8 April 2020

Overall the panic about the virus seems to have subsided. For those of us who have a house to be in, the focus has shifted, a routine has set in. I laugh a little less at the jokes that come around on WhatsApp or are posted on Facebook. My next worry has waltzed in. When will this end? What comes next? Is it true that the world as we knew it is over, in the past, done with? Or six months later will I realise that I am still on the same hamster wheel? I am divided between these two images - I do want change, especially if it means a reduction in injustice, a shifting of power, but I also want some things to remain - most definitely the rights that women have fought hard for over time!

At the personal level I can’t think of any change I want. I would love for this peace and quiet to remain. Even for this corner of the world, a new layer of quiet has descended and I am savouring it while I can. I have started going for regular walks and I really hope I continue. Long lost friends have reached out to me renewing old friendships. And the frog continues to find its way back each time I throw it out! That would be nice to change, but I guess I just have to live with it.

I smirk when I hear friends tell me that they are really waiting to go back to office. Especially my women friends. I started working from home about 12 years ago. Nobody took my seriously then. Family and friends thought I was just lounging around in my night gown and would call me at any time of the day to go for a movie or shopping or just to meet up. It is true that I was lounging around in my night gown, I still do, but I was working harder than I ever did. It is only now with all the articles and statistics around have I realised that an average day at the office has 3 productive hours while an average day of work from home has thrice that! 

In those (dark) days I would either work or sleep. I was living in my parents’ house and so I had no other ‘work’ to do. One time, I didn’t step out of the front door for 5 days in a row. That is when I decided to set fixed work hours, not respond to phone calls or email before 9 am or after 9 pm, started leaving my Blackberry outside my bedroom, etc. And I felt guilty for each of those things. I am really glad to see the number of tips available on how to work from home - we need all of it! If we do not put aside time for fun, it will not happen!

As I make my shopping list, I wish I knew how much I should buy. Will I be able to go out again next week? The week after? Next month?