Seven habits of highly effective Covid-19 survivors

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate, some habits are increasingly becoming embedded into our daily activities.

Experts are still arguing over whether we will ever see a post-Covid world, or if we will have to co-exist with this virus that has so far affected close to four million people worldwide.

Whatever the case, there are some good habits we have developed and crystallised during the pandemic that we must retain. I have identified my own version of ‘Seven Habits of Highly Effective Covid-19 Era Survivors’.

Less handshakes: Prior to the Covid-19 era, it was not uncommon to instinctively shake hands with just about anyone without stopping to wonder if it was really the hygienic thing to do.

Going forward, let us make it a rule that you do not have to shake someone’s hand to acknowledge their presence. A simple wave or my favourite namaste bow should be the new normal.

Cook more, eat at home: Our social media feeds are teeming with wonderful pictures of sumptuous home-made dishes prepared by the self-appointed quarantine chefs.

Everyone is now cooking. Stoves and ovens have been dusted, spices that were unused for months have been used up and supermarkets seem to have run out of mini loaf pans because everyone is baking banana bread.

Mums and their children are bonding over baking and dads are nearly burning down the kitchen (some, not all!).

Interestingly, doctors are saying they are seeing less cases of food poisoning, possibly because people are eating more home-cooked food.

This must never stop. Not to say that you do not indulge once in a while on take-out or dinner at your favourite restaurant, but I think people — especially the so-called middle-class folks — ought to keep this great habit going forward.

More family time: The coronavirus might have its painful moments, but the beautiful side is that families are spending more time together.

Men are at home by 7pm, thanks to the government-issued curfew, and children are seeing their parents more often. There is a high likelihood of family bonds growing stronger.

I hope that after the pandemic families will see the value of spending more time at home, with children, spouses, parents and partners.

Cleanliness: Covid-19 scared all of us into compulsive handwashing and sanitising of surfaces.

Sanitisers are no longer a preserve of hospitals and select public places; they are now in our homes, offices, supermarkets, malls, salons and barbershops, M-Pesa shops… everywhere.

Some county governments have even been sanitising public areas and ensuring sanitisers are within reach.

We have sanitisers in our cars, handbags, laptop bags and on our office desks, and some companies are encouraging staff to carry portable sanitisers attached to their staff badges.

These high hygiene levels are perhaps the most important habits we ought to carry to the post-pandemic world.

Remote working: So you can have a board meeting without taking a 10-hour flight across several continents? Who knew!

Pre-coronavirus, we used to talk about the ‘future of work’, where companies would be run remotely and working from home would be the order of the day.

Guess what? With Covid-19, we are now living the future of work. Tasks that were long-believed could be done only from the office are now being done from home.

It has proven to us that that meeting you attend physically every week can now be a Zoom call, or, better yet, an e-mail.

After this pandemic, we ought to have serious conversations about how we work and if the resources spent on office space, transport and air tickets should be re-purposed for other items.

Online shopping: Coronavirus has taught us that we do not need to leave our homes to get groceries and supplies. This has not only tested the online shopping experience, but also provided some entrepreneurs with key insights on running an online business. It has also launched some careers and businesses.

After the pandemic, let us make it a habit to visit malls and public places only when absolutely necessary, and take advantage of online shopping where it applies.

Compassion: We have in the past several weeks seen a surge in kindness and empathy towards others. Last week, I implored us to take care of the vulnerable.

People have been donating food and non-food stuff to the less fortunate and we have been thinking a lot about those in need, the sick and the bereaved.

Let us keep this heart of kindness and sympathy towards each other.

The writer is the director of the Innovation Centre at Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications. The views expressed in this column are her own;