9 important lessons learned during the coronavirus lockdown
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger — but recognize the opportunity.”
― John F. Kennedy
I learned 9 important lessons during the first week of lockdown because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Cash is king. Both in business and at home. Having at least 1 full year of expenses without income is the key to peace of mind. I’d say 18 months to give me peace of mind. Or 2 years ... no, nothing will bring me full peace of mind, so to make it easy, aim for that 1 year of expenses fully covered.
First step would be to know the amount of 1 year expenses. Do you have that key number? If not, first of all is to seat and crush your numbers to know how much do you spend on a year. You need to know this number both for your business and for your household.
Meditation is key. Helps you being more patient, helps you get away from the noise, to see the forest and not just the tree. But don’t expect to get the benefits of meditation if you start to meditate in the middle of a crisis. You need the habit to be formed.
Have you started? Best day to start anything good was yesterday, failing that, start today.
Sport is basic to help you be healthy. Both body wise and mentally wise. I love also to practice individual sports on my own, long cycling sessions, in silence, dealing with my thoughts, coming up with ideas, suddenly solving unsolved problems, even having to stop sometimes to take notes on the phone.
Being impossible to cycle long hours during this crisis, try at least to do some heavyweight, cardio and mobility exercises every day. At least 30 minutes. For me the ideal is cardio + bodyweight early in the morning and functional, mobility or yoga in the afternoon.
Talking about mobility give a try to this free online workout from Functional Training. A must for me. Still not being able to finish it without any pause.
Read from the best. Read daily if possible. 15 min is more than enough, but the more you can, the better. Read good books, take notes, share them and have good places where to find more of them regularly. I use Goodreads and Derek Sivers list of books.
Family core. Stay together. Plan things together. Explain and discuss the risks of the situation we’re in a open manner. Share optimism and do things together like sport or reading.
Team Work. Keep daily contact with your team. Keep them motivated and informed. Share with them the good news while you’re open about your worries. Move ahead. If you’re just 10% less scared and you work 20% more than your competition, you’ll do well. But you have to be consistent.
Work daily at least as during a normal day if not more. Use the time you have to improve your website, product listings, social media, talk with suppliers, work on strategy, new products …. go, go, go. Keep yourself working 100%. And you have way more time because you don’t lose time commuting.
Home. How important is to have a big, and beautiful home. I always struggle to be at home, I always want to be outside, but it’s in moments like these that you realise the importance of having a home you love.
Keep it beautiful, invest in painting it, decorate it and improve it. Own the biggest home you can afford without violating point number 1: Cash is king. Do not over spend. And if possible get out of debt. Debt it is to money what cancer is to health.
Luckily I’ve getting out of debt precisely this month. The month of the corona crisis. Good timing. I’m grateful.
Be grateful. This is reality-check. I guess most people that spend their life worrying, critising and complaining will be put in place during a pandemic like the one we’re living:
Problems at work? unimportant if you feel you life at risk
Economic problems? unimportant if you feel you life at risk
Bad feelings about your life? unimportant if you feel you life at risk
What have you learned during the first weeks of lockdown?
