Hello May!

We are now in week 6 of lockdown in the UK and so April was not what you’d call a “normal” month!

To start off May right, I thought i’d reflect a bit on April and also what I hope to achieve in May, aswell as how I’m feeling right now in the midst of the pandemic,

For this post, I’m joining in with the May Link Party on A Chronic Voice and thought I’d use this months prompts for some inspiration.

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FORESEEING

At the moment, I’m finding it difficult to forsee what life will be like when all this over. I know that it will be over at some point, but in some ways it feels like things will never be the same again.

It feels like the world has changed. People wearing gloves and masks to go out for a walk or to their local shops. Staying 2m away from others at all times. At first this seemed strange and alien, but it’s starting to feel almost normal now, which is sad. I went out for a run last night and saw a man walking his dog wearing a face mask and gloves. He saw me and froze and started to walk in the opposite direction. At one time, I would have thought this was odd, now it’s just normal and he was doing the right thing.

There was a time you wouldn’t think twice about getting onto a bus and sitting next to someone, or being crammed onto a plane. Or the simple things we took for granted, like sitting next to colleagues at work or having a chat in the communal kitchen.

Although I do miss these things, part of me is worried about what will happen when we are put into these scenarios again. Now we are in week 6 of lockdown, I’m starting to look ahead to the next few months and visualise what the new normal will be like.

I personally find it quite scary to look too far ahead at the moment and I think it will be a long while before we can get anywhere close to where we were pre COVID-19.

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PANICKING

This may sound strange, but with the UK government lockdown review coming up next week, I’m starting to get anxiety about what will happen post lockdown. About actually seeing and interacting with people again. About going back to work in a busy office. I’m not sure I want to, or how I’ll cope.

Even though running has been an escape for me during all of this (more on that later), I now get anxiety and panic if I see another person when I’m out on my run. I’m getting used to social isolation and working from home, so I worry what will I be like actually interacting with people again?

I love travel and had a big trip planned later this year, but at the moment, the thought of airports, crammed planes and sharing a room with others fills me with intense anxiety.

Before all of this, I probably would have been a bit nervous about the trip, but I wouldn’t have thought anything more about it. I certainly wouldn’t have worried about being close to other people.

I guess before COVID19, we never really had to worry about these things and I do wonder and worry about how long this anxiety will last post-lockdown.

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ACCESSING

There is no education like adversity.

This is so true. Times are hard. But we’ve adapted as a society and so many good things have come out of this pandemic that hopefully, we can continue with going forwards.

It’s amazing what we can all access from home and what’s been made available to us via the wonders of technology. Museum tours, concerts, exercise classes to name just a few.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to work from home during the lockdown period and I’ve actually enjoyed many aspects of it. I feel way more productive and can concentrate better at home. We have team software to allow us to have meetings remotely, access files and stay in contact with colleagues throughout the day. At first, it was a bit stressful but it really feels like we are getting into the swing of it now.

It has been challenging for me as a manager at times, to manage a team remotely but we’ve all had to adapt quickly. It’s been a learning curve and it’s helped me to learn and develop my skills further.

Adversity causes some to break, and others to break records.

I love this quote and it’s interesting and inspiring to see how businesses have adapted and innovated quickly to survive during a challenging time.

What this pandemic has proven, is that it is possible to do a lot of things, including running a successful business, remotely. And sometimes it takes something like this to bring about improvements to ways of working and life in general.

Hopefully, some of the learnings that have come about as a result of this pandemic can continue post lockdown. I’m especially hoping that businesses allow more flexibility around remote working where possible, now it’s been proven that it can work.

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SOOTHING

During times like this, it’s important to find things that relax us. My running certainly has soothed me during this strange time. I really don’t know what I would have done if I couldn’t have continued running. I’m pleased that, despite lockdown, I still managed to run 69 miles in April.

In April, we have had some gorgeous weather and so the shorts came out for the first time. I discovered some lovely isolated running routes round the country lanes and I ran 5k for the NHS to support @run.for.heroes.

I also started my Two Point Six challenge where I plan to run 2.6 miles for 26 consecutive days to raise money for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund, as well as doing TWELVE HOURS of yoga!

All this has helped my mental health immensely as it gives me something to focus on. I think as well, being lucky enough to work from home and keep up some kind of routine has also helped.

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How are you feeling now we are in week 6 of lockdown? Let me know in the comments below!

Stay safe everyone, 

Louise x