I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.
Today’s tip is to looking back at the pandemic, what things have changed in how you live your life?
This is an interesting tip to me, as I’ve been thinking about how the last two years has gone as my life is slowly coming out of the pandemic and moving into the endemic phase.
Note: I know not everyone feels this way and that’s fine. This is my view
Travel and work is the biggest change for me. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road, usually 30+ days a year outside of my home country, and attended lots of events (work and personal), meeting and chatting with lots of people.
That changed with the pandemic. One flight in 2020, and a few camping trips, but seeing relatively few people. 2021 was better, with about 10 trips, but mostly personal and seeing few people related to work.
2022 is looking better, but still slower, with less travel.
I cook more now. I got in the habit of spending more time in the evenings cooking, which is relaxing. It’s cheaper and better for me and the family. That has continued, and I’m finding myself making time to cook, rather than “grabbing” something out.
A slower lifestyle. That was the flipside of 2020. Things slowed down and I spent more time with family, and more time not being as busy. That again is changing, and I’m not quite sure how I feel. I like the chaos of being busy, but I also miss the slow times. It ave me a glimpse of what retirement could be, and I enjoyed it.
The last thing is that I’ve put up with video calls for years. Nearly 15 years at this point, though I bet 80% or so of all calls in my life have taken place since March 2020.
I realize how poor video calls are compared with live meetings and how much I hate them. I am really fatigued with Zoom and look to avoid the calls. I’ve considered opening up a weekly call for people that might want to chat, but I can’t find the energy or enthusiasm.
There’s likely more, but those are the things that came to mind today.