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It’s the start of my 10th week in lockdown with strict rules whereby I can only leave my flat to buy food or medication at the nearest shops. All other outdoor activities will be fined heavily.

As mentioned earlier, I’m lucky in that I still have my work and no dependents to look after. Still, sharing a small apartment with my partner does at times cause friction. Sometimes it’s over the smallest thing such as which flavor nachos will we have with our chili beans. Before the physical distancing came into place, it was never a problem because we could go to different shops and sample all sorts of flavours, shapes and sizes. Now we are stuck with only a handful of options ranging from the my favourite with the short ingredient list to the one where E numbers and chemical ingredients which I never heard off dominate the 21 long ingredient list.

I’m not saying that just because a chemical is denoted as an E number that it will cause harm. For example E160c which gave the nachos is beautiful colour, has currently no link to adverse side effect in humans.

What I am talking about is two people coming to the same conclusion and being happy with the outcome. I want fewer ingredients and my partner prefers “the better ones”. So what’s the best way to decide which ones to buy?

After discussing the topic every time we encountered different preferences, I thought a different way forward is needed. Why is there a need for one of us to miss out at all? There must be a way of getting around the topic.

As it so happens, we have another sticking point also. I prefer to cook a big pot so I don’t have to cook from scratch every day whereas my partner prefers to cook fresh every day. Since I’m the one who is the chili chef in our household, I choose the big pot. Yes, I like chili a lot and could eat it (nearly) every day. As a result, we generally end up with two days worth of beany goodness and this is where the solution lies.

Ultimately, I suggested each time we have chili, we get one pack each – I get mine and he gets his – and we have half a pack of our own choice on the first day and the second half of our own choice on the second day. Solved! This is called dovetailing: finding a solution whereby everyone gets what they want without negatively impacting those around.

I’ve used this technique for about 20 years now ever since I came across it in the book “Getting to yes” and it works small wonders. The trick to it though is to understand what each party wants and I mean really wants. Not what people say they want but what they really really want.

My suggestion is you go and try it out in an area where it doesn’t matter much just so you get some experience with it before you move on to using it with your boss or your loved ones. Where do you think you can use dovetailing as a technique to get your way and letting everyone else get their way? Do share in the comments below on what you are planning to do or how it turned out.

Remember: Keep washing your hands, keep distance and keep looking for ways so that everyone gets what they want.

Everyone is saying it and I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times already: the small actions which currently matter the most are to wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face and physically distance yourself. Yes, physical distancing is the name of the game and it’s working. Just look at Italy’s and Spain’s figures. The Wuhan province of China is even opening up again – albeit under some constraints.

Personally, I can’t wait to be allowed out for my daily morning run. I’ve been in my small apartment for over a month now and yes, I’m as stir-crazy as everyone else. What’s worse, I feel as if I’ve run out of things to do which don’t bother my downstairs neighbors. My neighbors are lovely and I want to stay on good terms so I won’t be jumping rope, or jump for any reason whatsoever.

Having said all of that (and stopping the whining for a moment), I’m one of the lucky people who have a job which allows me to continue working from home. I say lucky because not only does it provide me with income but it also gives me something to do. Having something to focus on and to complete every day really helps me to get through the very long lockdown days. Time flies when focusing on doing the job at hand and especially when I focus on doing the best job I possibly can.

What’s important to me about doing the best job I can is the fact that not only does it benefit the people around me (first and foremost my boss) but it also benefits me. Yes, by helping others around me, I get to know them better and build stronger relationships with them. I also learn more about how my organisation operates which can only be a good thing in the long run. Most importantly, I’m increasing my skillset by doing more than my day to day job and getting feedback and input on how to approach new tasks. I learn as I go along, show up well and get a reputation for being a good team member, a good project manager and a good leader. When was the last time an opportunity like this was handed to you?

Let me be clear: I am not calling the pandemic a good thing and I am looking forward to a more normal life again. Given the situation though, I am making the best of it and try to use the time wisely. I know that if your situation is different e.g. you have to look after your kids at the same time as appearing professional in a video conference call, then it will take a strain on you. If you have lost your job and your income, it will stress you out.

What I am saying though is that by focusing on what you can control in that situation, it will be easier to deal with it and it may provide you with opportunities in the long run.

That’s why I encourage you to go and do the best job you can and offer others your help if you have a job and as a result, learn something new. If you are out of a job right now, take it as an opportunity to learn something new and upskill yourself. Normality will come around soon enough and any time investment now will pay, no matter how small off in the future.

If you don’t fancy a standard 9 to 5 job or want to change career or always fancied knowing more about some exciting niche topic but you haven’t found out what it is, well, then find out what you actually want to do with the rest of your life and take action. This may lead you to take a course that gets you started on this journey. Or you could contact an expert in the field to get an insight into this field. Or you could read Wikipedia or a book on the topic. Or you can do this at work, through your hobby, through volunteering or via the many (often free) learning platforms that are out there. Whatever takes your fancy, do the best you can to get you a step closer to your goal.

All of this may sound like a lot of hard work, yes, it is but it is also a lot of fun.

Remember: Focusing on doing the best job you can ultimately makes you a better person. It also makes you happier because you get to know more people, it increases your self confidence because you know you are good at what you do and it gets you talking to more people which helps in dealing with physical distancing. It also makes you more valuable on the job market, better skilled at dealing with a wider variety of situations and more resilient.

Most importantly: it makes time pass faster and in a more interesting way and more enjoyably…. And it keeps your hand out of your face!

So, go, wash your hands and do the best you can on every task!

I haven’t written in 12 months and have no good reason or even excuse for it. There were times when I sat down and started but didn’t follow through. Mostly though, I let it sit and slide. Why? I don’t know.

All I know is that every other real goal I ever had, I achieved. For example, I wanted to run a marathon and last year, I did. It took me 6 months and I did it. I got up at 4am one fine Sunday morning and ran the 42.195km for my sport watch to register the full distance. Actually, I ran 42.5km because I couldn’t remember the needed distance at this point of my run and I was pretty sure it was less than that. Better safe than sorry! And you know what? 6 months later I ran a second marathon, this time I participated in an official city marathon with an official time.

I always wanted to run a marathon – just because I can. After all, other people run marathons and if you watch famous city marathons on television e.g. New York, Boston, London, Tokyo, Berlin, … you’ll notice a lot of novice runners who put mind over matter and I wanted to be one of them.

You may think that training to get ready for a marathon takes a lot of commitment or a lot of time. Having trained twice, I tend to disagree. The plan I used to get marathon fit set out running four times a week and most of the time for only 40 minutes. This is less time than many people spend at the gym! I never ran more than 5 hours a week in total and I was happy to adjust the plan to whatever happened in my life. At the faintest idea of a cold, I’d take a day off “due to illness” or I’d postpone my “long” Saturday run because I had a drink or two on Friday evening. After all, I’m only human.

Instead of hard training sessions or super human commitment, all it took was consistency. Consistency in showing up and giving it a good go.

Once I really set my eyes on achieving the marathon goal, I stuck with the plan consistently. The training plan was easy enough to follow in the first few weeks and that easing into the schedule was enough to get me running consistently 4 times a week. Once the habit was established, the training got a little harder each time. There were no big changes, only minor increases in speed or endurance. My fitness had increased at each point, so that physically, I didn’t even notice the change too much.

The main challenge for me was to consistently think of the increase in intensity in positive terms. I told myself that the increased effort levels are good for me which allowed me to consistently give my best at every session. I continued to train consistently 4 times a week and ultimately, I achieved my goal.

My goal right now is to do what I started last year and note down small action which I can take to make the world around me a little bit better. I want to be able to truthfully say that I did my best in looking after myself, my friends and the environment around me.

Consistency is a great tool which will get me there. Thinking about just one small action a week is achievable on an ongoing basis and working four times a week on it is most certainly achievable too.

Now, your turn. What one thing will you change to achieve your dreams?