Nada Kholeif (Editor's Article)
The latest pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19 has led many countries like the United States, Italy, and France to enforce quarantine or lock down. Other countries like Egypt shut down schools and universities and stopped plane traffic also enforced night curfews.
Of course this pandemic has brought many losses worldwide by the loss of many lives and businesses shutting down. But there maybe silver linings to this crisis.
Coronavirus reminded us that we are all connected and what affects part of the world affects us all eventually. Staying home and preventing crowded places is the only available prevention of this new virus until further notice. This being said, we have more time to shift our focus to the online world.
The digital world has offered solace by providing opportunities and creating a virtual world to live in and connect. Universities of the Ivy League have given free access to online courses and encourage students to study online. Entertainers like Chris Martin and John Legend offer live free concerts on different social media platforms.
But this virtual world cannot replace the real one we live in. It has ;however, highlighted the power and importance of the online world and how it can be useful in connecting us all together in times of need.
But having so much online content has led us to distraction. We thought we had lots of time until we found out so many online events and things to do that we fell in the trap of being overloaded again, only this time at home.
When we were busy, our wish was always “I wish I had more time to read a book, spend quality time with friends and family, exercise more and so on” but with more time at our hands, we end up wasting it and day by day nothing on our list is being done.
Maybe what was stopping us was not the lack of enough time, it was the distractions we faced from the notifications we have from different social media platforms to the innumerable series we have online and on television. Our lack of focus and pretense multi-tasking in our everyday busy lives has turned into a habit.
Also the panic spikes from the pandemic on all the news are causing so much worry. Now instead of doing all the things we wished we could do in our time home, we feed our distractions like eating loads of unhealthy food on the couch doing nothing.
I am not totally discouraging this as it is needed sometimes. Having nothing to do on our list is needed every now and then to recharge.
As we practice self- awareness, making time for the things that matter most will be easier to apply as a priority. One of the facts that amazed me is that Sir Isaac Newton invented Calculus during his stay at home during the Great Plague in London. No pressure! But a little productivity is better than wasting all your time.
Here are a couple of things we can do during our social distancing:
Use the Internet to gain information, learn new things, and connect with other people but not solely immerse yourself in this world.
Close your electronic gadgets for a couple of hours each day to:
Meditate and think positive
Read a book
Cook a healthy meal
Work out at home
Spend quality time with your family
And of course don’t forget to wash your hands.
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