Time for Reflection
Coronavirus. This term has taken dominance in the majority of conversations in the past two months. It has taken its toll all over the world socially, economically, emotionally, and mentally. The effects of the worldwide pandemic have been devastating and something that no one was prepared for. Below you will see I have gathered a range of different perspectives by asking the same questions to people from all different walks of life to see how everyone viewed their lockdown experience.
Living in lockdown – Alone
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? Yes, I have got into better self-care routines, but I haven’t really when it comes to work or university goals.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? It has been confronting and eye-opening to have some quiet time away from the busy everyday world.
What is something you have learned from this experience? I learned that a routine is key to everything.
Have you struggled financially? No, I haven’t as I have spent less money on lifestyle.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? I think they have dealt with it well, but then again I don’t think I’m very qualified to know if they could have done better.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? Hugging my friends.
Living in lockdown – Young family
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? Yes, I have, the lockdown has enabled me to get things done as well as reset and re-evaluate my goals.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? At times, the lockdown was tough mentally as I am a very social person however it’s made my family stronger and far more grateful for our wider family and friends.
What is something you have learned from this experience? To be grateful for what we have and the small things in life like daily walks and quality time with my daughter and partner. Also, to make the most of our time once we get back to normal life.
Have you struggled financially? We have not struggled but we have had to push pause on some of our financial goals. We have also had to scale back on our usual spending.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? I think Jacinda has been a great leader and the face of hope, but I also think that mainstream media put fear into people and do not help. I was disappointed in many ways to see how selfish people become when they start to panic and have found it hard thinking about the families that will go without or struggle mentally and financially over the next year due to COVID.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? I can’t wait to see my friends! And take my daughter out to places again.
Living in lockdown – Essential Worker
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? Yes, I have been able to spend more time on my personal development and expanding my skill set.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? Being able to spend my time in lockdown being productive has been fulfilling and has given me a purpose to ensure I utilise my time as effectively as possible while this situation lasts.
What is something you have learned from this experience? Being physically active is a great way to keep you in the right mindset and teaches you great habits which increase your overall ability to be productive.
Have you struggled financially? While my capacity to save has been diminished by my reduction in income I have been financially responsible for many years which has provided me with a strong financial position to make it through this time without any major complications.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? As a whole, I think the situation has been handled well. I do not agree with all of the policies that have been implemented as in my opinion they were not the most effective method of stimulating the economy. I am in full support of the early move to Level 4 but feel our borders could have been shut before this as we had plenty of warning that this event was going to be a global issue in advance.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? Getting back to my physically active lifestyle and being able to return to a regular routine.
Living in lockdown – Recent First Home Buyer
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? Yes, I have been doing a lot more fitness and it’s given me time to start renovating.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? I think I will feel a little strange in a social setting to start with because I’ve gotten so used to only talking to close friends/family.
What is something you have learned from this experience? You don’t have to buy takeaways 5 times a week.
Have you struggled financially? Nope, if anything I’ve improved.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? I think it has been good.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? Being able to go back to my normal hobbies such as hunting and go duck shooting.
Living in lockdown – Business Owner
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? Yes, I achieved goals around the house and at work that were always on the to-do list, and just had never got done.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? I think the last couple of weeks have been tiring and I’m well in truly ready to get some normality back.
What is something you have learned from this experience? To not take things important in life for granted such as family, health & wealth.
Have you struggled financially? We have managed to be okay as we had reserves set in place. But unfortunately, I think the financial effects are still going to hit home in the coming months.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? I think we have dealt the best we could in the unknown circumstances and done a good job overall.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? Face to face contact with friends and family.
Living in lockdown – Busy bee
Have you achieved goals you don’t think would have been reached without the lockdown? To be honest I can’t say I have really achieved anything during this time. I’m am someone who likes to be on my feet 24/7 and be super busy, but I have really struggled and lacked motivation.
How has this affected you emotionally/mentally? It has been a bit of an emotional battle every day for me. As mentioned before I like to keep myself busy, so having all this spare time has given me a lot of time to marinate in my own thoughts.
What is something you have learned from this experience? I have learned that life can certainly throw curve balls, and you just need to be prepared to move forward because there is no point dwelling on what is out of your control.
Have you struggled financially? I have struggled a bit, I am grateful to still have my job but have taken a pay cut. Which has effected my ability to meet certain financial goals that I had set in place before this.
What is your opinion on New Zealand and how we have dealt with the pandemic? Overall I think New Zealand has really come together and its something we should be proud of.
What is something you are looking forward to the most when being out of lockdown? Social interaction! I cannot wait to have wine and cheese with a bunch of friends.
I wanted to present to you this array of different answers to show you that everyone is struggling one way or another. As we move into Alert Level Two on Thursday, it is a good time to reflect on the past two months and I urge you to answer these questions for yourself for personal reflection. As you can see the majority of people have managed to achieve some area of goals during the lockdown period due to more time on their hands. However, it is important to not be too hard on yourself if you haven’t achieved what you set out to achieve at the beginning. Just because you have had extra time on your hands doesn’t mean your productivity should have skyrocketed. This way of living we have inhabited for the last two months is not normal and it will have taken an adjustment period, some more than others. There is no right or wrong and everyone is walking blindly, taking one step at a time. So be patient and be proud of what you have accomplished no matter how minimal it may be, and remember we all have our different challenges.
Please feel free to complete the questionnaire below yourself.