WHAT GOOD CAN COME FROM CORONA VIRUS? (trying to remain positive in a pandemic)

Ed Sheeran is playing.

It’s his fourth song in a row since I have sat down here in one of the open cafes here in Sapporo.

The convenience store dine-in area at university was bordered closed with a sign that I didn’t even have to read to know what it telling. I glimpsed the words コロナウイルス (corona virus) for a moment as I turned out the entrance I had walked into moments before. They could have saved some ink by printing those words alone.

But I’m not here today to sit and reminisce on the days that I could eat a ‘fresh’ Big Mac inside Maccas (which only allows take-way now. This policy was a little delayed in Japan).

There are too many things that are not exactly ideal for anyone right now.

Some of us are worried about our health, earning an income, maintaining sanity being inside... I could write a list as long (longer) than a receipt of all the booze I have purchased over the last three months (a lot…) when things in our societies started to change.

I labelled my beer for the communal fridge at work. My co-worker added, 'virus'...

But no. Today I am going to write about what good may come from all of this. I’m going to lay it out with pretty little headings too, you can disagree with a glance (yeah, nah) or contemplate the possibilities if you wish.

Just like my previous post, “10 Things I have Learned in Life Until Now.” Click to read that one if you are interested.

But the idea is to shift our perspective to a slightly less pessimistic perspective. Since, after all, the ‘normalcy’ before the C word (or Ronas I like to call him now) may never return to the way we knew it. And perhaps we don’t want it to.

1. Time to Reflect - what is my “Why?”

Many of us are always too busy to really stop and think about why we are so busy.

Of course, we have commitments like school and work that keep us busy.

But while being so busy in our fast modern lives, sometimes we forget to question this “Why.”

What are we trying to achieve from our busy lives? A paycheck? Pleasing someone else or filling a role we feel we should fill?

And are we actually going anywhere or are we just running in circles making ends meet?

It’s actually scary when you pause and think about that one simple word.

Why?

Asking yourself ‘WHY’ also makes you question what is actually important to you at all. And understanding what is important is quite difficult until it is taken away. Or perhaps given back. Like time has been given back to us now.

We never know what we have until it’s gone.

Perhaps after 2020, we may all realize that we want time because it is something more valuable than the money we desperately work for.

As for me, what is my why? Why do I work, study, or even try anything at all?

I want to tell a story.

My own story.

I also want to connect with others and share their stories and hopefully write them into my own. Because like books that we learn from, we also learn from people too. But sometimes we forget to really listen to others because we are so caught up in our own messes.

2. Time to think about Universal Basic Income?

This is possibly misplaced optimism in governments around the world - that perhaps this pandemic will be a wake-up call that universal basic income could be beneficial in the long run rather than just a high-cost expenditure that ‘is not possible within our budget.’

I am sure we all know someone who has lost their job because of the current global issue, or perhaps they have at least become underemployed.

Some countries are working better than others at providing these individuals in precarious situations with subsidies. However, we are still facing a possible global depression even once the world starts to move again.

We have been locked up. The economy has been locked up with us.

And even once the Instagram “stay home” sticker has expired from use, many of us won’t be rushing to buy new cars or other large purchases after not earning a proper income for a long period of time.

Also, many small businesses may have been forced to close doors permanently.

The economy is going to be pretty slow for a while.

Maybe our governments may give us some money to ‘help get us back on our feet’ to make sure we can pay our rent and buy food.

But perhaps if this slow period could be speedier if we had a basic income to survive from the start?

Just a thought.

I am sure there are many counter-arguments against this. Like if universal basic income existed we would all be lazy and not do anything at all. Let alone work.

I guess observing the people around us now who are forced to stay home and live from savings and government money can help you picture how individuals may act if basic income was introduced.

Let’s hope the majority would not choose to stay home marathoning Netflix and playing Animal Crossing (seriously has Animal Crossing become the second global pandemic??) if we were not confined to our residence…

3. Time to learn a new skill and develop better habits.

My brother sent me a quote image a few weeks back that read along the lines: “If you don’t come out of this with a new skill, it’s not that you lack time, it’s that you lack discipline.” I couldn’t argue. I was also at the time of receiving this message teaching myself guitar, (trying to) edit a video, writing more, and also attempting to dance on my long board (not, however, working on my graduation thesis. The singular commitment I actually have right now). Yet some days despite having all the time in the world it seemed close to impossible to focus on anything. Instead, I would look outside my window watching the cows eat grass while sipping coffee. Then after a while of this, I would feel guilty and try to be ‘productive.’ After perhaps an hour of achieving little I would think about how I miss going to work and seeing people and feeling like a useful human being (and also earning an income). Then I would watch the cows and drink some more coffee. What I’m trying to say is that even with all the time in the world discipline is difficult, or keeping motivation is tough in the middle of a pandemic when you are worried about 101 other things. But learning something new gives you a focus and distraction but importantly a new skill. So when I start staring at the cows longer than I probably should be staring at the cows, I now pick up my guitar.

That first movement usually leads to doing something else ‘productive.’

And no time is better than now to work on that side hustle?

Especially for part-time workers who realized how reliant they were on their incomes from companies (myself included), nothing like a bitch slap from Ronas to wake up. The feeling of powerlessness, of uselessness... is frustrating.

So having a side hustle could help pull us through the tough times. At least it would restore a little sense of control in our lives.

4. Time for thinking of meaning within work

I write a lot about work.

It’s kind of one of my favorite topics.

But not in the way that some of us enjoy complaining about management at our company or the assholes we may work with.

But I like the topic as a way of asking, “why do we work?” - beyond monetary gains I mean.

At my hostel workplace when we started to see a significant drop in the number of customers, some of the other staff, myself included, would look across the reception desk into the empty shared kitchen a little solemn.

“I miss talking to people.” “I miss helping customers.” Because for a lot of us, we actually like to feel we are useful. That we have some sort of purpose in our workplaces.

Or maybe we are lucky and genuinely enjoy our jobs and the people we work with.

But now that many of us can’t work, maybe we have started to miss it. But do we miss the money or the sense of purpose? Or escape from our families?

Or do we not miss work at all and finally realize that it is time to move on to better places or become our own bosses?

5. Time to spend more with those who matter

Lockdown policies around the world have forced many families to spend more time than ever together.

This can be both good and bad. For some relationships, this can show the flaws in relationships that may exist, such as poor communication. Time can either be used to fix the issues or perhaps break relationships. In China, after the initial lockdown, there was a significant spike in divorce requests (see Landsverk, March 2020)

Perhaps this was simply because government offices dealing with requests were closed for an extended period. Or that couples realized that they can’t escape each other and instead had to properly communicate for what may be the first time in a long time.

In Japan, for example, many salary-men have been made to work from home in an attempt to prevent the spread of Ronas. Instead of being happy about this new potential for more family time, couples were wishing they could escape to work. A short term rental firm saw this as an opportunity and now offers short term rental of empty apartments for couples to have ‘room to breathe.’ They also chuck in a free 30 minute divorce consultation! (Japan Times, April 2020).

Typically in the city (especially here in Japan) apartments are quite small. So a lack of personal space can potentially wear on any relationship. However, those who manage to make it through anxieties together will come out stronger I am sure. Being forced to see all sides of each other can bring a sense of closeness beyond just the closeness that small physical space can bring.

Additionally, as people have more free schedules, those of us who are able to meet friends can do so easier.

My apartment, which is two-roomed and slightly larger than my single room apartment dwelling friends has somehow become an almost weekly dinner gathering location for a small group of friends.

Perhaps too many glasses of wine have been shared in these gatherings, but I believe in these last 3 months that we have been living in this shaken world we have all become somehow closer friends.

Glad I am around to hang out with this girl!

6. Time to re-think working systems

Even before Ronas joined our lives there were many people who worked from home.

This could be as a freelancer, entrepreneur or as a self-employed professional etc.

However, the vast majority of us still have physical workplaces.

In Japan for example, people who work in Tokyo could spend over one hour commuting to work from their homes to their office doors. Here in Sapporo city, that is a little rare (we don’t have as much urban spread here), but commuting to work is still a thing.

However, a lot of this work is computer-based and can be completed anywhere. Say our own homes.

Many Japanese workplaces have had to implement working from home systems (在宅勤務 zaitaku kinmu) after the government declared a State of Emergency nation wide on April 16th. Until then there was no system for managing workers who may do work from home.

Yet perhaps after the pandemic calms down the systems that are being implemented in companies can be utilised in the future.

Maybe sick workers who would usually drag themselves to work because they were concerned of putting their responsibilities on others - maybe they will stay home and not go into their companies and infect coworkers if they are told they can optionally work online.

Or even in general, people who would rather work from home, those who work far away from offices - the option for remote work in more companies could encourage higher-level employees.

The system is quite flawed still in many companies (from my observations), for example, meetings still take place with 100 + employees listening from their home PCs (and usually there is no camera turned on so employees could be cooking themselves ramen while ‘attentively listening’ - I have observed this. I also do not believe this is an issue?).

But these flaws will become noticeable in time (maybe will Japan realize how time-wasting meetings can be finally… that perhaps the information could be simply summarized and distributed in an email or even a short video presentation).

Idle time in physical offices will be more obvious. Perhaps it is possible to see that we don’t really need to work all that long at all?

Rather than physical presence in an office maybe there can be a system in companies that emphasizes work quality is more important than time on the clock - both work at home and in offices.

7. Time we realized that learning doesn’t only happen in classrooms

So all university classes are canceled at Hokkaido university this semester. Well on campus anyway.

It took quite some time for this decision to actually be reached first. First, there was talk of postponing classes, then they postponed them. Then they postponed them again. Then they canceled them.

Most students have online classes from the third week of May now. Over a month late. It took a lot of time to finally reach that decision, however.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, online learning was put into effect from February and March.

Japan has always had a focus on presence in the university (just like the workplace). For many classes, your grade is 50% attendance and 50% essay.

So can you really blame the students that sleep inside the lecture halls? They are ‘attending’ after all. Gotta get that 50% grade!

But for many Japanese universities, there is not a proper online system. Important announcements, for example, are still made via a bulletin board outside the faculty involved.

For a high-tech country, some methods are pretty old school.

So for Japan, Ronas will greatly improve online education. Or actually make it a thing. Since it isn’t so much so a thing right now.

But homeschooling from parents is also increasing. Online classes that schools of all levels have released don’t take as much time as physical classes. So some parents are opting for additional learning to keep kids busy.

A friend of mine has made her children take online English classes and read more every day. They still complete their compulsory school work too.

Educational institutes as much as teaching us new skills also focus on training us to be good workers to join society. Actually universal schooling is precisely for this reason. Learn to show up on time, do what the teacher says, don’t complain…

That’s a workplace, right?

If school was about helping you improve yourself there would be fewer classes about mathematics (which let’s face it, beyond simple equations is not used so much in daily life for many of us) but more classes about perhaps:

Goal setting

Self-expression

Understanding money

Robert Kiyozaki (also known internationally as ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’) talks a bit about this argument, in particular the final point:

His book sales have curiously skyrocketed since Ronas.

This time is as good as ever to realize how much we can actually learn beyond formal institutions (and cheaper!)

We live in this internet era. We might as well make the most of it.

8. Time to re-think what social media means

Social media has long been labelled, ‘distraction’ ‘time wasting’ and that because of it we are less likely to go meet people in person than we did in the past.

But if in times of crisis the power of social media comes to our aid to keep us connected.

Try to think for a moment about social isolation without social media.

Could you do it?

And are we really social/self isolating right now?

Especially when we can call up our friends and have a drinking party across video chat?

(this is pretty big in Japan now that it even has its own slang term, オン飲み (on-nomi) which combines the words オンライン (onrain/online) and 飲み会 (nomikai/drinking party).

I think a more correct term would be physically-self-social isolating. But that is long.

The difference now is that the space in which we meet has shifted to the online world.

And as many of us have more free time it can be easier than ever to meet in this online space. For some in strict physical isolation - online has become the real world.

And while social media when used negatively can spread fear or false information, it can also spread a little hope.

During the initial breakout of the pandemic residents of Wuhan were filmed singing to each other across apartment blocks,

“Keep it up, Wuhan!”

During this time most residents would have been travelling throughout China to see their families for Chinese New Year celebrations, but instead they were forced into quarantine.

In France when lock-down was implemented, residents were holding parties on their balconies and blasted music while shooting lights across to other apartments encouraging the inhabitants to join. Like a whole apartment block balcony party.

I saw footage of this event on Instagram.

Instagram, Snapchat etc. - these apps also let us share a little of our friend’s daily lives even when we can’t be in them physically.

And when we see that they spend the day reading a book and drinking too much wine while watching Netflix - we can relate (maybe?) and feel that we are not so alone in all of this.

Even when we are alone, we are not alone.

There is always someone we can connect to in that other online world.

(although physical hugs are really, really good).

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I can’t deny that 2020 has been an asshole.

But if we really look past all the really shitty shit, can we not find something good that has come from this shit state of the world?

Right now I should be in Thailand with my Mum, having finally celebrated her birthday together for the first time in five years. But instead I am here in Sapporo, writing and reading every day and having small house parties with my friends and drinking a lot of red wine (last night was Black Russian cocktails however!)

Sapporo isn’t exactly my Thailand getaway, but I can’t say I’m not having fun.

This is reality now, so we might as well make what we can from it.

We can also take refuge in the fact that we are not alone in this battle.

So let’s enjoy this rare time that we have… well, time?