The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how the world functions forever. It’s a well-known fact that many have come to realize and digest during these quarantined times. People have had a lot of time to think while they’ve been cooped up in their houses. 

I think it’s not all gloom and sadness though, when we look at what has changed in work culture since the pandemic started. 

Remote work has always been a reality since the Internet took hold on the world. People have been working from home for over a decade now, but it’s only been something that’s kind of niche amongst certain industries. 

Before the pandemic, many people would see working from home as not having a “real job.” A perfect example of this is the role of content creators. These are people who stream on Twitch or make videos on YouTube or TikTok. The notion was that these people don’t have real jobs, they just stay home and goof around. 

This stereotype of working at home has since flipped. 

Working from home is the norm now. People have learned to make their leisure and workspaces the same. For example, you work where you relax and vice versa. It’s a tough mental barrier to get through for some, including myself. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was tough treating where I go to relax, play video games and watch YouTube videos as an area where I have to hunker down and get work done. It felt like the one place I got to do all those things got robbed from me, amongst many other aspects of my life robbed by COVID-19. 

Now, I’ve learned how to mentally balance when I work and when I relax here at my setup. I have a system of my own that I use to answer and send emails efficiently as well get work done on a timely, organized manner. I’ve learned new work skills in this time quarantining. 

Additionally, I’ve been able to work on my cooking skills. I’ve learned a bunch of new dishes to cook for my family and myself. I made a lot of dishes for the first time ever in the past year. I also opened myself up to investing in the stock market. I’ve learned a lot about finances, savings and retirement funds, some stuff I probably never would’ve thought of if I didn’t spend as much time as I have this past year in front of my computer screen. 

This is only my personal experience of learning how to better balance my work and leisure life. I’m not one of the many people who have picked up new trades, created new livings for themselves, succeeded in fulfilling their dreams or achieved goals despite all of the obstacles put in front of us in 2020. 

It’s the opportunity to learn these skills that shows the good side of this pandemic. This isn’t to say it hasn’t brought about a lot of bad. We all know that we would rather live in a world without a deadly virus floating about. But it’s these rays of light in periods of darkness that help us get through the rough times and come out on the other side better than we were before going through it.