First stage - disruption
Day 1 of home isolation falls on March 17 (a Covid-19 case in my coworking space).
Observations:
no commute, more time;
riding a bike still allowed, enjoying short routes;
gyms still opened, but I cannot attend; my routines are messed up;
high from the new freedom is burning down;
busy at work providing remote webinars and expanding skills of remote technology.
By the end of the second week, proving the Parkinson law, the initial ’free-time wins’ change into a mirage, eaten up by daily mundane.
On 30 March, the partial freedom disappears. It will be an extended stay at home. Work enters my home space and makes itself comfortable. I cannot continue my life in the ameba like style; I need to put some strategies and tactics in place.
Stage 2 - it's about living not surviving
It's time to draw a line and develop a strategy for the forthcoming weeks, maybe months. I sit down to map out key elements to focus on in the next weeks to help me cope with the loss of the office space for both of us and all other things out of the picture.
I map out key elements to focus on in the next weeks to help me cope with the loss of the office space and all other things taken out of the picture. I brainstorm a mind map on iPad, and later expand it into more transparent version attached below.
I've got now enough strategies to relax, to cherry-pick depending on the mood, energy level, and time available. I have a mixture of high-intensity activities and slow ones, extravert and introvert, holistic, while it considers the current restrictions. When in doubts about what to do next, I just look at my map, and the answer reveals itself. Anytime I wonder what to do next, look at the map reveals the answer.
Findings and Lessons Learned
2 months later
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