While many of our front-line colleagues are working harder than ever to keep the country safe and afloat, the rest of us are barred from our offices and therefore working from home.

For those of us at home or on reduced hours, the lockdown – while potentially unnerving – offers us an opportunity to think about our future and what we want it to look like.

Obviously, the pandemic will be different for everyone. For some, it will be nothing more than a novelty. For others, however, it marks the end of their career or livelihood as they know it.

Despite the impact the Coronavirus has had on you to date, it’s vital you don’t lose sight of the facts. That is, that you are no less able to think your way through it than you were before it happened.

As history has shown, the effects of a crisis on society are never equally dispersed. As unfair as it seems, some will fare better while for others, it will tip their way of life on its head.

Either way, it’s important we take time to think about what we want our future to look like so we can prepare an actionable plan to achieve it.

To do this, I recommend you think about your future in its entirety rather than simply through the lens of how you will fund it.

When we dissect our lives, we can see there are eight facets (below) that together, make up the human experience:

• Health – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual
• Friends and family
• Personal interests – hobbies or pursuits
• Home or living space
• Education and personal development
• Community or societal involvement
• Business or career
• Income or finances

To cover the bases, it is important we take all eight into consideration when we think about our plan.

The challenge for many will be how to either fit them in when normality has gone out the window or how to fund them if we lose our income.

Although the extent by which we have been impacted by COVID-19 will influence our options, it needn’t be the cause of our demise. Instead, we might have to rethink where we prioritise our efforts and/or the time frame we’re endeavouring to work to.

At the end of the day, the single most important thing we need to do (if we are up against it) is remind ourselves that we are conscious and therefore have the ability to change or improve our situation. If we acknowledge this as our starting position, we will be better equipped to work through our options in order to come up with a plan.  

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