So many changes are going on right now in the economy. I wonder if we will ever go back to how we used to work anymore. Almost overnight, some skills and jobs become obsolete or close down, and new ones take their place. That got me thinking: How do I better prepare myself to the inevitable changes to the economy, society and life in general? How does one be pandemic-proof?

Some skills that are high leverage in times of COVID:

Remote skills

Ability to communicate, facilitate and convene meetings and conversations over video chat. Remote work will be the new norm, and Zoom had hockey-stick growth over the past month. With video chat being the de facto replacement for meeting rooms, how one conducts discussions will change. You need to be more verbose and expressive, because nuances are harder to detect over video chat. Instructions need to be more explicit and broken down, so that they can follow. You need to know how to hold attention in a new way.

Contactless businesses/work

Work and businesses that can be done contactless and just over the internet, so no meetups, no actual deliveries even. Many indie makers had their SaaS products double or triple in revenue overnight. Whatever you work in, if it doesn’t involve you needing to deliver your work or service face-to-face, then you’re safe. Even if governments close down shops, malls and public transport, you’re likely to be able to continue doing your work or running your business as per usual. So that ecommerce side hustle you were thinking of? Get on that now, because that might become your main hustle.

Being home-body happy

I think it takes a certain type of personality to sustain long weeks and months being at home. But I think this can be learned too. Being home-body happy is a matter of learning how to create a life around the four walls of your house, instead of outside. Previously we never bothered trying because we never needed to. But if a civilsation-crushing meteor comes hurtling down to Earth and you got to hide in underground caves for years, you will find a way. Because that old life is crushed and obliterated for good by the meteor. The only way is forward, underground. Now imagine something similar for us now. The only way forward, is at home. How would you respond then?

To be continued…