Grounded - Life during lock down (part 1)
No long post alert - a lot of people I know do have plenty of time to read
Throwback to the vacations of 80s when a bunch of boisterous cousins, yours truly included, used to create mayhem only to get grounded by my grandpa for a good 3 hours..one at each side of his king sized cot facing away from each other. This worked perfectly for the family that just wanted a few hours of quiet in the afternoon. My first lessons in social distancing, at home
Roughly 30 years later, i get grounded not for hours but for days at a stretch. The rational mind gets it but the wandering soul in me, simply does not. It is wandering endlessly - doing the casual banter with neighbors at the adda, catching up with friends at the restobar for an evening of unwind, a drive to the beach with family, the solo morning ride by the east coast, a group workout with the fitness gang.. the wanderlust is on an all time high
Caging that wanderer to 1800sqft of space is proving a daunting task. To spend 18 waking hours at home each day, is clearly testing new territory for pretty much everyone around.. Netflixing, browsing old family albums, board games, sing along evenings - we pretty much seem to have exhausted all the fancy stuff that make for quality family time, all in a matter of three days. The coming days will be a litmus test of character and for my tolerance levels as the son, spouse, father , brother and the colleague... for I have never in the past been required to play these roles simultaneously, all being in a single place over a protracted period of time. Wish me well in my fight to remain sane. This surely is looking like the annual assessment on work-life balance
Work from home is becoming the new normal but to me it still sounds like a misnomer. I would still trust a guy in his vests and taking the web meeting sitting on his bed but not the guy who turns up in a formal shirt in a setting that appears better than his office cubicle. The cynic in me is almost sure that he is pairing the formal shirt with boxers. The blaring television, perennial aroma from the kitchen, the restless teenagers at home and an out of order washing machine all gang up to make my work from home endeavour a mockery
To combat this challenge, i get generous dose of self help and leadership advice on how to remain positive and use the 21 days to create habits that will present the world with a new and improved "me" - I remain hopeful. The most profound advise I received was a caricature that said "if you cant go outside, go inside" (nudging me to introspect or engage in self-enquiry) ... My response, the known devil outside is far easier to deal with.
Well, it's only been under a week.. I may muse again about how i am coping with the lockdown.. Until then adios
Co-Founder and COO at CMO Axis