17 valuable lockdown lessons I learnt in 2020

I remember myself whipsawing in the month of Jan 2020, trying to reach the impossibly difficult location of my new job, staying atop the preparations for the annual function of Florence School, and the constant nagging of every relative. Jan and February flew with the wind and once our Florence Fiesta was successfully staged, we all finally breathed.

Seeking happiness outdoors all life, then a pandemic-

A few days went by and the unimaginable, unfathomable happened. Suddenly, no stepping out of homes, no shops, hotels, traveling, malls, friends, offices, no social life at all! How ridiculously weird that was! After years and years, well for the first time in my 27 years life, I had to sit at home for how long nobody knew, without any external resources; all due to a 200 nm microbe.

The covid 19 lockdown bought everything to a halt, for everyone. From missing the trivial stuff like tea breaks to striving to bring productivity working from home, life started happening to everyone. But the same year has taught me about myself, about my family, and a lot beyond the categorizing. Here are a few lessons from lockdown that I think I will keep with me until the very last.

Also read: 11 free fun activities to do with family in holidays

Health is NOT to be taken for granted

The constant life-threatening news about the wide-spreading coronavirus had really given anxiety to all. After watching the ads about sanitizer dissolving the virus, I couldn’t shut the thought of circular beings crawling on my hands the moment I touch something until I cleaned my hands with the alcohol sanitizer that dissolved the virus.

Even though the (fantasized) satisfaction of having killed at least a couple of those virus bodies didn’t stay for long, it was a relief. This is the first time it sank in that there’s no way we can take our health and sanitation lightly. We need to prepare, help our bodies fight the organisms out there, not just now but for a lifetime. Having good immunity is imperative; a lesson learned now.

Acceptance is the Key

Accepting the fact that we will not see anybody else than the immediate family, we won’t be able to go to a restaurant in one swoop, or won’t see our friends we took so granted for all these years, was difficult. Extremely difficult. But once I truly accepted that this virus is not here to leave us alone anytime soon, I began to see opportunities that this pandemic had brought in. The faster you accept, the faster your mind starts clearing out blockages from your path.

Time flies if you are not mindful

If there was anything that would appear as an advantage at first glance, it would be saving 3 hours of commute daily! A job of 8 hours with 3.5 hours of commute ate at the day magnanimously. Such great relief from the cab hunt, insane traffic, weird cab mates at times, and all the frustration. I spent a long time fantasizing about the 3 extra hours until I realized that If I don’t live in the moment, in the present, 3 hours will fly away like 3 seconds.

Also read: What it feels like to Leave a Job amidst a Pandemic.

Change is the only constant

Call it a manufacturing defect if you want, but I’ve always found ‘getting ready’ too tedious job to do every day. Stand in front of my cupboard, decide what to wear (3 piece decision at least!) then to set the hair that never wants to settle down, pump up the skin to look good despite a new pimple that is bubbling up until it way, and wait, where’s that damned kajal pencil? or a million people will think I am sick today. Huh! all gone! Who’s to watch you at home? Wear a sack if you want to, abandon the mirror if you feel like it! Comfort is bliss. Freedom is tasty.

Together we can do more

This might be the first time I truly appreciated the effort that mothers (and essential workers, homemakers) all over the world take for their families. Cleaning homes, doing dishes, cooking 3-4 times a day ( what a nightmare), and a full-time day job that requires every ounce of mental energy. With the initial frustration of this hustle, finally, things became habitual. Everybody in the house felt the heat of these oncoming chores, so pro-actively everyone took up different tasks to do. The household work became fun. Sharing is caring! (But still, mum did more)

Exercise and Yoga

I have never been in any kind of sports ever, nor a fitness enthusiast. Nobody in my family is. Also, genetically we have a good metabolism so the urgency and motivation to exercise never came. But the lockdown days were too much to take in, too overwhelming. With CureFit, I finally began doing Yoga, meditation, and pranayama regularly.

Every time the mind tends to lose its calm, a 5 or 10 min meditation would do the magic. So much that the first thought of getting up would be to exercise and meditate. After having pumped up enough oxygen, the day ahead looked promising despite the monotony.

The Joy of Little Things

Having too few new things ( almost negligible ) to explore, I developed an eye to see the smallest of the things in their exquisite details. With the freedom of moving around while taking tediously long office calls, I could spot the simple wonders of nature like the flowers, the patterns of the birds chirping, the shift in their routine with the seasons, the plants in my garden. Oh, the joy of little things! In our race to achieve all the flashy things, we somehow forgot to appreciate the small wonders lingering around us.

Time for the left out

With the commute time saved, I had extra 3-4 hours daily to spare. Suddenly all the things that I had wanted to do for so long (some since childhood) surfaced in my mind. Days felt hopeful again. And even though it was not possible to accommodate in a day, with a little discipline, a lot as possible.

Learning

I always wanted to learn a foreign language since a teenager, and that found a way into my routine now. With 15 minutes on Duolingo, I now have basic knowledge of Spanish and probably for the first time in life, I was able to maintain a 50 day streak at something. Haa! Pat on my back. Along the way to go through.

Reading

Due to the constant screen exposure, I had almost given up on reading. But that too gained a place back in my routine in form of kindle, audible, Spotify, and storytel. I could read more than 15 books in the lockdown year. From classics like sense and sensibility, mysteries like the Da Vinci code, historical accounts like Homo Sapiens to self-help books like atomic habits, what it takes to be free, all of them made me feel like I found myself again.

Strumming

On my 25th birthday, I had gifted myself a ukulele, since I always wanted to learn a musical instrument, but never found time and enough motivation to learn. I had given up the thought of convincing myself saying that not every childhood dream gets fulfilled.

But following the 2-minute rule from the atomic habits book, I decided to give it a try for 10 mins a day every night before sleep. And now, this is my favorite time of the day! It gives me a sense of closing the day successfully and I think I sleep better ( although I don’t have any scientific study to back this self-discovery!)

Painting

Just like all these, even painting found its way back into my weekends. A piece of soft music or an audiobook in the background, the calm of the night, and imitating the favorite painting on canvas feel like a perfect date night with own self.

What doesn’t kill makes us stronger

Even though all of us have lived with our families for long extents of time at some point in our life, there are trying times like these when your vulnerabilities are exposed that change your perception about people altogether. With all 5 of us stuck together, we had to find ways to enjoy the time together, reduce the mutual differences to lower the daily stress, do chores together, play games with parents and cheat them into utter defeat!

Sometimes, well-kept secrets from parents came out, some stories from their childhood and so on… There were times when it felt like even though we have lived for 2 decades together, it is only now that my family got to know me! The fact is that we are so desperate to label the people around us, that we forget that they are humans too.

Mental Health is of Utmost Importance

Some days were hard, some days unique, some days of discovery, and some days of utter depression. Where did the constantly changing moods come from? On some days getting up at 4 a.m, following a morning routine, finding time to do everything on the list, and finally having a successful day was a piece of cake. And on some, getting out of bed even as late as 11 am was difficult! I believe, we all have understood ourselves a little more, gained a bit more control over ourselves, and introspected a great deal in this lockdown.

Live in the Present

There were moments when the fear and anxiety of seeing people suffering, losing jobs and livelihood, the out-of-control spread of the virus was way too much to handle. What will I do if anything such happens to me or my family was the constant worry lingering in my head? This made all of us cranky sometimes.

The only solution?- Live in the present! After all, what can you do about the things beyond your control? All you can do is think only about this moment, do the task in your hand, keep your mental stability intact and if you can help anyone get their life on track, do so! living in the moment is the one solution to driving off all the insane anxiety and unnecessary worry. Carpe Diem!

Write it off

When I was in high school, I remember writing a diary daily. But when I started my job, that ritual was lost somewhere. But now in lockdown, it was easy to spare 10 mins daily before sleep to write; sometimes rubbish, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes poetic, fantasizing, or nostalgic. It was the best outlet to let out all that bottled up in a day.

A Self-Made Routine is the Best

After years of external triggers setting up my routine, now, in lockdown, I had the freedom to set up my own routine. To do things as per my chronology, my suitability. Office work cant is that flexible but it still gave a significant room to re-arrange. Having a morning routine, an evening routine, napping in the afternoon, office calls on a garden walk, or under the moonlit sky was enough freedom without even asking for it. There’s one universal truth that I have finally realized. With discipline, you can achieve anything, literally.

Less is more

We all have been gripped by the SOS- shiny object syndrome. What I have learned from this lockdown is that if we mindfully watch ourselves, we actually need very little to thrive. With the condition of our planet, I think we need to get rid of our ‘have money, will buy’ attitude. Instead, why not spend on an enriching experience, health, learning, on people in our society who live below means?

Happiness is in Service

With everything forced close, including our school, it felt unethical to leave our kids unattended. Though teaching preschoolers online was ineffective, we (me and my mother) made it a point to have fun conversations with them, do indoor fun activities, include their parents in the process, and facilitate learning on the way! No matter what you get back, the happiness in serving others is of the highest form.

Personal Growth is hard

The lessons from the lockdown I gained are of gold value. No time I spent before that did increase my patience and made me push my boundaries to this extent. The pandemic crisis improved my self-talk, my perception of things that happen in our lives. Quarantining with my family has developed empathy in me realizing why people behave the way they do. Personal growth is extremely hard; it took the world to get locked down, but the joy in small victories over yourself is worth every effort.

Attitude of Gratitude

Being an introvert (a hardcore one) I believe it was relatively easy for me to deal with the quarantine period. In fact, after throwing tantrums for the initial days, I fell in love with the lockdown days. I have seen my sister struggling to get to a place where days became a bit manageable, a tad-bit breathable. The world has suffered a lot in the covid 19 lockdown. The ones who could get the best lessons out of the lockdown year should really consider themselves blessed; I know I do!

And you, how has the lockdown year treated you? what lessons have you learned in the pandemic? Do share your experience and your lockdown lessons!

*P.S- All images are from my Instagram stories.