The One Good Thing That Came Out of the Pandemic

My new normal includes a greater sense of balance and better priorities

Today marks exactly one year since all of our lives changed. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Across the country, cities went into shut down and social distancing modes, and we’ve been facing a “new normal” ever since.

It’s been a hard year, but I think at least one good thing came from this global shift: I’ve had a major shift in my priorities.

Without my normal social activities to break up my day, the only consistency I had to look forward to was my job, and soon, my working hours started to take over my waking hours. I was a zombie; I felt like all I ever did in a day was wake up, work, use the bathroom, and (barely) sleep.

I know I’m really blessed to be employed in a time when so many still are not. But a system of working nonstop on top of the anxiety of surviving a pandemic is not sustainable. And last week, I decided that I needed to put as much energy into my self-care as I was putting into my career. While everyone else is talking about being more productive during the coronavirus, I’m trying to do less for the dollar and more for myself.

In my column for ZORA, I wrote about my recent epiphany to not rush to get to work on time anymore.

My priorities have been out of whack way too long. … I’m learning…