{"id":100525,"date":"2020-03-30T16:12:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=100525"},"modified":"2020-03-30T16:12:57","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T23:12:57","slug":"covid-19-just-control-your-response-to-it-and-keep-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/03\/30\/covid-19-just-control-your-response-to-it-and-keep-going\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: Just Control Your Response To It and Keep Going!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Zaithoon Bin Ahamed Courtesy www.medium.com<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

When Sri Lanka went into lockdown about two weeks ago, the company I work for took a firm decision to follow government recommendations and close all offices and encouraged people to work from home wherever possible. Top priority was health and wellbeing of people and taking all measures to help the government\u2019s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country and ensure everyone is safe. At that time, it seemed like it would possibly be about a week or so in isolation and we\u2019ll all be back on track. I checked my food supplies and other essentials and didn\u2019t stress too much as I had enough of what I needed to last a week. However, things turned serious and suddenly we were in complete lockdown with an indefinite curfew that forced us to stay indoors, deliberately wash our hands every hour or so and sanitize self and surfaces, and of course the toughest one to do (at least for me) \u2014 \u2018social distancing.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re going into possibly another two weeks of house arrest and isolation. Supplies are running low and I\u2019ve never been so delighted to hear and see the delivery guy from a small local bakery come by in his tuk tuk filled with fresh bread and buns blaring the tune \u2018it\u2019s a small world after all\u2019 or random folks walking about or pushing rickety old carts with a few varieties of vegetables, greens, and fruits. Yesterday was a bonus \u2014 we had a truck drive down the road selling fresh veggies out of sacks. Some friends in other areas said they had a freezer van selling meats and other frozen items, including ice cream (yum, I sooo want some)! And some others had rice, lentils, fresh coconut, and canned fish sold to them at their doorstep. I quickly turned to the Internet and realized the very limited online network in Sri Lanka to purchase essential items had collapsed due to the sheer demand and volume. There were various flyers floating around promising delivery of basics ordered over the phone or via chat, but most of them were unable to cope and quickly shut services without any warning. In times where you supposedly \u2018have access to everything\u2019 we\u2019re completely cut off and thrown into a hole in a flash.<\/ins><\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re taking a day at a time and long-term plans have become mere writings on beach sand that will need to be revised and refreshed with every new challenge thrown at us during this uncertain time. Figuring out how long it will last is a fluid challenge, one that we definitely have no control over. I spent the first few days stressing about food and other essentials, unfinished office work, laundry I hadn\u2019t picked up, yoga classes I had missed, a movie and pizza date with my two nephews, among a host of other things. Then reality hit, and it dawned on me that stressing over things you cannot control is futile and this was certainly one of those times where you needed to take a few steps back, take a deep breath and slow down. On the first day, I spent hours doing nothing, but watching the news and tracking the impact of COVID-19 around the world, and the way it began to unfold and engulf our nation of happy islanders who almost always seize any opportunity during a crisis to enjoy a few laughs and songs over food and drink. This was different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have been through a lot \u2014 a protracted war, communist-led riots, racial unrest, political instability, extremist-led attacks being the big ones in just the last few decades alone. The impact of this virus, however, is unprecedented and it\u2019s really prompted us to rethink how we work and how we live. Apart from that, it\u2019s definitely taught me to slow down and enjoy life the way it should be and focus on learning and exploring while attending to everyday things. I spent the first 3 days waking up much later than I usually do and thereby missing some important things in my daily routine, like reading, exercising. Instead, I was just wasting time lazying around in my pajamas and checking emails in bed. But I took control and realized this was not sustainable and not healthy and a complete waste of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was time to reflect and focus on controlling my response to COVID-19, rather than fretting about dealing with things that were beyond control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve done<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

De-junked and reorganized cupboards and shelves that I\u2019ve been wanted to do for months and have been putting off. De-junking is therapeutic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Started writing again \u2014 I had many work-in-progress bits of poetry and a novel I had started on some months ago and made little progress<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called friends and family I hadn\u2019t spoken to in a while other than a random text message, usually during my commute to\/from work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve learnt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much we undermine technology as a society and country; for all those who have been skeptical about digital banking to buying things online, this would have saved you time and energy and would have been an absolute blessing at a time like this. So, get connected, now and learn how to do things online!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need all the fancy things and luxuries you buy on a regular basis; it all boils down to what you need to survive. Lifestyle is a choice and certainly hasn\u2019t given any of us much of a choice in this crisis. Living simply and being able to manage with what you have is a good lesson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of investing time in a close circle, especially at times like these, to help share thoughts, ideas, grief, and just chat to keep you sane, motivated, and hopeful. I\u2019m so thankful and blessed to have wonderful family and friends-like-family<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve discovered<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter where you are \u2014 all you need is a little discipline and passion. You can slice and dice your day and do all the things you have to (like home chores), work, hobbies, and socializing. It\u2019s these moments that truly put technology and creativity to test and make you discover and do things you thought weren\u2019t possible. I\u2019ve discovered I can cook better than I thought I could as I have no choice but to further explore my culinary skills given the absence of Uber eats and limited supplies. I\u2019ve learnt to be frugal and make do with the bits I have \u2014 I even potted a few herbs and spinach instead of throwing out the stems even though gardening is not something I enjoy doing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can do everything (well almost everything) virtually \u2014 I started a daily virtual power yoga class with my guru and it\u2019s been as good as the regular sessions. Actually, with my routine, I have time to do this every day and then get on with my other work. I discovered some very cool virtual party apps and have been connecting with the girls almost every day to chat about random things we would normally do when we meet up for happy-hour Fridays. We even invited some of the boys and had a virtual \u2018dress up\u2019 party, but clearly only I took the dressing up seriously!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtually Collaborating \u2014 Workout and Parties!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have at least 20 kids in the neighborhood who play cricket every day after school and when their hits fly over the wall into our backyard, there usually would be no one at home to throw the balls back! I found a handful of balls and gave them back to the thankful kids. And then of course, we had to keep throwing the balls back at least 10 times a day (sigh!), so I had to quickly make a deal and tell them that only 4 over-the-wall hits allowed per day \u2014 all others must be collected the next morning \ud83d\ude42 It\u2019s worked and we\u2019re still friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The muddy paw marks we see on the car everyday are those of our new furry friend \u2014 Gingerbread. Ginger scales the wall everyday just past 7am (by which time we have left the house to go to work) and hangs around the garage. We\u2019ve now sort of adopted him. He comes over every morning for his milk and fish, begs to be petted, and even joins me in my yoga sessions. It\u2019s a good feeling to bond with a pet we\u2019ve never had before<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet \u2018Ginger\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opportunities and way forward when we get back to normal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all of this madness, I was rather amused at how many retail giants were unable to cater to people\u2019s basic needs through their (weak) online retail channels. It\u2019s a two-way street though \u2014 I suppose these players had embarked on some form of online operation, but never improved or leveraged it because people didn\u2019t see the need for it. This crisis, however, has proved that you\u2019ve got to be ready for these things, both from a retailer\u2019s perspective as it offers a great business opportunity, and for people, a convenient way of sourcing your basic requirements and have them delivered to your doorstep. A few days later, some of these retailers got their act together and met people halfway, but it\u2019s been a frustrating one as the channels are not fully functional and there\u2019s zero communication between vendor and customer! It\u2019s a good wake-up call for all \u2018digital and innovation\u2019 teams to break away from traditional ways of doing online and look at quick collaborations to rise up to this sort of challenge and meet the current demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For corporates who have been exploring and mulling flexi-work, this would be the ultimate test to implement and go. There were some published statistics already that showed the use of online meeting platforms had spiked in the past few weeks as more people turned to digital tools to be connected and work collaboratively, albeit apart. It can be done. If corporates loosen their grip on rules and policies and trust employees with flexibility, it could translate to increased productivity and perhaps a decrease in overhead costs too. Individuals though need to practice discipline and meticulously plan your day, so you give equal importance to everything you love and deliver on your work in a timely manner. I always believe a slacker will be a slacker, whether working in an office or working from home, so it boils down to hiring the right talent .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do I miss the most during this quarantine life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanging out with my two nephews, even though, thanks to technology, we connect over a video call to chat about random things. I also miss partying with the girls, going for drinks and dinner, and taking silly selfies. Hopefully, I will be able to do all of these again soon once this is behind us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turn of events is proof that volatility and uncertainty are certainly a part of life. And your ability (you as a person, a corporate, and a country) to adapt quickly, change the way you function, and keep going will be the ultimate test of resilience if you want to ride the tide and settle gently on the shores, unscathed. For now, we can live knowing that \u2018this too shall pass\u2019 and the day will come when we jump back into our daily rat race. And when that happens, eventually, my daily exercise sessions will possibly be reduced to about 3\u20134 times a week, I may not be cooking as often as I do now, and Ginger will probably find another home where there are people to greet him during the day. But I will be glad that I would have used this time of self-isolation in the best way possible to look within, reflect, and identify things you can change for the better \u2014 for yourself, to be more valuable to society, and to be more meaningful to the people who deposit your monthly paycheck, so you could live a good life. Stay calm, stay positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The appearance of things changes according to the emotions; and thus we see magic and beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.\u201d<\/em>\u2015 Kahlil Gibran, The Broken Wings<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Zaithoon Bin Ahamed Courtesy www.medium.com When Sri Lanka went into lockdown about two weeks ago, the company I work for took a firm decision to follow government recommendations and close all offices and encouraged people to work from home wherever possible. Top priority was health and wellbeing of people and taking all measures to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}