Strange, isn’t it, when the world suddenly looks completely different from one day to the next…? It’s an unpleasant period that we all have to overcome, and we will. I’m sure of that. But the fact that we don’t know how much longer it will take, sometimes makes me a little nervous… And that while we are only two weeks underway.
Structure in my days
At the moment when everything around the coronavirus started to get serious and the advice was given to work from home, I just had a week off. All my plans for that week went down the drain, because: flights were cancelled and the advice was, and still is, to stay inside, unless it is really necessary to go outside. At the weekend I felt panicky, because what on earth am I going to do at home with all this time on my hands? I decided to make a plan with a lot of structure, and to stick to it. That made the week very pleasant in the end; apart from all the trouble in the world at the moment, of course.
I tried to keep my days as similar as possible, as if I were going to work that day: breakfast, shower and getting dressed. Then I took a morning walk, accompanied by some good music. The rest of the day was spent reading, writing, thinking about nice passion projects, etc. I adjusted the plan in my diary during the day, so that the original plan then resulted in a log/diary. In the evening, I made dinner, watched an episode of Friends, and after an online yoga class, went to bed to read some more.
Social distancing
On my birthday, halfway through that week off, a good friend came over during the day and I saw my parents in the evening. It was nice, but it also felt strange. And it still does. This group of three people are the only people I see now. My good friend I sometimes bump into by coincidence on the street and where I would normally give her a big hug we now stand awkwardly 1.5 metres from each other…
In the second week I worked, but from home. This went perfectly well, as my colleagues and I are quite used to working together remotely. It even resulted in good conversations during coffee meetings! My days looked basically the same. Still the morning walk, still the online yoga class in the evening. Only now with work throughout the day.
And then you suddenly lose your job…
Halfway through the second week that I was at home, I received a phone call that I wish I hadn’t… At the beginning of this year, I started looking for a new job, after working for the same company for more than five years. And I found it. Or to put it differently, I did not find a job, but my dream job. On 1 May, I was supposed to start working for KLM. Until the coronavirus suddenly appeared and not only turned the world upside down, but my life as well.
I received the message that I could no longer start at my new job because of the impact that the coronavirus has and may have on the company in the future. And although I understand it completely, it still broke my heart…. Not only because I have a problem if I don’t find a new job right away, but also because in my mind I had already started working for KLM. But anyway. Life is tough. And so are we. We will all get through this and probably even stronger. If you want to help career wise, please see this update on LinkedIn. All help is welcome! Keep your head up and keep safe! 🙂