Looking Ahead, Post-Corona

Everybody is writing articles about how to deal with life in a world with social distancing and isolation. And yet, it feels remiss of me not to either! Therefore, today I’ll offer what I think are important insights and trends for the long term.

To quote Harvey Dent, “the night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.” So let’s talk about how we are adapting to this new lifestyle, and what parts of it will last beyond Covid, so that we emerge from this situation taking away something great about ourselves.

@cdcgov

Insights

• Heightened spider-sense of social responsibility… and righteousness. It’s inspiring to witness the amount of compassion and empathy we have towards others in our personal lives. We remind each other to wash hands, we checkin with each other via Facetime, and we even host a virtual Houseparty. But then we see others going about their lives like normal, meeting up with people, shaking hands, licking everything. So where’s the line between doing what we think is right without becoming righteous? One good thing is at least we have a deeper awareness of our own moral compass now.
• Reconnecting with nature. On a global scale, it’s been amazing to see what a few days/weeks of shutdown has had on clearing up the environmental pollution that we cause. And on a personal level, people have more opportunity to be outside, to stretch their legs or maybe walk the dog. Kids are home and outside playing nonstop. All this is leading to a subconscious, deeper connection with nature, which makes us all calmer and happier.

Trends

• Creating deeper relationships through technology is here to stay. Let’s face it, a lot of old people (including me!) were forced to leverage technology more than I wanted to keep in touch with people. More than that though, it’s become a habit. So, expect the trend to continue post-corona of more texting, Zoom’ing, Microsoft Team’ing, and whatever else. Also, I’d be ok if this is the end of the fist-bump.
• Brands must have an environmental sustainability or other altruistic mission. During this national time of need, people will remember the companies that pitched in to help the nation, like the car companies now making respirators and corporations that are donating face masks. In fact, just got an email from the Editor of Outdoor magazine asking folks to subscribe or renew, because these are hard times for business. Let’s make our money make a statement.

DIG DEEPER

WHY? I’d like to share my new routine to keep up with positivity and productivity:

1. Podcast in the morning while brushing my teeth. What happened to the world while I slept?!
2. Glass of water before touching the black gold, i.e. homemade cold brew coffee.
3. No dress shirt and tie, but not PJ’s either. Something in between to say I’m comfortable but serious about being productive.
4. 100 pushups, 80 dips, and, soon-to-be, 50 pull-ups everyday, spread throughout the day.
5. 14 hours of fasting before breakfast.
6. Webcam always on when in virtual meetings, despite no one else, because body language matters.
7. “Virtual water cooler” moments, where I message multiple people on the same thread, and just see where it goes.
8. When the workday is done, change of clothes to signify the workday is over.
9. Cardio outdoors (while keeping my distance from people), alternate days with longer distances (endurance), shorter distances (improve speed), and cycling (diff muscles?). Too bad the community pool is too infested with corona to swim in
10. Headspace meditation before bed.