My COVID-19 Journal

Part 7: A different approach to life?

The world recently marked 1 year since Covid became a global pandemic. With the recent spikes in many countries including India and the crisis that has unfolded, things have become even more challenging for so many people. Many of us are becoming more aware of our mortality than ever before. Isn’t that as it should be though? This situation makes me wonder if we can shift our thinking from being worried and afraid to using this challenging time as an opportunity to start living a life without regrets, starting now!
Here are just a few thoughts:
1. Let’s take care of ourselves first — we cannot help others unless our own physical AND mental health is in order.
2. Treat everyone, especially those closest to us, as best as we can, so we won’t regret if something happens tomorrow.
3. Try to minimize our liabilities & obligations.
4. Don’t plan and worry too much about the future. Rather, be content with and enjoy what we have now.
5. Last but not least, let’s acknowledge that we can’t control everything so accept reality and just do the best we can without putting too much pressure on ourselves, starting now!
I know this is all easier said than done but do we have any choice other than to try?

(April 27, 2021)

Part 6: A perspective on pandemic related stress

Our lives have fundamentally changed over the last 6 months since the pandemic started. At one end, some are simply getting bored sitting at home with not much to do and at the other end, people are dealing with very serious challenges like loss of jobs or loss of lives of loved ones. Some are spending a lot more time on social media and Zoom staying in touch with news and people while others have withdrawn into their shells unable to take all the negativity and noise or just being overwhelmed dealing with their personal challenges. Stress and anxiety levels have gone up for many of us. I thought it might be interesting to reflect on this a bit and also jot down my own experience over the pandemic period thus far.

Let’s start with the obvious things that are causing us more stress — the things we used to do all the time but cannot do anymore. Many of us are feeling trapped inside our houses for months — no going to the office, schools, colleges, eating outside, socializing, going to the movies, malls and all the other activities we used to do. And the worst part is not knowing how long this is going to last which makes it hard to plan ahead and causes even more anxiety. There is nothing worse than uncertainty! On top of that, there’s anxiety about the economy, our jobs and the geo-political and social unrest around the world. It seems like there’s bad news everywhere. There is stress even in the things that we are able to do. Although many of us have started stepping outside to exercise, do small gatherings, run errands, there is constant anxiety about running into people not wearing masks, not practicing social distancing, etc. And with some people having much more free time than they used to, empty minds are becoming devils workshops, bombarding social media with strong opinions, theories, forwarding stuff that they don’t even bother reading themselves, spreading fake news, half-truths and negativity. Although it feels liberating to vent and fun to just click and forward, we inadvertently pass on stress to others when we do this.

On the somewhat bright side, many of us are saving a ton of time and energy that we used to waste sitting in cars, trains and airplanes commuting and traveling, getting stressed out about traffic, crazy drivers, airport security lines and unpleasant fellow passengers. Those with young kids are not having to run around dropping off and picking up kids all week. Most of us are avoiding going to doctors, dentists unless really needed avoiding the unnecessary stress that goes with it. We are saving money we used to waste buying unnecessary things, eating and drinking at restaurants. We are eating more homemade and healthier food, the skies are bluer, the atmosphere less polluted and mother nature a little happier with the slowing down of the frantic human activity that had taken over this planet. It can be easy to lose sight of these things, but I believe these are stress reducers for us personally and also for humanity as a whole and this planet of ours. It also helps to remind ourselves that things could be worse. Many of us are privileged being able to work from home, seeing our family & friends on Zoom whenever we want, getting groceries and other supplies delivered at our doorsteps and continuing to enjoy most creature comforts. Many others don’t have this luxury and are having to worry every day about their safety, livelihoods or the health and wellbeing of their loved ones. On balance, things aren’t that bad for many of us, especially those in white collar desk jobs.

Let me now share a little more about my own experience over the last 6 months and what I am doing to adjust to the changes. Early this year, a neighbor passed away unexpectedly leaving behind young kids. Then a close friend got seriously ill but thankfully recovered in a few months. Both were unexpcted and stressful events. And around March when Covid first started showing up outside China in a significant way, I along with some others were tasked with helping our company’s pandemic response as part of our crisis management team. For the next few months, this consumed most of our working time as the pandemic spread around the world and we had to grapple with how to keep our people safe by closing offices, halting travel, events, tracking infected employees, etc. While this was necessary work and gratifying to be able to help our colleagues, it wasn’t fun to constantly track, talk about the pandemic and work to manage its business impact. On top of that, spending most of my time on pandemic related work and not having much time to do my regular job was adding more stress. All this while my wife and I had to suddenly shift to WFH like millions around the world, our kids had to be kept at home as well with not much to do in the summer and six family members across three generations (including my elderly parents) locked in the house 24X7 with the fear of the pandemic looming. Around June, I felt a pressure inside me like I had never felt before.

Around the same time, I realized I had lost a few pounds of weight unintentionally and unexpectedly. On the surface nothing had changed with my lifestyle that would cause me to lose weight other than doing a little more exercise using some of the time I was saving in commuting. Although I was now eating almost entirely at home unlike before, I wasn’t eating more and was still following the mindful eating habits I had adopted a while back (portion control, eating primarily vegetarian food, avoiding most processed food, etc). I called my doctor as well as my long time Yoga teacher to find out what might be going on. Although impossible to say for sure, both agreed that the weight loss could be due to stress. They didn’t think I should be too alarmed since I had only lost a few pounds but as expected, suggested that I pay more attention to managing my stress. More interestingly, my Yoga teacher suggested that like him, I consider teaching more online Yoga classes to help others who may also be going through a lot of stress. He reminded me that the Yoga teacher community that we are both part of, has a responsibility to help the community and that focusing on helping others can be a way to reduce our own stress. These were golden words and I am grateful to him for helping me realize this!

To wrap up, here are a few things I have been doing differently the last few months to declutter my mind, stay more positive and manage stress.

- I am now teaching a couple of online Yoga classes on weekends. I am also practicing more and refreshing my own knowledge of Yoga, focusing more on Pranayam (breath control) and Meditation to help calm my mind.

- I am consciously trying to be more grateful, mindful and to live in the moment, taking a few minutes to express gratitude for all that is going well after my morning prayer and also reminding myself of what’s really important and trying to focus on that instead of dwelling on the challenges of pandemic life and worrying too much about the future.

- Given the global economic and geopolitical uncertainty, we decided to play it safe with our finances taking a chunk of money out of the stock market and paying off loans and mortgages. We have missed out a little bit on the stock market rally of the last few months but POM (peace of mind) is as important to my wife and I as ROI (return on investment). We also sold off one of our cars since both of us expect to WFH for the foreseeable future and it made no sense to have this nice car sit and gather dust and keep depreciating in value. It was a car we loved but figured it was time to cut our losses.

- I decided to shut off some of the noise of social media by exiting several Whatsapp groups and unfollowing some people on Facebook & Twitter. I figured I didn’t need to hear more about Covid-19 and all that’s wrong in the world. I also stopped tuning into most news channels and websites except a select few who I find to be focused on facts and presenting a balanced view of things.

- I have been reading more than ever before using the time I am saving on the weekends not having to make as many trips, attending social engagements and shuttling kids to their activities.

- I am writing more blogs (like this one) to think, reflect and jot down my thoughts on topics important to me. I find writing to be a very creative and satisfying process and really enjoy it. Hopefully my writing helps not only me but also those that read it, with some new ideas and different ways of thinking.

I would love to hear what you think about these challenging times and what you might be doing to manage your stress. Please tweet or message me @Prasad Saranjame.

(September 7, 2020)

Part 5: Staying healthy while Sheltered in place / locked down

I have been talking to many of my friends around the world about their fitness routines while being sheltered in place / locked down. Some live in high-rise buildings in urban areas, some in single family homes in the suburbs, some in small houses, some in bigger houses. Its been interesting to hear everyone’s experiences. Here are some simple tips we have been sharing with each other. Hope you find them useful.

- If you can’t exercise outdoors or at the gym like you normally do, think of creative ways to get your exercise in.

o Use indoor exercise equipment (treadmill, weights,..) if you already have it or buy it now if possible. The $500 I spent getting a treadmill for my garage almost 11 years back has been one of the best investments I ever made! No excuses for not getting my cardio exercise, rain or shine or lockdown.

o Exercise in your patio or backyard if you are lucky enough to have one so you can also get some fresh air. I walk or run on my treadmill these days and practice Yoga in my backyard.

o If nothing else works, walk inside your house from one end of the house to the other at least 30–40 minutes a day. Not ideal but definitely better than just sitting around and not moving at all.

- If you are struggling to find time to exercise, get creative. Walk while you talk on the phone or on Zoom, instead of sitting. For example: I joined my college buddies on a weekend Zoom meetup recently and my team members at work for a virtual coffee break, both while walking in my house.

- Many of us are finding ourselves eating more these days, so its really important that we don’t slack off on our exercise. Its also important to be disciplined about and mindful of what and how much we are eating and drinking.

- Lastly, beyond physical exercise and diet, we shouldn’t forget the importance of keeping our minds healthy by practicing some Pranayama, mindfulness, meditation in addition to physical exercises for our body. Managing our mental health and stress is even more important in these stressful times. I am a certified Yoga instructor and am working on putting some videos of Yoga and mindfulness practices online. Watch this space if you are interested.

Stay safe and healthy!

(April 15, 2020)

Part 4: What’s the big deal?

Its hard to believe that many educated people are still questioning the need for social distancing, locking down,.. to contain the spread of COVID-19. Here’s a simple summary of why this virus is different:

1. A large portion (25–50%) of people infected with COVID-19 can be asymptomatic (show no symptoms) for 4–14 days but can continue infecting other people.
2. COVID-19 has a R0 of 5.7 per latest CDC report (loosely translated as spread ratio: avg # of other people a single infected person can infect) which is more than double that of most other viruses & infectious diseases.
3. Globally, about 3.4% of reported COVID-19 cases have died. By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1% of those infected.
4. While many people globally have built up immunity to seasonal flu strains, COVID-19 is a new virus to which no one has immunity and there are no medicines or vaccines yet. That means more people are susceptible to infection, and some will suffer severe disease.
5. There is an acute shortage of testing for this virus.
6. The world is a lot more connected now than it was even 8–10 yrs ago during the SARS outbreak. To make matters worse, this broke out around the Chinese New Year when lots of infected people traveled around the world spreading the virus more quickly and broadly than previous outbreaks.

Lastly, politicians around the world aren’t stupid to shut down their states & countries (with some exceptions of course) despite the impact of the shut downs on their people, economies and with it their power & re-election prospects, so this must be serious!

Let’s hope the doubters wise up, follow all guidelines instead of wasting time debating further and not get themselves and more importantly others infected.

Here are links to some relevant data sources:

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/7/20-0282_article…https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/…/coronavirus-disease-2019-…
https://www.forbes.com/…/the-covid19-coronavirus-disease-…/…

(April 12, 2020)

Part 3: Where are we headed?

Disclaimer: All views & opinions expressed here are my own

Although I don’t have a crystal ball, I do have a few insights into Covid-19, having been involved in assessing its business impact since early February. Here are some of my own personal thoughts on how this might play out, the impact it will have on many of us and what we could do to prepare & respond.

1. The Shelter in Places & lockdowns in the US, India and other countries where Covid-19 arrived later aren’t going to end any time soon so it would be best to hunker down and prepare for at least a few more months of having to stay at home, work from home, study from home, etc.
2. Working from home will become the new normal for a large part of the global workforce especially in cities and countries where the cost of living is high and internet connectivity is good, and rightfully so. Companies will see huge savings in real estate related costs of not having so many people work in offices so this trend of WFH is irreversible and we should get used to this change.
3. The economic damage from this pandemic is going to be even deeper and broader than the great recession of 2008 and many jobs will be lost. There has already been a huge productivity impact on the global economy with people who are unable to work having caught the virus, the countless health care workers, governmental agencies, corporate crisis managers and others that have been spending all their time dealing with this crisis which has been necessary but doesn’t create any value. Global supply chains have been impacted, demand has fallen and the stock markets are reflecting this reality. But it’s going to get worse so we should also do our best to prepare ourselves and protect us and our families.
4. Millions of small businesses, people that work in the airline / travel / lodging industries, blue collar workers and those on hourly wages are already getting impacted but this is just the beginning. White collar workers and those that work in the knowledge economy could be the next to feel the pain, with many jobs lost. They would be well-advised to actively think about living more within their means, refinancing loans (or even better paying them off), holding adequate cash and start thinking about alternate careers or other ways to keep themselves productive and engaged if the worst really happens.

However, I don’t think its all doom and gloom. There is a silver lining:

1. We will re-learn how to find happiness at home, value time with our families and friends, re-discover our hobbies or pick up new ones and slow down life a little, which will be a blessing in disguise.
   2. The slow-down in economic activity and change in how we work, study, etc will be good for the environment with less consumerism, less factories and cars polluting the environment.
   3. Being forced to live within our means, carrying less debt and finding alternate careers or ways of staying productive, might actually give us more happiness in the long term.

(March 27, 2020)

Part 2: Shelter In Place / Lockdown tips

- Take advantage of the opportunity to spend time with your family, especially kids. Its rare to get such quality time with them.

- Check in and catch up with your friends. Most of them are home and should have more time than usual to talk to you, especially on the weekends since there isn’t much to do these days.

- Don’t over-use your appliances and handle them more gently than usual. If they break, you may not get help in fixing / replacing those.

- Don’t forget to drive your cars around once in a while at least in the neighborhood so the batteries don’t die.

- Replace your AC filters more frequently since you are spending more time indoors and they are being used more.

- Try to be disciplined in not letting the commuting time many of us are saving from just getting sucked into working more. Try to use some of it to do more exercise, meditation, Yoga, etc.

• Learn new skills.

(March 20, 2020)

Part 1: Simple hygiene habits

With heightened hygiene awareness everywhere due to Coronavirus fears, I remembered a few simple habits I developed growing up in crowded Mumbai and constantly traveling in public transport packed with people, that are so relevant right now..

1. Use the back of my fingers to rub eyes, face since they don’t come in contact with external surfaces / germs as much as the front of the fingers / hands do
2. Use my left hand to open doors especially of restrooms, grab handles while standing in trains, buses, so the right hand that I use to eat doesn’t get as exposed to germs..

These habits have stayed with me ever since but now happen sub-consciously without even thinking about them.

(March 3, 2020)