Changing Routines by Clari
The Announcement
#Whew, a lockdown! Although mentally, I already knew since I keep in touch with friends abroad. I immediately switched to planning mode and tried to make sure I had enough groceries and utilities in stock to last me a month for starters. Unfortunately, Once the lockdown started, I realised you are never really prepared, and you never quite have enough. #Sigh.
A Typical Day
Since there is no need to race out of the house and beat traffic, I start each morning with a routine of exercise, meditation and coffee, yes please! Very early on in the lockdown, I felt it was essential to maintain some type of structure to my day and stick to it. That way, I could distinguish the workdays from the weekends and make sure that although I am working from home that I am still able to maintain a work/life balance.
Then…
I take time to water my flowers. We are on the verge of the rainy season, so some days I let nature do the work, others I get to bond with my plants. The way I see it, I believe the planet is recovering during the lockdown as we humans take a back seat for a while. The air even feels cleaner.
Finally, My Desk
You can’t meditate and water plants all morning, so sometime around 8am, I drag myself to my workspace. I start my workday with the Media Summary. It’s unfortunate that not so many people read it, especially with all the effort to put it together and send it out early. Urgh!
Breakfast Break: I am not a big breakfast eater, some mornings an apple will do, other times Akara or hash brown with eggs or just an egg sandwich
Meetings, Meetings: I usually schedule meetings as of noon, this way, I use my mornings to be productive and handle all the work that involves deep thinking and creativity. I love listening to NPR as I work, it gives me a bit of background noise so that it is not super quiet, I also like to know what the American’s are up to, these days they have the most animated narrative when it comes to politics and social issues. Somedays, Chopin or Chilly Gonzales suits me better.
Lunch Break
Lunchtime is usually quick and light, especially if I had breakfast; Boiled yam and chicken stew or beans or eba or jollof rice or cauliflower soup or risotto, all pre-cooked over the weekend.
Team Bonding
Video calls with my colleagues are a reminder that I am part of a collective even though I am alone in my workspace. Since the lockdown we’ve had 2 MCC Cops. I have been learning more and more about Teams and all the things it can do. The Planner Tool has also helped a lot as far as making sure I meet up with work commitments. The Webinars put together by the IT team have also been great.
A Visit to The Garage
As the day winds down, I make sure I warm up my car. I take this opportunity to listen to the radio and check on the sentiment out there. My car really needs to be washed –I’ll pray for rain.
And Then The Day Is Over
There are always fun activities to look forward to after work, if I do not end up going for a walk, I would get on the app ‘House Party’ with friends; we play games or just catch up.
But Wait, I Still TGIF
Fridays after work, I try to attend workshops or lectures, writing workshops are my favourite. It’s a real stress reliever and a great creative outlet. It also makes me feel like I am part of a community, pushing each other to find freedom in our expressions.
Dinner Time!!
Din-din could be pasta with veggies, chicken with veggies or some indomie and egg (a personal favourite when laziness sets in).
One More…
One of the best experiences I’ve had so far during the lockdown was watching Andrea Bocelli live at the Duomo di Milano on Easter Sunday; this was amazing. It’s also been great catching up with my friends around the globe; in all of this, I have to appreciate how technology has made this lockdown much more bearable.
I really do miss my nail technician and my hairstylist, plus hanging with my friends, eating out, the freedom to roam freely. I am trying to take full advantage of this period because I know that we may never have this type of opportunity again to stay still.
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This Whole Lockdown Thing… by Ngozi
I feel I am being teleported into one of the numerous apocalypse movies I love watching, those ones which only affected the United States of America. The difference is, it is close to home now, and I am not watching a movie… This is real life! #Sigh
The announcement of the lockdown in Abuja threw me into a mini-panic mode, I went a little overboard with grocery shopping, frantically called friends and family and had panic attacks. Maybe it was because I was staying alone or perhaps, it was the idea of not being able to go out when I wanted. Whatever it was, I did not like the feeling.
And so, the lockdown began. Since I am stuck in my apartment, my routine will basically be the same, but I will write down the highlight of things that occurred, so I have stories to exaggerate to my children and grandchildren… after all, I did experience a pandemic.
Food
You see, when I was panic buying, I did not leave out things like ice-cream, fizzy drinks, chocolates, biscuits and all those things that go straight to the waistline, I stocked up on them and then to sprinkle some healthiness to my stock, I bought broccoli, at least that will cancel out all the fat.
It’s the thought that matters right?
My food journey did a swift U-turn when I woke up one morning and noticed a ball where my stomach used to be. Like that wasn’t enough, I was on a video call, and my friends couldn’t stop laughing at how fat my cheeks had gotten. That was the moment I knew that I had to change.
So I went on operation healthy eating shopping (online of course) ps: by this time, my tubs of ice cream and chocolates had finished, but I did give out the remainder of my fizzy drinks to the security personnel at my house.
Hello weight loss!
The fit life
You know how they say weight loss is 80% diet and 20% workout, well, I had almost nailed the 80% and needed to nail the remaining 20% because there are no half-baked results over here.
Work and Personal Development
Work did not go on hold; instead, I think it quadrupled. With the current economic situation, the world is faced with, it is expected. So, I spend a better part of my day at my desk, on Microsoft teams’ meetings, strategizing and executing.
I have also picked up courses I started previously but couldn’t finish and completing them bring a sense of fulfilment that is definitely welcome at this time. So, I have taken up other ones to make the best use of staying at home.
Gas Explosion
On Easter Sunday, I walked to the kitchen to prepare lunch, being that it was a ‘holiday’ I wanted to get in the mood by eating rice ( brown basmati rice, O). I turned on the gas and BOOM! Fire from all parts of the gas cooker. In a split second, I struggled to turn off the tiny flame that had stuck to my top, felt a stinging burn on my tummy and tried to turn off the gas cooker. Thankfully, no wounds on my any part of my body and no damage was done. Safe to say that the gas cooker, hose, cylinder and everything related to it was changed.
Mental health
Quarantining alone has its ups and its downs, somedays I bask in the quiet that comes from having no one around to drink a glass (okay…glasses) of wine, reflect, plan and sometimes, just be still. Also, there are days when I would rather watch a movie with a friend so we can criticize the characters together and maybe throw in a little gossip.
To add some spice to the lockdown, I tried the trending online challenges, some turned out okay, others failed woefully.
#DontRushChallenge: Recorded only the first part without makeup but could not get myself to put on makeup and dress up… so that’s a huge fail.
#PillowChallenge: Tried this out for my company’s virtual TGIF red carpet… and I must say, it was a hit.
I haven’t gone on TikTok yet, not like I have great acting or dancing skills, but if I do, I will be sure to update you.
In all, I think I am winging this lockdown pretty okay. I do miss a few things, like being able to go to the supermarket, eat out, laugh with friends over drinks and frustrate my colleagues. On the brighter side, I am gathering the much-needed stories to tell my grandchildren and make me seem like a really cool grandma.
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It’s a little Different in Calabar by Michael
On the 11th of March 2020 WHO declared Covid-19 as a global pandemic. At that time, it was quite clear that key decisions would have to be made by world leaders. It’s been over a month, and we have now changed our ways of working and living. In some parts of the country, the government has implemented strict lockdown rules, but over here in Calabar not much has changed though we are affected by the restrictions everywhere else.
With the decline in regular business activities around the hotel and office, I sometimes worked from home. I must confess it does come with a lot of distractions; from the temptation of jumping on your bed to the refrigerator constantly calling your name, it’s clear that extra discipline is needed to master the art of working from home (WFH). 
Fortunately for me, Calabar is not on a total lockdown; this means I can move around freely but with a face mask. Meaning that I can go to the office when the remote working distractions become unbearable.
The truth is, working at the office doesn’t feel the same. COVID-19 has brought our lively lobby to a standstill; our parking lots are empty… and oh, I miss the sheer pleasure of being able to hug and shake a colleague. However, I am hopeful that this will pass and all will soon be back to normal.
On a lighter note, we don’t have to be so formally dressed; your Friday outfit works just fine any day of the week. The bottom line is to get some work done.
Fast-forward to Friday after the day’s work. The new reality is that Fridays cannot end with the usual unwinding and social hangouts synonymous with it as most pubs and clubs a closed for business. If there is a need to party or just chill out, then it’s simply creating the moment in my private space.
Since the ban on large gatherings also applies to our places of worship. We must sit at home to observe all forms of religious activities, and I make sure that I am not left out of this one. My room becomes my worship centre on Sunday mornings with the prevalence of online church services. One thing is certain; we wake up every day to go about the day’s activity, hoping all these COVID19 troubles comes to an end soon so that life can be normal again. But I still wonder, will it be the normal we have always known?
