May 16

May 16 Living Your Best Post-Pandemic Life

Can you see it? There seems to be a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and new opportunities lie ahead. There is a mix of excitement and anxiety in the air. Some of us might be getting back to the office soon, or taking a trip to see family and friends that we’ve been missing. Others might need some extra time to feel comfortable socializing in large groups again, after all, we’ve been mostly staying within our personal bubbles for over a year. Masked or unmasked (and vaccinated), choose the option that makes you feel the most comfortable.

While this time may be positioned as a return to normal, it really is more of a transition period, or ramp up period, to your post-pandemic normal. If your priorities, goals, and aspirations have changed over the last 15 months, then your life, moving forward, is not going to look the way it did in 2019 or early 2020. This is a great time to be open to change, so make room for new people, places, and hobbies!

We’re dealing with a lot of unknowns, so be bold, put on a brave face, and embrace the moment! Here are some things to remember as you begin to shape your best post-pandemic life:

Value Yourself: From relationships to the workplace, you bring something special to the table and it's time to own that unapologetically. We’re taught to be humble, but sometimes, it’s important to use your voice and tell the world how special you are. Learn how to speak to the value you bring into any given situation and be an advocate for yourself.

When you know your value, you won't remain in places where you aren’t appreciated. Always go where you are celebrated!

Value Your Health: If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s the importance of our health, both physical and mental. When you’re not well, your productivity, your interactions, and motivation are impacted, both in the workplace and at home.

While you can’t control if or when you get sick, you can be proactive in prioritizing your health every day. Whether it's working out, eating healthy, or leaning into friends and family for support, make sure that self-care becomes a part of your daily habits. And if masking up is your preference, make it a part of your normal routine. Afterall, it was pretty nice to go through a whole year without catching a cold or experiencing that late summer hay fever!

Connect, or Reconnect, with Loved Ones: As we get older, we start to see some relationships fade into the distance; we lose friends and family to the stressors of life. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to lose touch with people we love. Set aside some time to reconnect with old friends, and strengthen your current relationships. We just spent over a year social distancing, so this next period is a time for socializing and nurturing connections.

Work/Life Boundaries: Companies are starting to call their employees back into offices, and while some are looking forward to logging off from Zoom and stepping back into the conference room for in-person collaboration, there will be an adjustment period before working in the office feels normal again. Whether you’ll be working in person, or staying remote, it’ll be important to set and maintain clear work/life boundaries to avoid becoming overwhelmed or feeling burnout, especially as workload continues to increase and expectations escalate.

I feel strongly that while work should be a part of life, it should not be your whole life. The pandemic, and the collective 2020 experience, highlighted how precious and fragile life can be. If you can alleviate some of the stress that work brings into your life, please do so. The work will always be there, in one form or another, but tomorrow is never guaranteed.

Have Fun! It’s so easy to get caught up in what we should be doing and push aside what we want to be doing. Take that class, write that book, watch that silly movie that makes you laugh until you cry. We’ve all witnessed that the world can be scary, and unapologetically cruel at times, so take some time to enjoy yourself. You deserve it! The time will pass regardless of how you spend it, so you might as well have some fun and make some fantastic memories along the way.