My lockdown experience

The Coronavirus disease was observed in 2019 and abbreviated by WHO as COVID-19. It is a viral infectious disease and to control the spread of the disease the various government of the world introduced the lockdown for various countries and cities. Lockdown is an emergency protocol for preventing movement of people from a given area. It is a mass quarantine or stay-at-home protocol. To effectively manage the present lockdown situation, I adopted some basic strategies to surmount the lockdown effect. These strategies are captured under the headings below. 

Managing stress and anxiety: 

Stress is any change that requires an adjustment or response. Stress is a natural part of life. The management of stress is paramount for effective survival of the lockdown. The impact of unresolved or ongoing stress can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is the feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. To overcome stress and its impact on me during this lockdown, I usually take a gentle walk around the campus, good rest, discussions with friends and family through social media and phone calls, watch comedies and sports, listen to music and interesting programmes, and engage in various social media issues.  

Avoiding distraction: 

Distraction is the act of losing concentration on an activity, person, event, or programme. In this lockdown period, working from home is prominently controlled by one’s ability to avoid or control distractions. The prominent distractions I encountered include social media, movies, music, e-mails, and phone games.  I have tried to manage the situation by adopting an effective time managing strategy, stay positive about the lockdown, and avoid stress-inducing situations as much as possible.   

Staying healthy: 

Health they say is wealth. The act of staying healthy during this lockdown period is necessary for any family, worker, researcher, or student. To stay healthy, I indulge in physical activities such as indoor exercise, talking a walk, improved hygiene, and indulge in basic house chores. Physical activities reduce the risk of overweight or obesity. Besides, to maintain good health, I practise good eating habit, eat more fruits, and take healthy meals.  

Personal experience on loneliness: 

Loneliness is the sadness caused by a lack of company or friends. It is a major health challenge that heightens the risk of mental or physical illness. Loneliness on its own is an epidemic in the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has restricted people to their homes and increased the impacts of loneliness on most people. For me, the normal pattern of life was truncated creating a challenge of fitting into the newfound way of life. Social and emotional support obtained during the lockdown period was grossly insufficient. The possible solutions I adopted include taking a walk, social media, watching movies and sports, charting with friends and family through the various media. 

Relating with supervisors during the lockdown: 

Relating to my supervisors during the lockdown was made easy with the use of MS Teams and e-mails. The usual meetings and responses from my supervisors were not affected by the lockdown.  The major challenge is coping with a furlough programme from the University. I tried to stay positive about the whole situation to overcome it.  

Coping with the new work environment during the lockdown: 

Work from home (also called virtual working) has become a regular practice for all organizations during the lockdown. Students, researchers, and workers only need computers and smartphones with access to data to effectively carry out assigned duties.  In this lockdown period, the home has become the new office. The use of ICT is at a height never imagined.  Software such as zoom, MS Teams, Webex, Skype, WhatsApp, Google duo, and hangouts have become an integral part of most successful organisations. The virtual working environment has enhanced my use of various software it also tends to improve the flexibility of my work time. The major challenge is inaccessibility of the library for some textbooks not online and the halt on laboratory activities.