In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.” That is a well-known quote from Lee Iacocca, best known for his contribution to the American automobile sector and his work in developing the Ford Mustang and Pinto cars.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive, global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge mankind has faced since World War II.The lockdown began from March 25 this year, and since then times have been tough for businesses across all the sectors. On the one hand, we have resources with no job and on the other, a set who have overworked themselves and are still figuring out how to maintain a work-life balance.
Fortunately, the lockdown turned out well for me after a rough initial period when sleeping only happened for three hours a day and life was reduced to simply attending Zoom calls and binging on different OTT platforms. An early discernment that this lockdown is here to stay made me go back to my normal work routine which meant I would start my day at 5:30 am by reading my favourite business newspaper instead of going to bed at 6 am. It has made me realise the importance of the learn, unlearn and relearn process.
The need of the hour is to keep things simple and follow a few, set rules. Listing some of the rules below that helped me adapt to this current situation.
Make distinctiveness your priority
As they say, investing in yourself ensures one of the best returns on investment. But you need to prioritise the hours, plan as if you are sending a powerful message to yourself. I personally feel that creativity in any form helps you to grow both personally and professionally. It’s about trying new things. Creativity is a high-quality fuel that charges you up. For me, reading a lot of books and observing content on advertising and branding by ad gurus has helped and inspired me.
Self-development is essential
I believe for the first time in life we have truly understood the value and importance of time. On the one hand, we want these tough times to pass, but on the other hand, we want this situation to pause for some time so that we can add more skills to our portfolio. Post COVID-19 it will be survival of the fittest and I believe the fittest will be the one who has the skills to survive in all environments because if you are not updated you will be outdated.
Find your success story
Success is an abstract concept, almost as difficult to define as it is to achieve. No matter how small a thing is, take pride that you have finally done it and share it with your network. It can be a small creative idea at work or you acing a gourmet meal. Considering I was someone who at one point of time didn’t know how to make Maggi noodles, during the lockdown I ended up cooking some delicious Camarones al Ajillo. The best feeling was not so much in making it as it was in sharing the news with my family and friends back
in Europe.
Unwind and disentangle the stress
If you are focused on success that will last, you have to take care of yourself. It begins with taking frequent small breaks from work. Visualise the bigger picture and plan the way forward for yourself. A good break will always help you achieve breakthrough performance and push you away from a breakdown.
