How Are You Coping with the CoronaVirus?
On the morning of Friday, March 20th, I sent an email to my entire list with the subject of, “How are you coping with the current situation?”
I received over 100 responses! This is the 3rd part of this 3-part series.
I will, of course, edit these answers to protect their authors’ identities, but I wanted you to hear that the fears, worries, and stresses you are experiencing are not unique. You are not alone in this.
If you have not read the first post or the second post I suggest you stop and read them now.
Job Offer Put on Hold
Social Contact Job is on Hold
Laid Off Contractor Worried About Health Insurance
Note: I told her she can apply for Medicare at the age of 65 and not 66 and 2 months.
Retired, Returned to Work and then Let Go
Working from Home and Coping
Thanks for checking. We are coping. My situation includes:
Working from home. I started on March 9. My wife has a compromised immune system due to a chronic illness, and my older daughter has asthma. My employer (Fortune 50 company) asked all employees who can to work from home, effective March 13. We are being asked to adjust our work practices to ensure the company’s network is effective and efficient during peak hours.
My wife already works from home. She is homeschooling our younger daughter who is a junior in high school (she has been homeschooled since pre-school). Their space and schedules have been disrupted with two extra people.
My older daughter is a sophomore cello performance major at (removed). Her spring break was extended by a week and her classes will be remote through the end of the semester effective March 16. Her teaching of private lessons and taking personal lessons will be a major change. Her orchestra conductor is still trying to figure out what can be done for the rest of the semester.
Dealing with Multiple Calamities
Right before the Coronavirus got big, my mom was in the hospital in critical condition with major heart failure. She made it through and now is at her home with 24-hour care (finally found caregivers she likes). The same week, a friend of mine was killed on his bike – driver crossed the yellow line and took out 7 cyclists. Devastating. Then one of our closest family friends died the same morning. Two days later, the pandemic was announced. I was sad and stressed. I have my good habits to help stabilize me when s*** things happen. No funerals for either.
I also was a finalist for a really good remote job – WordPress Developer for a cool company. I didn’t get the job but made it through 4 rounds of interviews including a difficult coding challenge. As you know I lost the SaaS consulting job (in November) and gave up on (removed). I still had my (removed) client but the work has dried up. I have very little work now. But I feel I am in a better position to land something because I have a lot of remote experience in different industries. I also passed the LinkedIn assessment for (removed) soI have a badge.
Because I am in the (removed) area, we are practically on lockdown. All the restaurants, stores and now my gym are closed. My gym was open until Wednesday so I got a long swim in and a few really good workouts. I’ll be able to ride my bike, run, walk and organize. Nothing else I can do. I will try to make use of this isolated time to really organize. I look in on my 95-year-old mom almost daily so I am socially isolating. (removed) and I have food in both our house and condo, so if we get sick, we can stay in. I have stocked up on vitamins and over-the-counter stuff so I am prepared.
My biggest worry is my mom, and hoping none of her caregivers get sick. My second worry is keeping well myself, and third is generating income.
In Conclusion
As you can see we are all dealing with a variety of issues as it relates to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Are you looking at these issues as a problem to solve or as something you have to deal with? Is this a challenge you are prepared to take on or are you worried and stressed?
If you look at these issues as challenges, you have a lot of hardiness. Check out the book review that one of the Career Pivot Community Members wrote about the book Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals.
After reading these posts, where are you emotionally? Please respond in the comments below.
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