This weekend last year I was up in the mountains . I remember so well thinking they couldn’t lock people in . What were those rumours? So we went for our weekend adventure . Then Sunday afternoon my father’s call. ‘Where are you?’ ‘On the bus getting home, coming back from a beautiful hike’ ‘you know you shouldn’t be out of the council borders right ?’. And so it began. One year of this different life One year in which our habits have shifted, some for the better some for the worse . Let’s start with bad news getting them out of the way Online shopping Figures from USA showed an increase of 44% in online shopping with Amazon having an increase in profits of cca 200% . A lot uh! And I have to look close to home and say that I have not been immune to the online shopping phenomenon. While I try to limit my shop as much as possible and to support local businesses when possible , when everything is closed and you need something (and at some point you will need something!) then turning to online is the way. Well, I feel myself that even with my minimalistic approach to spending I have become friend with the courier delivery guys (yes guys, not a single woman doing this job here!) While per se this may not seem like terrible news , making economy move a little and couriers work, it is not as simple and easy as that! Ethically is not great I am talking about people here: from those working in the big warehouses where items are stored to courier workers. They are not treated fairly, often have terrible contracts and hold very precarious job positions. And as I recently learnt, in spite of working 12 hours plus shifts they are paid below average! If you haven’t watched it definitely go and see sorry we missed you (no, not a romantic comedy). Recently the north of Italy was affected by a big big strike against job losses by TNT (a large courier) that brought huge delays. I was affected as I was waiting on an important replacement part so I followed it closely , and in the end decided to be supportive of the strike and be patient . And not just this but online shopping booming has led to many retailers filing for bankruptcies: not just your local shop but also big, known, retailers with a huge job loss as a consequence ... How do I see this habit moving into the future ? I hope the phenomena decreases and we would go back to appreciate our local shops . Less and more ethical online shops, not just sustainable from the product choice point of view but holistically (nature , individual, society) sustainable And here, just in time for the good habit The end of (useless) commuting Yes ! While working from home has indeed its ups and downs and it would be nice to work again with people , we have learnt that actually a lot of things can be done remotely - making for an efficient time use. I am a big big big fan of efficiency: it can allow for multiple passions to coexist and a much better work life balance (after one adjusts and learns that being able to get out of bed and into work doesn’t mean one should do that!) . Plus, much lower fuel consumption from long drives , less crowd on public transports . How would I like to see this habit stick moving into the virus free future ? Understand that going into the office shouldn’t be a must , offering the possibility of working from home more , having open spaces for common working in most neighbours (there are plenty of empty spaces around!) maybe some outdoors working areas for when it’s sunny (ooo I miss going to study at the park and accidentally sunburn) These are just two major shifts , but more things have changed around. Can you think of some ? This is the moment to stop and think about our dream world. Perhaps the way to success is visualisation - and if this is the case : let’s visualise our end point and then figure out the best path to get there!
4 Comments
3/8/2021 04:28:37 pm
This is such a great topic for March as we enter year 2 of the pandemic lifestyle. I agree that I hope the phenomena of online shopping settles and we all go back to local shopping, especially breaking the Amazon habit.
Reply
3/9/2021 02:47:11 am
Crazy that's it's been a year!
Reply
Ulla
3/12/2021 05:26:02 pm
It is really crazy it is a year already! I love your approach to visualize a sustainable future together now. For me, a lot of habits has changed and being still in lockdown will continue like onlineshopping. Thank you for the reminder to think about the future we want and start implementing now!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Disclaimer: some posts may contain affiliate links. At no extra costs to you, buying through the link will help me in this blogging journey!
Archives
January 2023
Categories
All
|