The new normal

Many of us are operating entirely or for some days from home during the current lockdowns. We can use the extra time to improve our productivity and add new skills, instead of fretting about COVID-19 and the inconveniences.

It is best to have an agenda for the day. Ideally the agenda for the next day should be prepared the previous night. Three to five key tasks for the next day, which would be a “Must-Do” list. In executing the tasks it is best to tackle the toughest tasks first, so that the demanding tasks are quickly under the belt.

The time at home is also a time for self-introspection and to undertake an attitude-audit of oneself. One can identify one’s key strengths and weaknesses and plan to deal with the weaknesses over a time-span. 

Writing a daily diary, recording our thoughts, feelings, issues is also useful. As when we read the diary many years later, we get new perspectives on issues and ourselves. In 2003, I was based in an African country with Unilever, when a civil war broke out. We had curtailed working hours at office and daily night curfews for some months. Troops and rebels battled in the streets. I kept a diary and 15 years later, the diary was published as a book, “Surviving a Civil War” on Amazon.

Keep some time daily in the morning and evening to watch TV news channels to keep abreast of how COVID-19 and obtain information about government advisories. Time can also be used to master new skills like photography or public speaking. However, it is best to focus on one or two skills only. In learning new skills, less is more.

We are always inundated with information which we collect over the years in our careers, whether in hard paper formats or in virtual files on our computers. This is the time to decide what we need for the future and what should be dismembered or deleted.

Finally, this is the time to make a will, for the convenience of the family members and spend more time with our loved ones.

Rajendra Aneja — Mumbai, India