With remote work and limited socializing during the pandemic, we have found ourselves with more free time than we're used to. We can't work alone in the basement 9-to-5 and then curl up to watch TV until we fall asleep every day, can we?
Well, we can, and sometimes we do. But in search of productive uses of our extra time, we seem primarily to have taken up efforts toward self-care, personal growth, and societal growth.
Self-Care
Facing unprecedented collective stress and related personal struggles, we immediately sought activities to help us emotionally through the tough times. We've been baking sourdough and banana bread to keep ourselves busy and our insides comforted. We've taken up at-home exercise classes to release endorphins and reduce stress.
And CNBC reports that there has been a 777% increase in book purchases. According to a blog post from Bulk Books about reading during the pandemic, book sales are largely "feel good" fiction and likely a form of escapism; although we can't leave our houses physically, we can leave mentally.
Personal Growth
As the pandemic persisted, we started to perceive this pause also as an opportunity to do self-work. We have been incorporating more exercise into our routines, attempting healthier diets, learning new languages, and redesigning our workspaces to support productive work habits. We've needed to confront issues in our relationships with the people who live with us and assess our relationships with the people we keep in touch with. According to Market Watch, survival and homemaking books are dramatically increasing, presumably as part of an effort to become more self-sufficient.
Societal Growth
According to the Editor-in-Chief of the Birmingham Business Journal, the same applies at the organizational and societal level; "there has never been a better time for companies and organizations to rethink their models, assess their pasts and chart a new path forward. It's a chance to pivot, to tweak strategies or redesign operational systems. Many of those changes are happening out of necessity, but for other companies and organizations, the 'big pause' created by Covid-19 offers a chance to be proactive."
Indeed, donation forums for social and humanitarian causes have been flooding social media. Companies like Twitter have permanently reduced in-office work in order to minimize energy use. Retailers are donating portions of their earnings to organizations fighting the pandemic. And, streaming platforms are adding categories like Black Stories that encourage viewers to learn about current issues, namely the Black Lives Matter movement.
Similarly, Bulk Books began offering the curated Equality Library at-cost for institutions to encourage their communities to become informed about the issue; "We believe that so much needs to be done for racial equality to ever truly be achieved, and we think education on the issues is one piece of moving the ball forward."
These efforts have sometimes been satirized, especially in social media, and portrayed as desperate efforts not to go crazy. On the contrary, it is admirable that under oppressive circumstances we choose to confront and engage complicated issues. Amid bewildering problems and plagued by discouraging lack of control, our drive to help ourselves and others--to improve ourselves and our communities--is valiant.
