Check the date, we are almost June 2021, one year and eight months from the pandemic! and we are still at it.  We get a drop in numbers, and suddenly the numbers increases; we get low death rates and soon we are reaching the clouds again with very high mortality rates. The new Indian strain is also scary with its new symptoms and love for taking lives, and that is now going to other countries. What should we do?

 

Early last year I predicted that Covid will finish at the end of 2022, or maybe a bit more years (making its time similar to the Spanish flu) however now the high authorities and scholars are saying that it maybe with us until 2029. Which means ten years of either being secluded in our houses or in our graves.  And to say the least, some deaths are happening because people are worried, so we are witnessing many heart attacks and severe blood pressure that is leading to Death.  I am not a doctor, but just following the numbers and knowing people that had died in that way makes me think that we all must decide whether we want to be on the surface of earth or inside a grave?

 

Having said that we also need to be working and earning a living, as if we do not die from Covid, or from fear of Covid (i.e. the heart attacks) we may die of hunger. I know there are many charity organisations and individuals who are working hard to find donations and help those in need, however as sane individuals we need to also think of solutions for ourselves first and then others (The drop of oxygen mask analogy).

 

That got me thinking, what shall we do?

 

Suggestions:

Before I start the list (which by all means is not a limited list as all of you can add to it) we have to do few things that will make us comfortable at home.  This is the place that will be your heaven until the pandemic is over:

You will need to keep it clean, painted, organised, well maintained.

Sewage cleaned, garden done, cupboards organised, beds made, bedrooms locked from waking up till sleeping time,

A good internet system installed (check the packages as you may have signed for a very expensive package but the same supplier have a better one that may even be cheaper),

Keep a lot of books on the shelves,

Children (if you have them) well fed, taught, exercised and protected,

Learn how to make cloths, learn how to mend cloths,

Reduce the junk items from your grocery purchases,

Do exercise (even if its walking while reading or yoga from youtube),

Have nutritious food,

Make sure that everything comes to your house is well sensitised and cleaned,

Of course you can add to this list too as I cannot think of every eventuality.

 

The list of self improvement/income improvement:

1. Study something online that can make you earn while being at home
2. Find a job/ create a job that can be done from home
3. Have new hobbies that can be learnt from others either by Zoom, or on youtube. these hobbies can be put for sale afterwards
4. Have a balance sheet (make it a simple sheet that lists what you have and what you owe), and then try to pay off any loans that you owe to others slowly but surly.
5. Have a profit and loss statement: the income is your salary or any remuneration that you have earned, and the expenses are what you have spent your money on? notice your expenses, and try to minimise them if you can.
6. Check your abilities, you may know something/skill that you have learnt but never used, for example plumbing or carpentry or painting or gardening, and see if you can sell this skill to others. You may earn an extra income by doing so.
7. I noticed that women had started to sell pickles and other food products from home and some men too; there is nothing wrong with doing so, just make sure you are choosing good ingredients and sticking to the taste and quality.
8. Have a diary, and list down everything that you did every day, by doing so you may notice that you are spending your day watching television instead of self improvements
9. Read, read and read.  By reading you increase your own horizon and may even put a seed somewhere about something that you knew but you never thought about that can bring you an extra income.
10. Write a book, you maybe the best author and didn’t know it.
11. Be happy that you are alive.
12. (This is an addition given thankfully by my brother): This may be a great time to reflect on relationships!  Our busy lives before covid may have impacted our relationships (with Allah, with parents, with siblings, with acquaintances and even with those we call friends).  This isolation is a great opportunity to reconnect with those we have been less than just to, connect with those we have ignored, disconnect from those who we became close to due to circumstances but who might not be truly worthy of the all the time we spent with them, and definitely make an effort to reach out (through messages, voice and even video calls) to those with whom we just couldn’t invest enough time during our normal pre-covid lives.   Give thanks to those who impacted your life even a little, pay your emotional debts (as well as your financial debts)
13. Maybe also restrict your human contact/relationships and keep it a virtual one.
14. Remember, this is not an exhaustive list, so please add to this.

 

Most importantly, be safe and stay at home.