We may have completed of the first week of the national lockdown, but these are early days yet. By the end of the lockdown I will most probably sing a different tune, but I have been wondering what we can learn during this bizarre time, and maybe we even acquire new mindsets that we can continue with once we are “free” again.
First, some definitions to clarify what we are experiencing.
Quarantine “separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC). Historically, a quarantine period lasted for 40 days – imposed on ships when those on board were suspected of carrying an infectious or contagious disease; for example as happened in Venice in the 1300s in an effort to stave off the plague.
Self-quarantine is therefore when someone has not been ordered to go into quarantine but chooses to do so themselves out of caution.
Isolation “separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.” (CDC)
Lockdown is “… a situation in which people are not allowed to enter or leave a building or area freely because of an emergency…” (Cambridge Dictionary)
There are also terms such as “reclusiveness”, “retreat”, “retirement”, and “seclusion” – all slightly different but referring to types of social isolation where protection against infection is not the primary goal.
So what are we dealing with during the lockdown? Here are some of the things we are being confronted with:
- Loss of freedom of movement
- Loss of face-to-face social interaction
- Loss of organised activities
- Disruption of our normal routine
- No access to items such as alcohol
- Strong emotions like fear and frustration
However, within this strange time, we are presented with several opportunities to try something new.
RECONNECT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY
This is a good time to pick up the phone and check in with friends and family you have not spoken to in a while. People now seem to have a desire to talk with people they have been close to in the past – maybe it is the sense of impending doom that makes us want to reconnect.
CLARIFY WHAT IS IMPORTANT
Do not get me wrong – rugby and golf are important. But now we really have to focus on survival; our household, core family and work situation are most important. However, I predict that even people like myself who are not so keen on sports and socialising, will soon see the value of these types of “entertainment”.
SIMPLIFY
Minimalism has been a hot topic for some time now. While we are able to buy what we want, once we are at home we have to use what we have in the house. This is a great opportunity to re-evaluate what you truly can and cannot live without. Observe the potential emotional and financial benefits. Try following a cleaning schedule. To reduce the load for everyone in our family, we use less dishes and wear our clothes for another day. Visit my favourite minimalism page, The Minimalists[MC1] , for some more tips.
UNIFY
As a country we have had to unify quickly and set aside our differences, like divisive racial attitudes and disputes, because this pandemic is a case of life and death. I think most of us can agree that our president has done an amazing job in this difficult time – and this is quite refreshing after the last presidency. We also have to stand together at our places of work. Most industries must now “get their house in order” and form a united front to beat this pandemic.
CREATE A PAUSE
Victor Frankl [MC2] said “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”. Our lives have become very busy and fast paced. Now we have more time to wait and think before responding.
ORGANISE AND PREPARED FOR A CRISIS
None of us had much time to prepare for this lockdown, and now we all have to face how well we managed to do this, and evaluate our situation. This is a good time to check whether our admin, such as SARS, medical aid and insurance policies, are in order. We can use this time to see where we can improve the way in which we manage our households.
FACILITATE DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Some of us have been tolerating issues for some time. Perhaps the constant distractions provided by daily life before the lockdown made us blind to these issues or we have simply been procrastinating. The partner you cannot live with, the teenager with substance abuse problems, smoking and drinking too much, your employee who has not been performing well at work for a long time but you keep postponing disciplinary action. However, after these three weeks, with the time to see and consider the options available, making certain difficult but important decisions might become unavoidable.
PRACTISE SELF CARE AND INSTALL HABITS
Habits make it possible for us to do things without expending a lot of mental effort. Habits lie close to my heart, because we are what we repeatedly do. Research has shown that it takes between 18 and 254 days to instil a habit, although it is commonly believed that 21 days are enough for this. Now is a perfect time to start some good habits. Remember that the habit doesn’t have to be a massive overhaul of your life, it can be something super small. One of my favourite books is Atomic Habits by James Clear, which encourages us to start with the smallest step we can imagine.
DO THINGS AROUND THE HOUSE THAT YOU USUALLY PAY SOMEONE TO DO
In South Africa many of us are blessed (as well as cursed) to have employees that help us to keep our households in check. This is a whole debate for another day, but in essence there is nothing wrong and everything right with parents as well as their children doing chores around the house.
LEARN TO BE CREATIVE
As I said in point number 6 – we were so not prepared for this. A good diversion is to use this time to get creative! You may be a bit rusty, but with a bit of effort you will soon find something creative to engage in. Remember to leave judgement of your efforts at the door for the best results.
RE-EVALUATE RELATIONSHIPS/FAMILY ROLES
The lockdown is like a weird vacation – everybody is together but on slightly different terms. Some wives have to go to work to deliver essential services while their husbands now become the “housewives”. My teenagers must take over some of the household responsibilities when my husband and I are working – if only for short periods of time. Each of us now does tasks we do not normally do.
THINK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
Is it my imagination but is the sky looking clearer over Vereeniging? It certainly is over China! Even the canals in Venice are clearing up…
MAKE TIME FOR PROJECTS
It seems as if everybody has found a project to tackle during the lockdown. There are thousands of things we can do, but we have all procrastinated doing certain projects…
What about a cleaning project? As Eminem said, “I’m cleaning out my closet”. For some hardcore cleaning advice, check out Swedish Death Cleaning, or Marie Kondo for a softer approach.
LEARN NEW SKILLS OR GET BETTER AT SOMETHING
Again, there are thousands of options available online, and even offline. I am using this time to learn Adobe Illustrator, to study mindfulness meditation and to improve my bass playing skills. For once, you can have fun while you learn!
EVALUATE CRITICALLY
By now I have learned not to offer my opinions and predictions about will happen in the pandemic, because I often seem to be wrong. I have noticed that I often have opinions that I have not really researched or thought through. Although I will change my point of view when presented with new evidence, sometimes people will turn around and say “But you said…” This also goes for posting things on social media which seemed legit at the time, but turned out to be fake news. How embarrassing! So, now I am wondering about number 12 …
BE GRATEFUL
We cannot leave our homes. But what if you don’t even have a house to leave? In this time, we will notice many things to be thankful for. Who knows, maybe you will even miss your grumpy boss by the end of the third week?
TURN TO THE SELF
As comedian and actor Schalk Bezuidenhout recently observed: “Just because it’s a lockdown doesn’t mean you can’t open up”. Now is the perfect time to practice mindfulness meditation. To get started, visit the Palouse Mindfulness website for access to free, life-changing resources.
Dr Melane Van Zyl
