What to Expect After Lockdown Problems, and How to Deal With It
The ongoing lockdown problems due to COVID-19 has changed our lifestyle in multifold ways. It has put strict restrictions on all our preferences – what we eat, where we go, whom we meet and much more. Social distancing, staying at home, maintaining proper hygiene – all of these measures are enacted not to “cure” Covid-19, but to slow it down and mitigate health related risks.
While it’s true that lockdown problems have disrupted our lifestyles. And the fact that we might find it hard to get along, but we need to adapt to it for our overall well-being. For the most part, we’ve done that. However, this alone does not change the virality of Covid-19; how it spreads from one person to another. It has no effect on the mortality rate.
As soon as we emerge from the current situation, the covid-19 virus might spread again and people with weakened immune systems will still succumb to it. In other words, we need to protect our healthcare system to handle the load. But we don’t need to mislead ourselves over the outcome of this quarantine. If you’re driving to Delhi from Jaipur at 50 km/hour or 100 km/hour, the distance doesn’t change. If your lifestyle is causing you to have weakened immunity, use this time to improve that.
What will happen once things return to normal?
When the lockdown ban is eventually lifted and we return to a semblance of how life was some days back; if we return to operating as we did before the pandemic, a second wave of the covid-19 virus might surface. So, everything will need to be considered individually and phased back in carefully.
While regular hand washing, covered coughing and contact-less greetings are already becoming common practice in India.
Here are some more fundamental changes that could be introduced after lockdown.
Create a New Exercise Routine and Turn it into a Habit
An ideal way to create a lasting exercise routine is to start small. For example, if your end goal is to practice 20 minutes of yoga every day, you can start by allocating just 5 minutes every day to do some basic stretching exercise. When this daily stretching becomes almost normal you can try to build on that habit, by giving more time to yoga stretching, let’s say for 10 minutes or a 15-minute yoga class, until you reach your ultimate goal. As time goes on, you may find that stretching and warming up for 5-10 minutes without stopping is possible. And maybe without realizing, you have formed the ‘habit’ of exercising, despite previously not knowing how to best get started.
And if you’ve found a new form of exercise that you enjoy, why not join a class when things go back to normal? For example, if you’re currently practicing yoga in your room and enjoying it, you could think about joining a neighboring yoga studio once the lockdown problems are over.
Maintain Precaution at Workplace
When you start thinking about what would need to be altered in an office to make it possible for people to socially distance, there’s quite a lot that needs to answered. Banks and corporate are going to have to think about what they are going to do after lockdown problems are reduced. Clearly, things are only going to get back to normal slowly- stacking the employees back into rows of desk across the trading floor, sending them in crowded elevators or fetching coffee from the communal canteen is not going to be an acceptable working practice for some time.
One innovative way for example, can be to walk the office clockwise, always and everywhere. So that you don’t have to pass one another. You can put arrows on the walkways so that everyone knows how the one-way system works. Another way is to put an app on your employee’s that makes a noise (and logs the event with management) if someone get too close to a colleague or transgress the directional guidelines. Companies can also install walk-through infrared temperature scanners to prevent sick employees from entering in.
Continue Healthy Lifestyle Habits
If you enjoy running or cycling, consider using these methods to get into work if you live within a reasonable distance. Or, if you’ve been exercising at home, consider keeping the same triggers but waking up slightly earlier – even if it means going to bed a little earlier the night before.
When the lockdown problems eventually passes, work and family life will become extra busy as we play catch-up with normality. This however, shouldn’t get in the way of your fitness goals. Now more than ever, your time management will be challenged. It is advisable to keep a diary or use your smartphone to help keep count of your steps.
Deploy Money-Saving Habits to Tackle Lockdown Problems
As people continue to work from home, new ways of looking at things have emerged. You can continue to utilize some of these money-saving habits, long after lockdown. Having a future plan and money saving habit is something lockdown problems have taught all of us.
Limit your trips to the supermarket, or buy a month’s worth of food online; which will imply that you’ll have to plan ahead. Gone are the days of making daily stops to the local kirana shops if you don’t like the look of what’s in your fridge. Lockdown problems has made many of us more resourceful and conscious. Also less wasteful with the food we cook, thereby curtailing unnecessary expenses on groceries that you don’t eat.
Wearing what’s in your wardrobe- In the light of the current scenario, all those meltdowns over not having ‘anything to wear’ seem incredibly insignificant. Now’s the time to finally make use of all the clothes you have stacked in your wardrobe. Appreciate each product for what it’s worth.
With cinemas closed for the foreseeable future, many of you are making the most of your subscription services by streaming all the series or movies you’re yet to watch. While we are not advocating that you should never enjoy an evening out again. But you might be more inclined to swap the expensive cinema and restaurant dates for a cosy and cheap evening going forward.
Connect Back with Friends
Many of us are facing isolation, boredom and a need for some hope while passing these lockdown problems. Talking to friends over phone or doing a video call has become the new norm of contemporary lifestyle. In the coming weeks we will grow to appreciate the long-term effects of social distancing.
Coping with Lack of ManPower
Another mounting issue after lockdown will be lack of workforce or manpower. This issue will be more dominant on especially migrant workers who may not be able to join work immediately. Companies will need to begin by operating at very low capacity, and take up substantial measures for worker safety. Businesses might also need to establish processes to employ available workforce efficiently; example deploying multiple shifts so that all available people do not work together as per Covid-19 guidelines or utilizing available capacity of units.
Continue to Practise Self-Care
It’s easy to slip into the habit of sleeping late, spending most of the day in your nightwear and eating junk food. But looking after yourself is paramount for your mental health. Even simple tasks such as brushing your teeth after getting up can feel difficult sometimes. But they can make a huge impact to the way you feel. Ensure that you are in a well-ventilated room and following some basic self-care healthy practices. Practices such as healthy eating, having sound sleep, keeping check on lots of hydration. Not only following but also trying to keep to stick to a routine.
Lockdown will have to be lifted in phases as we all know. Also the movement of people will have to be watched closely in the beginning. The reasons is simple, as it could sanction a second wave of Covid-19. Given Indian health experts’ anticipation that the safety measures we take today will become a part of society’s “new normal”. With reoccurring periods of quarantine lockdown, it follows that we, like the rest of the world, WILL change for the better.
Aayushi Kasliwal
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