Stress – this one word has become common parlance in our vocabulary…

No doubt, we have become very busy in our work lives and have hundreds of things to take care of on a daily basis, multitasking to the hilt. The to-dos on our personal lists aren’t going off and with both of the partners working in most marriages, levels are shooting through the roof.

How do we handle this? What do we do to ensure we can remain sane in this maddening world? I was thinking on these aspects for some time in Feb and had this post in draft mode since last 1 month. Suddenly, realised that the on-going lockdown due to Coronavirus has added new dimensions to the entire question and given some answers.

While our lives are centred around our families in India, in today’s day and age a large part of it is spent working, taking phone calls, commuting to work, and spending time in after-office parties. As the economy has progressed over the last few years, so has this proportion in our lives. 

I remember, my father’s working hours. We as kids always used to wonder, why does he have to work so hard. He was a banker and his usual time to come home was 8 pm. He used to be busy on Saturdays also. But he had time to spend with us. On Sundays and other holidays, there wasn’t anything that bothered him. We used to get undivided attention. 

Some of my uncles who were in Govt. jobs had an even better schedule. They used to be generally back home by 6:30 or 7. In fact one of the uncles who was working in a Defence production / ordnance factory, used to be back home at 4 as he started his day early. Without many distractions post work, people used to spend time meeting others, spending time with family, playing with kids, and following their hobbies.

As I entered my first job in 2005, it was a slower world than now. Software hadn’t eaten the world completely, laptops weren’t commonplace, and smartphones as a category was a couple of years away. So, once office finished by 7 or so, one could go home and indulge in other pursuits. Commute times were 30-45 minutes at the max and social media wasn’t as pervading. 

By my second job in 2010, a few times one needed to get on calls after office hours and sometimes spend time working on stuff post that. Commute times had increased to 45-60 minutes and social media was starting to get attention by a few people across the board. Still, weekends were times to relax and unwind, and to do things one wanted to pursue outside of work.

In recent years though, work life has become ubiquitous. We carry our laptops everywhere, smartphones keep beeping with work emails taking our attention, and there are always things to complete. Depending on the industry one is in, weekends also require you to pitch in sometimes. Commute times have increased between 1-2 hours and social media and WhatsApp is eating away attention by the minute. And in between all this, there’s life beyond work, which is waiting on the other side. 

This unexpected lockdown situation has now given us a great chance to catch up on that life. We are all still working but in the confines of our home. Of course, more time is being spent on calls and messages but commute times are being saved. And in between those work sessions, there’s time to spend with our loved ones, to do a few things after office hours, spending time talking to each other, playing with the kids, and pursuing our hobbies.

Although news on the virus spread is worrying and the current situation uncertain, its also given us a chance to relive our lives as if it were the 90’s! Let’s live it to the fullest until it lasts!!!