The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world has led many to self isolate and work from home. I have been extremely fortunate that the company I work for (Atlassian) acted swiftly as I have been working from home for four weeks now. The only time I have gone out has been to pick up groceries or medicine, and I only do that once per week. Right now trying to “flatten the curve” is really important and we should all be doing the right thing and our part by following our respective countries rules, regulations, laws and recommendations; which for me is following social distance measures, only travelling when essential and staying home as much as possible to reduce the spread.
I really do miss going out and practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having dinner with family (the ones not living with me) and friends, going to the local pub for lunch on a Sunday and watching the UFC events with friends. On a professional level, not being able to have lunch in person with my teammates, go out and grab a coffee together and just ask questions or chat in person has been difficult to adjust to. I imagine I am not the only one who is taking some time to get used to the new social distancing and isolation measures that are in place. Right now it is the small physical social interactions that I am missing the most.
To keep myself sane and not go stir crazy I have been trying to get together (virtually) with my friends several times a week and either chat for an hour or two discussing life and work (but staying away from the topic of COVID-19 altogether) or play some online games to relax and unwind. I work with an amazing team and getting together on Zoom is super easy so making sure my co-workers are in good spirits during this time has been painless but collaborating online is something that I am only now starting to adjust to. I don’t think I could be a full time remote worker without learning and changing some of my habits.
With no commute anymore, I have been trying to be a little more productive too such as working on personal projects and read some more. Along with trying to be a little more productive I have been watching more TV series and movies, obviously due to the amount of time I am spending indoors. Two things I have not been doing much I have noticed is exercising and getting some sun; but I am trying to change this slowly. Afternoons if the weather permits I have been trying to work outside and am starting a strength and conditioning program at home to at least keep a little fit.
Hopefully in the coming months normality returns and we can begin to return to our regular routines. But until then we need to all do our part, keep each other safe, make sure we check up on our loved ones or the people we care about and make sure they are all staying healthy both physically and mentally. Only together can we overcome this horrible pandemic and maybe, just maybe we can learn from this and make sure that it does not happen again or at the very least can stop it from spreading and affecting the people we all care so much about.
Christopher Tom Kochovski 