Use your confinement time wisely

TIME has stopped ! For unemployed entrepreneurs, but also for all the busy and backlog-prone people who sometimes wish that time would just, indeed, stop. Now that it has, what else can you wish for ?

If you and your loved ones are healthy, safe and well-fed ; if you are not working on the front lines of the Coronavirus crisis, then - all things considered - you are among the lucky ones.

Sure, you may be technically unemployed, and no-one really knows if-when business will be back to normal. You are legitimately worried, and you are confined for an indefinite amount or time, maybe like us without a garden or even a balcony. And possibly bored, too (please someone explain this concept to me, though). Under such conditions, it is tempting to bake your time and silhouette away, and to binge-watch on Internet news and TV series, of which there are a-plenty.

But I have a better idea. You see, there is something bad looming ahead, far worse than the boredom of binge-everything itself. Because business will resume one day. And there is one feeling I do not want to have then : "I HAD SO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS, YET SO LITTLE DONE". Sigh.

The extra time we are living now is the only true positive aspect of the Coronavirus crisis, in that we can do something about it ; better use it well ! Why not concentrate on those things we haven't had (or rather taken) the 'time' to do until now, while everything else was going on ? Here's my take on a few such activities, in no particular order :

Update your online content

Catch up with your blog, refresh your online bio, your website, your profile pictures. Unless you have a better plan, start with a simple search for your name and your business on Google. If you can't find it, no-one else will. Make sure people still know who you are when business resumes.

Spring-cleaning

No need to Marie Condo everything, but now is the time to finally deal with those boxes in the attic and dust off the cobwebbed cellar. Sort, give away (donations are more welcome now than ever), clean, repeat.

Sort your red tape

Another fun activity, best achieved on a rainy day. Sort, copy, destroy, scan, whatever needs doing with your paperwork. Update your will if you are a pessimist, and your bucket list if you feel lucky.

Don't forget your computer

Update your databases, sort your files, compile holiday photo abums, exterminate backlog email. Brace yourselves for old DVDs and external drives. Make sense of GDPR, backup your data and update your passwords (cybercriminals also have more time these days).

Renovate and repair

Now is the perfect time to work around the house : tighten the screws on the saucepan handle, replace that faulty light bulb, put some shelves up, repair the old bicycle and finally paint that fence. Don't do anything dangerous though, hospitals have plenty enough on their laps.

Refine your 3-year plan

Or whatever plan makes your business tick. Update your catalogue, hold online meetings with your partners and employees, review your marketing. If you are unemployed because of the Coronavirus crisis, rethink the usefulness of your activity : think more locally and redefine the raison d'être of your business.

This said, don't overdo it. This time should also be used for your own well-being. Once the above activities are well under way, try yourself at these great complementary life pleasures, in reverse order of preference :

Watching the news 24/7

Only kidding, just don't. It's depressing and NOT informative. All you really need to know is : stay at home ; physical rather than social distancing ; keep people and things clean ; the rules in place in your region ; check your sources. A quick check every other day is plenty enough.

Watching TV

Satisfying, but zombie-shaping and time-consuming. Rather than getting stuck in another 5 soap opera series, maybe catch up with best-of-all-time movies. Make the best of it because there won't be new productions for a while - actors and crew are also confined.

Learn a skill or a foreign language

During a family holiday about 20 years ago, I had somehow 'decided' that I would know how to juggle by the time I went home. In the space of a week, I had taught myself how to joggle 3 balls. It's not a big deal, but it only happened because I had finally applied time and effort into it.

What is it that you've always wanted to know ? Whether it's solving the Rubik's cube, car mechanics, knitting, learning a trade, there's never been a better time. Moreover, Internet is full of available material for skills and knowledge.

To learn languages, there are many unemployed teachers ready to teach you on Skype. Voulez-vous ? Many social media users could brush up their own language, too... As the saysing goes, it's the difference between 'knowing your sh*t' and 'knowing you're sh*t' #grammarsaveslives.

Travel the world !

Youtube is your best friend here : watch videos about random places and discover countries, towns and landscapes from faraway lands. For nature lovers, BBC has a great Planet Earth collection. Visit virtual museums. Don't miss out on Budapest - until I can show you around in person :)

One for the community

Finally something useful for all. Save your marriage, bond with your kids or make some more, video-call your friends and loved ones ! To those in need, donate money or some of your time if you can.

Create

Compose a song, build a bridge, paint a nature-morte, whatever floats your boat. Since confinement started, I have already updated my first book (an interactive handbook about Hungary) and written another - albeit short and silly - recipy book. Those few early ticks in the box have helped me build momentum for the other, larger projects at hand.

Keeping the best for last : go offline

If you have a garden, now is the time to tend to it. In our neibourhood, we have seen private gardens appear in places until recently filled with garbage.

When going for a walk or a run, you can kill two birds with one stone if you explore new areas in town AND avoid the crowds. Respect your local confinement and social distancing rules.

Back inside and all clean, the kitchen abviously comes to mind : cook, bake, boil, experiment ! Avoid the take-away trap : cook real recipes in sizeable amounts and freeze some for later.

Stay fit, or at least make an effort to not get unfit. A friend of mine swapped swimming for running - clearly out of necessity, not love - but is having a very decent go at it. Don't let confinement get to your head, either : dress up, keep or make some routines (too many Sundays would kill Sundays).

If you are working from home, why not try the standing office ? It keeps your back straight, your body active, and you even find yoursef more efficient on the computer - because you can feel your legs, innit. What works best for me is to start the day on standing office for administrative work. When I get tired, I sit down and lower the laptop for long-haul tasks such as writing. No need for fancy technology, a box between desk and laptop will do.

Allow for lazy days, weekends still exist. Read a real thick good book, play board or card games, listen to your favorite music, and finally chill, safe in the knowledge that when confinement is over and business starts again, you have been preparing in the best possible way.

NB : If you are still bored after reading this : let that be your biggest problem in life !

Stay safe,

Ivan Alleaume
www.valamivan.com

First published on 15.04.2020