Why I’ll miss life under lockdown

Photography by Bruce Mars on Unsplash

With the national conversation shifting towards how and when Britain will exit its state of lockdown, Matt Cross reflects on this period with fondness – and an ounce of guilt.

Like many Britons, I watched the PM’s televised address to the nation wide-eyed and slack-jawed as the swingeing new restrictions to our daily lives were laid out to us. Yet, once the initial shock feeling of “wow, did that just happen” passed, I was – guiltily – quite excited.

In a world where it can feel hard to make time for yourself, suddenly we were bathed in it. The hour and a half of my day I normally sacrifice to commuting was mine to spend as I please. The pressure to go out and be social when you don’t quite feel up to it was now legally forbidden. I blew the dust off books I had failed to finish, took up creative hobbies such as knitting and scrapbooking, and diversified my usual repertoire of evening meals by injecting in more wholesome, homemade recipes. The money that I used to throw at Transport for London, as well as various restaurants and watering holes, was staying firmly in my pocket, allowing me to liberate items that had been trapped on my Amazon wish list for months. I could almost hear their cries of freedom as I clicked “add to basket”.

For many, though, life in quarantine is challenging. Picture, for example, the mayhem for a family of four with two young kids in a two-bedroom flat. At the other extreme, imagine a widowed septuagenarian who depends on the weekly book club and visits from the grandchildren for human interaction, and a much needed dose of serotonin. Indeed, a recent study has shown that living under lockdown has a positive influence on life satisfaction for married couples, and the opposite effect for singles. This binary conclusion is obviously overly simplistic, as many bachelors and bachelorettes wallow in their independence, while, sadly, abusive relationships have been put under increased strain.

Those of us rejoicing in these unusual circumstances should introspect, and ponder what this might say about us. If you’ve relished the time away from your job, are you in the right line of work? If the thought of returning to the office fills you with dread, what does this say about your workplace environment? Perhaps you’re finding great pleasure in exploring new hobbies or picking back up ones you left behind. If so, have you been spending enough time with yourself? 

The answers to these questions are multifaceted, and may not necessarily signal a warning that a change is needed. After all, our happiness is largely governed by how we spend our time and who we spend it with. We don’t get to choose our co-workers in life but we do get to choose our work. If our lockdown companions become our work colleagues from 9 to 5, it is only natural that we would cherish this wonderfully novel set of circumstances. 

This is the situation I find myself in. As a postgraduate student my work ticks on, but now with my bespectacled partner clacking away on a keyboard alongside me. The twice-daily trundle through suburbia on the Metropolitan Line has been dispensed with – along with the bustling pavements, grubby pigeons and £3 meal deals. Breakfasts are more leisurely and evenings more indulgent; Sunday night blues swapped for Sunday night booze.

For those of us lucky enough to be healthy, happy and financially secure, life under lockdown has offered a unique opportunity for reflection, self-care and rejuvenation that I, for one, will dearly miss.