Adapting to the ‘new normal’

Even though it appears that the UK is trailing most of the developed world in its response to the Coronavirus pandemic, change is happening. And it’s time to get used to it.

I paid my last visit to my office yesterday – for the foreseeable future, anyway. I work alone most days and have been providing my services to clients virtually for a while now. I went in to run a free webinar I put together for people who have to now work from home. Once complete, I switched off the lights, locked up and headed home.

I don’t think I’ll be back there for a while.

I’ve been staying in close contact with my family, who are all now based in Scotland. So visits are out of the question. I’m just thankful for FaceTime to keep us in touch and feel like we’re closer.

One of the things I’ve been getting straight in my mind is that this isn’t a temporary thing. This is the new normal. It’s now disruption here in London, it’s global. And it’s going to be like this for weeks and months to come. So acceptance of that fact is really important.

I fully anticipate there’ll be some kind of ‘lockdown’ here in London in the coming days. We’ve stocked up at home (not stockpiled, we’re not greedy psychopaths) with provisions to last a couple of weeks. And we can make that last a little long if required. We’re both healthy and, as far as we know, virus free.

But in the absence of testing, how are we supposed to be sure?

Social distancing is the new norm. No coffee shops, no pubs, no cinema, a reduced public transport service. I went out for my morning walk by the river earlier and noticed how everyone on the street is keeping a distance between each other. Long may it last.

And now? It’s time to take things one day at a time.

(Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash)