Unfortunately for most people, this year hasn’t gone the way they planned. While many things don’t always go to plan, they’re not usually turned upside down as they have been in 2020. People’s weddings have been cancelled, university students sent home, and many businesses closed, and people lost their jobs. Coronavirus came out of nowhere and took over the world at a rapid pace. However, one thing it has made many people realise is that life is precious, time is short, and that there are things we could do differently. If there was another global pandemic in a couple of years, what would you do differently? Or perhaps you’re thinking now about what you want to do differently with your life anyway. If COVID-19 hasn’t made you reconsider about your future, then maybe it’s time to start now and to try and turn this global pandemic into something positive.
You Can Save Money
While not everyone is in a position to save money during these uncertain times, many people are still earning the same salary and working from home, meaning they are saving on their commute, take-out coffees, expensive lunches, and socialising. If this is the case for you, then make the most of it and save some money. As many people have lost their jobs, you don’t know if this could happen to you at some point, so save while you can. You never know what is around the corner and as lockdown has given many people time to think and get their affairs in order, saving money is something you can make one of your top priorities.
Mentally Prepare
With more time to think, with local lockdowns and curfews, it’s an excellent time to really think about the future and not just about what you want to do with your future but to think about the future in general. Think about what you would do if there were to be another global pandemic; what would you do differently? Think about what else could happen, and what you would do about it if you are mentally walking it through; it can help you to work out what you might need. Now that you have experience of a global pandemic, use the time you have to think about what you would do if you did find yourself in the hospital with COVID-19. In a similar vein, there are other things that can happen, and this is an excellent time to plan and prepare for illness or personal tragedy. How likely is it in your job or where you live that something like this would occur? Do you have the money for truck accident lawyers if you need them? Do you have house insurance that would cover fire or flood?
Look at your life plan.
If you don’t already have a life plan, then use this time to make one. It’s always best to start a plan at the end and work backward from there, so think about where you would like to be in three to four years’ time and look at where you are now. It’s good to be realistic when doing this, but at the same time, don’t feel you can’t dream. If you want to become a millionaire, then write it down and think about ways in which you can get there. List as many priorities as you can and then narrow them down to five key points.
Once you have these five points, it will help you to focus on what you need to do to get what you want. It should also give you a good idea of how you should grow or develop your career and which direction you want to go in. Perhaps you are already working at a senior level and want to slow things down a little. Perhaps you have a young family, and while you originally thought the most important thing was the money, now you have decided that you actually want to spend more time with them. Perhaps you have decided that the career path you’re on is the wrong one for you, and it’s time to do something to change it. Once you have a life plan in place, you can really start to get a bit more clarity on who or what type of person you want to be.
Upskill or re-skill
If part of your plan is to own your own business, change careers, or progress in the one you’re in, but your experience currently doesn’t reflect this, then use this time of lockdown or working from home to add new skills to your portfolio. There are so many great online courses and webinars that can help you right now, and it’s a great time to work on your future.