Just about three months ago many of us were thrust into a new way of living and working.  We began working from home, going to school from home, and not going out for much of anything.  The new “norm” that we were thrust into caused us to develop routines or habits to get through this challenging time. The other night while walking with my wife we thought of four areas that have changed during this time and wondered:  Will they continue?

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) 

Being at home full-time presents challenges and opportunities, depending on how you look at it. DIY could be either.  With time on our hands, and every wall, window, and faucet to look at daily, many of us decided that this would be a great time for do-it-yourself projects.  Whether it was painting a room or replacing plumbing, we wanted to do it.  I am sure a lot of great home improvement projects got done, however, if you can call someone to come and do it for you in the future, will you? Or has this newly acquired DIY knowledge emboldened you?

Exercise

This is one that I am sure many of you got into. You either took the hanging clothes off your treadmill or ordered a new spin cycle online. Once gyms were closed, people had to transition to at-home workouts.  For those who weren’t already working out, this newly found extra time may have been all you needed to get in shape. Remember, when this started it was March and the weather was less than ideal to go outside, not to mention we had snow in April. Let’s hope that with the lessening of restrictions, and summer finally arriving in Michigan, we will continue those exercises.

Virtual Get Togethers

Zoom, Teams, GoToMeeting you pick the platform, we have all used one of them over the last few months. Yes, for work we have used them to communicate with colleagues and clients. However, the biggest phenomenon has been the virtual gatherings with friends and family. Even virtual happy hours have happened, and yes, I have attended one. In the business world I fully expect these platforms will continued to be used widely. These have been great tools for reaching out to those far away. The question is, will we still reach out to family and friends in the same manner?

Change of Pace

The most significant effect of the COVID-19 crisis has been the change of pace in our families’ daily lives. For those with school-aged children that became teachers overnight, you faced new responsibilities. However, with extracurricular activities cancelled we all had more time with our family to steal just a few more moments. For those of us with college students, to have them home for a few months is stolen time.  Maybe there were some frustrating moments, however we may never have a time like this again.  Activities will start back up and school will resume, but let’s hope we take some lessons from the present and apply it to the future as our lives get crazier.

Over the next few months we will begin exiting our temporary new normal and enter the next phase, holding challenges for all of us.  When dealing with those times, think back to when we were all home bound and embrace a piece of it to move forward.  Stay safe and healthy.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.