FOUR MONTHS IN….
It's been four months since the first COVID-19 case was announced in Kenya. Sanitizing, handwashing, social distancing and wearing masks have been the norm. Remote working, virtual meetings and webinars have taken over our lives.COVID-19 has changed the perspective that most of us have had towards work and life as a whole. The pandemic has taught us that productivity is not confined in an office but is a product of self-discipline. With all the time we have on our hands, what measure do we have in place to ensure we grow? As per the 17th, 4,257 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed 1,459 people have recovered and 117 deaths have been reported in the country. With all this in the news, Kenyans have found away new normal. A way of coping with the pandemic despite its impact on every facet of our lives. Life has pretty much gone back to normal, most businesses which had earlier been closed down are up and running. Traffic in Nairobi is swelling up on major roads in the city, this coincides with the fact that most companies have goon back to work. It’s a new normal that we are all trying to make work.
For an individual, the four months have been a roller coaster. In the beginning, I was excited about the fact that I could finally relax and work from home. I started out slowly with little or no work and productivity at zero. My days would stretch out with an email here and a call there but in most cases, I was bored in the house waiting from “outside to open”.With each press release, I waited anxiously for the green light one that would finally free us from this ‘jail’. I struggled with being productive. I realised earlier on that I had been busy but not productive and this needed to change. I wasn't driving momentum and generating output. Within no time I drafted myself a timetable and got into the thick of it. I scheduled time to read, time for social media, I got time to study a short course on Udemy and even had time to binge on Elisabeth Moss on The Handmaids Tale. My days went from lazy and idyllic to less stressed but productive. I had conquered!
On social media posts have been making rounds about the amount of work one needs to put up during this time. This is basically judging by the fact that most of us are indoors and have all the time in our hands. Productivity during this pandemic period has been affected by a number of factors, one being the fact that it is a pandemic and the deluge of distractions that come with working from home. With all these in mind can one find a way of working? Can an individual create a routine if they haven't created one already? Is it wrong to want to carve something out of this period despite the fact that its a pandemic?. For most people work does not stop and this is a blessing in disguise hence we should all nurture our skills in one way of the other if we have the chance.
With all this in mind is productivity for the chosen few? I mean hundreds of people have lost their jobs and cannot fend for themselves during this period. If their focus is not on nurturing a skill but on trying to get a meal for that day where does that leave them?
We are four months into the lockdown what have you been up to?