Living the COVID Lifestyle

With the spike in Canada's COVID cases, again, we are being asked to consider restricting our movements and possibly even another lockdown. It means that we will pretty much be to ourselves also, working from home if possible and connecting to family and friends remotely. Human contact won't be happening soon. With the exciting announcement of 2 new vaccines comes the despair of realizing that the government will be trying to find a way to distribute it. We shouldn't expect to be vaccinated unless we belong to a high-risk group until the end of 2021. So the COVID lifestyle is for at least another year. So what could that mean?

1. More stress. You will have to learn to do more to reduce stress with the resources that you have. Exercise every day, reach out, call other people, and avoid doom and gloom forecasts on social media. Learn to live with stress, not be surprised by it.

2. More solo play. There was a time that teachers and educators warned parents that "your child would rather play alone than with others." Now that is an asset and a COVID lifestyle preference for children and adults. For some of us, it's business as usual. We will play alone more so than play with others.

3. Live on less. You don't need to spend money to be happy. Look at planting that spring garden, learn to cook a new way, perhaps even give up that extra car.

4. Seek out your paradise. In your home, apartment, or backyard, if you have one, create a place that in itself will give you peace. If available, rural land is a sought after commodity and will continue to be so long after this is over. One trend that will never change is the COVID rush to rural, small-town Canada-with high-speed internet mandatory.

5. You are working on your direct relationships. There is no escape from the home if you are in a lockdown. It will make you want to work on or leave your current relationship in some tragic cases. The COVID lifestyle means you place your close relationships as a top priority realizing how rare it is to find one, but lucky you are to have one.

6. Children need structure and discipline. As I've talked about on numerous occasions and in my book, children thrive when they hear the word "no" from a parent when wanting something. As a parent, you are getting pretty good at saying it now because of COVID. Living the COVID lifestyle means you now feel confident to say no to many other requests that you've always wanted to before COVID. The COVID lifestyle is a time to embrace this new parental empowerment.

7. The second level of investing is more important than ever. With time on our hands, many day traders and millennial fractional trading experts have emerged. Be careful and think of second-level investing, which means you think well beyond the present to future investment possibilities. Learn to understand intrinsic value as never before and the different ways to evaluate risk.

Most importantly, live every day as if it is your last. The COVID lifestyle requires that. Chillax!