2020 has been the most difficult year in recent history – a year of upheavals. The crisis followed by lockdown around the world was very uncertain and beyond one’s wildest dreams. From the unprecedented transformation of organisational functioning to a total or complete shutdown of many businesses and major upheavals in routine life, the repercussions have been harsh. Technological advancements, new market entrants, evolving customer expectations and new business models are some significant changes.

While many of us are privileged enough to have a comfortable home, family, food and reliable internet that contributed to lockdown being a memorable experience for us, many others don't have these luxuries. How can we forget the horrifying views of thousands of migrants walking miles to reach their hometowns with belongings and children on their shoulders? Several of them died on the way due to starvation or exhaustion. There are others who struggled on the health front, both mental and physical.

So, how has 2020 or lockdown been for me?

One thing is probably true for everyone - lockdown has been the longest we have stayed at home in many years. I can divide my experience into three parts - work life, personal life and mental health. Talking about work, as my business was already following an online model, pandemic didn't make much difference to it. The only significant difference is that we shifted from our weekly in-person meetings to virtual meetings on zoom. Further, COVID-19 has forced many businesses to go digital and adopt changes to continue operations when people continue to avoid in-store visits. The rise in the digital transformation of businesses across various sectors has benefitted us. Being a digital marketing agency, we have experienced a huge rise in the number of clients approaching us for website and app solutions or digital services. Needless to say, COVID-19 has helped us achieve our business targets much in advance.

As most of the outdoor activities were inaccessible, I had a lot of time in hand. I utilised this time to brush up my skills and enhance my knowledge. For this, I joined many online courses and even started a YouTube channel. During the lockdown, mental health became as important as physical health and I handled mine by reading books etc. In short, I have enjoyed reconnecting with the space while being at home. I found many nooks and corners to work from at different times of the day and even night!

Not to miss! The pandemic sure has brought out hidden talents - we have seen people enjoying their hobbies with some of them leveraging them as a career. Many new artists, chefs, writers, singers and dancers have emerged during the lockdown. We cannot deny, the pandemic helped us find what we really like to do apart from our work.

My Learnings During 2020

I can divide my learnings into the following categories:

1. Digital is the Future

Technology and IoT are not new terms but the pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital technology. During the lockdown, I devoted a lot of time to get better with my knowledge about the digital world and the potential it holds to lead disruption across sectors. Every time I learned something new online, I shared it with my colleagues.

2. Live the Present

The pandemic has taught a significant lesson to all of us - live in the present and don't try to control time as many things are uncertain like the pandemic. We should make the most out of time in hand rather than cribbing about things not going in our favour. I leveraged the period to learn new things, explore my interests and strengthen my thinking ability by following meditation and exercise routine.

3. Now is the Right Time

Try and keep trying without worrying about the results. There is never the right time to take the first step; it is you who makes the time right by thinking out of the box and pushing boundaries further than your comfort zone permits. We shall not worry about the future. The best we can do is keep experimenting, try different things to explore what works best for us.

Pandemic has taught all of us a lot. These lessons are valuable and we must consider these to work collectively towards creating a better world.

The author is Amol Roy, Founder, Shutter Cast