The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced us into self-isolation and many other restrictions. And we had to go about our lives within the confinement of our homes. This radically changed everything from shopping and leisure time, to working and doing business.
2 years on, many parts of the globe still face this situation. This brought permanent changes in our productivity patterns and way of life. So how did we adapt, and what did we learn?
It turned us into more efficient multitaskers
Working from home meant that you had to juggle a wider set of responsibilities at once. Every single day became Bring Your Kids/Pet To Work Day. If anything needed cleaning up or fixing, you often had to deal with it during your work hours. And it’s easy to underestimate how much effort it takes to maintain your workspace by yourself.
On top of your new role as a part-time homemaker, you still had to do your job as usual. Such conditions gave rise to innovative means to cope with distractions and boost productivity. And there was really no specific formula to this. Everybody was free to explore different methods to optimize their own schedules in their new setup.
It simplified how we measure productivity, at the expense of innovation
With the physical aspect of workplace dynamics out of the equation, management styles also had to adapt. Fortunately, technology caught up quickly in allowing for virtual meetings and activity monitoring. But still, there weren't a lot of other things to have visibility over, shifting more focus on end results.
But as limited contact made work more output-based, it hindered the collaborative spirit that physical workplaces provide. On top of that, many companies took less risks due to the economic challenges brought by lockdowns. Research believes that these were responsible for the decline in innovation, despite productivity remaining stable during the pandemic.
It redefined “work-life balance”
Conversely, many have also found themselves being doormats to the cacophony of obligations that became part of the “new normal”. The constant distractions and diminished meaning of “office hours” quickly became a nuisance. You can only adapt so much until it becomes overwhelming.
With our jobs being indefinite house guests, we had to draw a line now more than ever. With more freedom over our time, the stress of commuting and office setups were instantly replaced by more unfamiliar routines. And some of these easily spiralled into counterproductive habits.
What brought us further out of our comfort zones is being denied what we usually did to recharge. Most leisure activities abruptly became unavailable at certain points, and they continue to carry some risk. We had to find ways to do our hobbies, socialize, and take care of ourselves within our own homes.
We invested in ourselves and our work more
Lacking the resources available to us outdoors pushed us to be more creative at having our needs met at home. The most apparent of these needs were 1) taking care of our health, and 2) having a proper productive environment for working. And we had to come up with such solutions nearly from scratch.
To varying degrees, we got to personalize our home workout setups in the absence of our go-to gyms. Exercise equipment like yoga mats and small weights became common household items, as well as recovery tools like the massage gun.
Many of us also got to design our very own workspaces. Desk drawers, indoor plants, and everything ergonomic became common purchases. We paid so much attention to how our working setup made us feel and adjusted accordingly.
There also came a more straightforward fix for feeling too tired or tense at work. We had the newfound freedom to do a quick workout or grab the massage gun from the home gym.
We had to DIY many things, but the bright side is: we got to figure out what works for us. Under unfamiliar circumstances, we made more conscious efforts to remain at our best.
Where does all of this leave us?
As many of us return to our offices, we all carry all these lessons from the past 2 years. With our professional and personal lives sharing the same space, our routines were prone to change on a regular basis. And overtime, we’ve become better at accommodating uncertainties while training ourselves to optimize our physical and mental energy.
