“What do you call a teen in isolation?”
“QuaranTeen”
I know that was cringeworthy, but hey, when all the talk in town is about number of new cases doubling every couple of days, you can’t help but smile at these instances of lame but well intentioned humor. The day began when the love interest woke me up and ensured that I woke up from bed by talking to me in my sleepy state for 30 minutes straight. She is sweet that ways. No wonder she is love interest, right? Once I was out of my bed, I followed through on my resolution of working out. Finally, the resistance bands and the Yoga mat I had ordered were put to use. I sweated for 40 minutes working on my core. Every second of those 40 minutes reminded me of how unfit I am and how much I needed to follow my 21 day challenge.
Anyways, enough with the subtext. The take away from there is that I need to focus on the 21 day challenge and I need to workout more often. On a positive note, I am 1 day closer to completing the 21 day challenge. Day 1 accomplished. Moving on, I had a conversation with a friend who made me realize how different people react to different situations and life is not one size fits all.
When all the chaos started and normal life was disturbed, I reacted to it by feeling stress free as all my daily work disappeared. I couldn’t go to the gym or the lab or the library. It was like all of a sudden, someone removed a heavy load from my head. On the other hand, my friend felt the pressure of the semester catching up when his routine was disturbed. He felt the pressure of delivering his work even more. He found himself thinking and talking about work more often than usual. He was clearly burning out. I asked him to take a back seat and evaluate his priorities, and take it one day at a time. I told him it was okay to slow down once in a while and find time to do what makes you happy. I think, in my 9 years of knowing him, it was the first time that he had faced such a burnout and nothing to do for a break. Usually, when you have nothing to do in your routine, you call up a couple of friends, meet them for dinner or a couple of beer, chill out and get back. It helps. It also tells you how disconnected from yourself you were that you couldn’t find a hobby to keep you engaged for one week. I think the time off will help him and many others find that valuable connection within themselves, help them be comfortable with themselves without being distracted by work.
With that note, it is time to end this here and go to bed. You know who would be calling in the morning to ensure I wake up 😉
If you are new here, maybe reading the previous posts in this series will give you some context. Stay safe. Stay connected.
Credits for featured image: WHO Dashboard