The thrill is gone, as they say.
When “Stay at Home” was first recommended a few weeks ago, it seemed like this would last a matter of weeks. Many of us approached the directive with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation. We feared this virus which is challenging everything we thought we knew about our way of life. We raced to clear the store shelves, making our homes storehouses for all the necessities that we could imagine needing. And, at the same time, the idea of being relieved of our usual rush and hustle – being told to just “stay home” – held a little bit of allure. Visions of lazy mornings in pajamas in front of the TV danced in our heads. Half-finished home projects seemed destined, finally, for completion. Quality time with the family sounded grand: it would be like a vacation, only we might be working some.
And now here we are, still at home. By the day there are murmurs that it’s probably months more of “social distancing.” A year or more, some say. It’s overwhelming to even consider that the way of life we all took for granted a month or so ago is just…gone.
For some, jobs have been lost too. If you’re among the unlucky ones, you may be stressed about paying the rent or mortgage. Even if you still have employment, you may be facing a reduction in income if the kind of work you do involves interfacing directly with others. Boomers closing in on retirement may be questioning how they will fare with the stock market languishing.
As the minutes tick by, technology is keeping all of us sane – and driving us crazy at the same time. Our various devices are enabling a number of professionals to keep working at home. As recently as ten years ago, much of this would not have been possible - at least not to the same degree. However, like everything, there is a price. Even if working from home was “a thing” for you even occasionally before COVID 19, this new brand of remote work seems to carry different expectations. Many people report that they are “even busier” at work than before. They say that their inbox is piled up, and that the boundary between work and personal life is completely blurred. They work from sun up to sun down - and then a little bit more. Others feel a slight reduction in the pace, as their colleagues struggle to balance taking care of young children in the home while working simultaneously. Single folks living alone may find the days lonely, indeed, with little to no human contact. Households where both parents still have employment and the children previously went to daycare seem to be particularly challenged to balance the new remote work model.
In the meantime, online learning platforms are doling out school assignments to the kids – and the parents. In some homes, parents are sharing devices with their children. Notifications for the next second grade math assignment are rolling in during mom’s 2 pm Zoom conference call. Then there’s the challenge of attending all the zoom classes and getting the “homework” done: every home is now a home school and parents are suddenly tasked in a much different way with assuring that their children understand and complete their assignments. If there are multiple children in the home, it may be challenging to assure that everyone who is supposed to be on video at an appointed hour has the necessary equipment and a reasonable environment in which to participate.
If you’re feeling it’s all a bit too much, reach out for some emotional support. Be proactive. Spend an hour a week to venting to someone with whom you don’t have to share a roof in the coming weeks and months. Find some strategies to better manage ongoing conflict with your intimate partner to take the stress in the home down a few notches. Learn new ways to engage cooperation from the kids to save your sanity. Take the time sooner, rather than waiting until the overwhelm is having a debilitating effect upon you physically and mentally.