- The only downside of working from home
The only downside of working from home if you don't have self-control is the proximity to the pantry and fridge. If you don't keep your trips to the kitchen in check, you will gain more than just productivity and family time, especially around your waist.
In conclusion
If this situation is hurting you financially, remember to contact all your bill providers and loan companies and let them know that you need the help. Everyone is willing to help and formulate a plan that will help you stay afloat while you are cooped up at home. This will also help you avoid a hit to your credit report.
Covid-19 is giving you time at home without the stresses of and time wasted at the office and the much-needed quality time with your family.
On the other hand, if you are an "essential" employee or business owner, you don't have time to read or spend time at home. Enjoy all the extra work and money you are making, and thank you for your service.
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