#8months

So today marks 8 months on my journey to becoming who I really am ☺️

Left: Pre T

Staying and working from home has had its ups and downs. Some days have been really productive, full of energy while others have been dull. As we approach the end of the year, still working from home into new year, I wanted to take some time and reflect on things I learned from spending most of my time in the 4 walls with minimal social contact.

1.   We are indeed social animals, yes even introvert

I am (or was) a person who if given a choice would always opt to go home and lie on the couch over social gatherings. Prior to COVID, I did attend social activities (I organized a few to challenge myself) but it was never my default choice. Given my extreme introverted personality, after spending a day working and collaborating with several teams, I just needed the "me time" to recharge.

As we transitioned to working from home, I loved that my default choice is my 24x7 option. But to my surprise, I was missing the social interactions, such as organic deskside chats at office, seeing people in the public transportation and meeting friends for a drink.

I am very surprise with this. Now I do understand the meaning of "We are social animals"

2.   Technology is not overrated

Yes we are all dependent on technology. But it is only during work from home that I realized the role it has been playing and I thanked God that I was born in this era where I can still be connected with everyone. Not just that, work from home is a thing because of Technology.

3.   We won’t kill each other despite being together 24x7

One of the stereotypes I had in mind about married couples was that they need some time away from each other to keep sane. But again to my surprise, I have been enjoying our time together. Technically, we work during the work hours and we are together post work hours but it isn't exactly the way it was when we both left home and came back. Plus, we are not meeting friends or family the way we would have. So, we see each other more than 90% of the times. There is so much to learn about each other constantly. It has also helped us to talk about our career aspirations in more detail and help each other out with our inhibitions. And fun fact: this period has had the least number of arguments ever.

4.   There is enough time to pursue our interests

From trying paintings to learning bits of French, I have done so much in these past few months. I lost 12 pounds and maintained a healthy diet for more than 5 months now. I have started my blog, which has been on my to-do list since forever. I wish that I realized this some other way, but am happy that I did at last. I now want to continue with pursuing my interests.

5.   Youtube has videos to learn new skills

From skin care to paintings, YouTube is ocean of content on any topic and most of it is free. I am a YouTube buff but in last few months I have learned a lot. Improved my skin care routine (yes yes I am getting old), learned to paint a few things, brushed up some French, planned my healthy food recipes and learned new exercises.