Will the pandemic give us time to zoom in to focus on what truly matters — and to figure out which aspects of our lives we need to rethink? Or will the constant need to adapt make our brains less able to rewire our lives?
Constantly adapting & responding to increases in infection rates or stop/start moving in and out of lockdowns by the government — from people adapting their homes to become offices, people using their backroom as platforms for teaching people how to make things, using localised infrastructure to help people in need in their neighbourhood — from pubs as food banks to cycle groups as food delivery to makers helping produce PPE. Some people have more time, positively, because they don’t have to commute, but for others, this is negative because they have lost their job or have to work harder or take on more childcare responsibilities. And for many of us, the constant uncertainty negatively affects our mental health, not just our fears about catching the virus but about how we’ll cope in the longer term.
Reducing our horizons in this way as it becomes more challenging to plan for the future — whether it’s for our organisations (end of the strategic plan?), our families (end of the long holiday?) or even our day-to-day (a lot of planned childcare?). Will that mean greater experimentation around a set of missions? And create the need for a more significant safety net and universal infrastructure to help us build on — whether that’s a universal basic income or universal basic services.
Or will it make us appreciate every day more as we’ve been restricted so much, whether it’s a walk in the park with a loved one, a hug or an embrace?
