Picking the Mindset To Match the Pandemic

We choose the mindset we need for a particular situation. We do it instinctively all the time.  We don’t bring the same set of behaviours to buying today’s lunch that we use to buying a house.  We’ve got a whole basket of bundles of decision making processes/social behaviours/action patterns that we switch between.  They are a bit like switching between programs on your computer - you use a word processor to write, a spreadsheet to do sums. 

As I say, this is unconscious most of the time, and generally once we get to adulthood we’ve got most of the mindsets we need sorted out.  I think it is sometimes good to check we are using the right mindset.  It can be helpful to think through whether it's the best tool for the job in hand, and maybe make a few tweaks.  It is pretty rare that we are faced with a situation so totally unprecedented we have to create a new mindset from scratch.

The coronavirus pandemic is such a situation.

It is new to all of us.   The world hasn’t faced a health challenge on this scale since the Spanish Flu just after the First World War.   Its effects are unpredictable.   And they are unpredictable at the international, national, local and personal level.  They only comparable crisis is climate change, but that is moving slowly.   This crisis is moving quickly and changing its nature as it develops.  What other people do affects us individually.  What we do as individuals affects other people.

For big international news I often adopt the stoical mindset.  I am just one person. I will simply have to endure or enjoy whatever happens the best I can.  For things in my personal life I do the opposite.  My life is under my control and how it turns out is down to me.  I neither praise nor blame anyone else for what happens.   

Neither approach fits what we are facing right now.  I think it calls for keeping a close watch on what is happening and responding as best we can.  It’s a combination of reflection and action that is needed.  But there is a bias towards action.  We can’t wait for the perfect strategy to emerge.  But we can’t ignore what is going on either.  

I’ve resolved this down to an action list.  It is a mixture of action and reflection.

• Get hold of and start wearing a face mask when out of the house.  Nobody seems to know if they actually help, but it is more likely that they do than they don’t and it doesn’t seem likely they will do any harm. 

• Wash hands or sanitise them hourly, or when I’ve been anywhere with any conceivable risk.

• Stockpiling.  This has a bad name, but it is basically sensible.  We have fired up an old freezer in addition to the one we usually use.   We have filled it with ready meals and easy to cook stuff in case we can’t get out for any reason.  The specific reason we have in mind is all household members being incapable of cooking and/or shopping simultaneously.

• Review political allegiance.  I have generally supported the Labour Party since the 1979 election campaign, though I have voted for the Greens and Lib Dems from time to time.  A crisis of this magnitude is a test of the parties’ abilities to cope and may lead to me rethinking.  So far, the Conservative Party’s handling has made me less rather than more likely to support them in future.  But it is a rapidly changing situation and I keep an open mind.

• Regimenting my time.  This isn’t just a health crisis.  It is going to be a big economic event as well.  There are going to be winners and losers.  I don’t intend to be one of the losers.  I might need to radically change what I am doing to earn a living.  I am making sure I focus on my business solidy for at least 3 hours a day, broken up into 6 half sessions so I can cover a wide range of activities.

• Keep in touch with people.  I don’t want to become isolated.  Google Hangouts is already my friend.  Zoom should probably become my friend too.  I will aim to talk to someone at least every other day.  

• Observe what other people are doing and thinking.  It is important to be as close to the pulse as possible.  Keep an eye on Twitter and the media - but don't spend too much time on either.  Ask everyone I get a chance to speak to what they are doing and how they are coping.

• Keep an eye on the scientific literature.  The mainstream press is certain to be misrepresenting it.  The briefings from the Royal Society of Biology are mandatory.  Also follow up any stories that look signficant from the media - but check the facts before accepting anything.

Let's see where this thing takes us.  Pandemics have not been common, but who knows what the future will bring on a hot, crowded planet.  We might all have to develop a Pandemic Mindset.