5 Things the Pandemic Has Made Me Grateful For

I've recently been co-hosting some gratitude sessions at my work, and it's opened my eyes to the things I'm grateful for, even as a bit of a pessimist! 

P.S I don't want this to come across as boastful or ignorant, I'm aware a lot of people have had difficult experiences of the pandemic. As I mentioned, I'm just trying to look at the positives as that seems to help me.

Saving Money - Even though I was part time furloughed, the charity I work for topped up the furlough to 100% so I didn't have any gap in income. Although I struggled to find one, a positive of having to put my social life on pause, was saving money from not being out and about.

Chris - I'm grateful for the time Chris and I had over lockdown, it was great to have someone bringing me drinks and snacks while I was working ;) and also being able to watch things together at lunchtime. We also did a lot of walks with takeaway coffees, which we used to do when we first started dating. Plus, we got engaged over lockdown so Chris can't have found all the extra time with me too bad!

Family - My extended family are spread out quite a bit, so we usually would only get to see them once or twice a year. However, like many people over lockdown, we had weekly quizzes. It was something to look forward to and resulted in many laughs! I did a round recreating iconic film scenes, and my cousin did a round where we had to dress as our assigned nativity characters, under a time limit with items around the house, then we had to guess who was what!

Technology - I'm grateful that I have technology know how, and that I've been able to still catch up with friends and family and attend church virtually without too many problems.

My House (with a garden!) - I've always loved my house, having been in a variety of places since moving out of my parents' house about 10 years ago! We've got plenty of space, and a good size garden. 'Staying Home' is so much easier when you like where you live and have plenty of space! Even though I was a bit jealous of my family for the variety of countryside walks they had access to, the amount of time I've had to spend at home over the last year has certainly made me grateful for where I live.

What has the pandemic made you grateful for? Perhaps you changed something for the better in lockdown, and you've stuck with it?

Photo by Sandie Clarke on Unsplash

My Experience of Furlough

'Furlough' - a word many of us wouldn't be familiar with if you asked this time last year. But now, we've become very familiar with it.

I was part time furloughed in November and December. I worked in the mornings, so I was lucky to have some structure, and something to get me up in the morning. I was also very lucky that the Charity I work for topped up the furlough, so I didn't lose out on any money.

It was quite a mixed experience and it certainly brought on a wide range of emotions (but hey, that's pandemic life for you right?!). Although we were told that the furlough wasn't personal, I did worry that I would be forgotten about, and not needed. My charity also has redundancies coming up, so I did worry that if I could be managed without on furlough, that my job could be more at risk.

I also felt guilty that I had time off, when others were managing childcare and their full working hours. I felt pressure to be making the most of the time, and it felt like a weird situation to be in, and that I wouldn't be in it again, having this much paid time off, but with little going on to be able to do in it...but that was the reason why you were off in the first place!

I do feel it made sense for my workplace to make use of furlough, as a charity who is already trying to save money. People's reactions were interesting, I had a few 'oh I'd love to have some time off' but it's not all it's cracked up to be. It's difficult sometimes to have so much time alone with your thoughts, with few distractions. I also thought, 'Well I'd like to be indispensable' but I had to keep reminding myself it wasn't personal.

What I did with my time

I tried to get out of the house when I could, and I got my steps up most days. This was also before lockdown so I could still meet a friend for a walk. I also tried to focus on my freelance work, and did a few bits for my church, and some friends' businesses. I also tried to have a good sort out of my stuff so I didn't get overwhelmed when I was busier. Due to the time I was furloughed, I was also able to get organised for Christmas. And of course there was plenty of baking and making!

Overall...

Overall, my experience of furlough was ok. As I've said, I realise I'm lucky that I still worked half my hours, that I didn't lose out on any money and I wasn't on furlough for long. It also took away the guilt of sometimes not being as productive at work, I only had a few hours a day to work with, so I got accustomed to being realistic about what I could get done in the time. I also got stricter with my work routine, as I had to finish at a certain time, so I couldn't work any longer.

What do you think about furlough? Have you been on furlough? How did you find it?

Google Nest Review

I have to admit I'd originally turned my nose up at those who kitted their homes out with assisted technology, (why not just turn the lights off yourself?!) but when Spotify decided to offer its premium customers a free google nest, I couldn't resist (after all I do love a good freebie!).

I wouldn't say I have a particular loyalty to Google or Apple, I have an iPad and an iPhone, but I also have a Chromecast and would consider a google laptop. 

I'm not sure I'm using the Nest to it's full advantage, but the main things I've been using it for are a speaker and an alarm. It's been helpful to set an alarm so easily, so I've waking up to the radio.

I really like the speaker, and I've been told it's a 'decent' speaker by a source very close to me ;) It's easy to stream Spotify from the Nest, and of course everything can be done through the voice activation. It's also handy to set a timer in the kitchen when you've already got your hands full.

Chris also made use of the Spotify offer, so we've taken great joy in broadcasting messages to each other from wherever we are in the house. This is what constitutes as fun in lockdown! ;)

One of the few downsides with the Nest is that I can't play podcasts from it. I suppose that's one of the issues of having a mix of Apple and Android devices. For this reason I would give it a 4/5.

The Nest Mini comes in a range of colours, including Chalk, Charcoal, Sky and Coral. Unlike a lot of other speakers, it's not garish and it's compact design makes it fit in to most interiors.

The Nest is certainly on the cheaper side of the assistive technology, so if like me, you're not much of a techy, and just want a decent speaker with some added benefits, definitely consider a Nest.