How I improved myself in the last 18 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stefan Simbade đź’Ž
5 min readSep 10, 2021

It was an early spring day in March 2020 that everything changed. Suddenly, nothing as it used to be.

As a good citizen, I have followed the rules of the public health authority and isolated myself. My work introduced a remote job policy almost direct in March and allowed anyone to work from home full-time.

At first, I thought this was just something temporary and that everything would go back to normal. But already, after three weeks in home isolation, I began to realize that it would take a long time before we returned to normal.

Until the health authority announced restrictions, I had lived a life according to the motto, “Work hard, play hard.” A lifestyle that has taken me very far in many ways and made me experience a lot. But it is also a lifestyle that has its downsides…. Anyway, this was not something I reflected on before the pandemic. But since I was suddenly sitting at home, I started thinking about who I am, what I have done in my life, and what I want with my life. I want at least want to work until I’m 70, or even longer if possible. Not because I have to but because I think it’s fun to work and I like to do business, meet people and solve problems. But should I be able to continue with my success with my work and be a loving family man for the rest of my life? Probably not with the current lifestyle.

It was then that I decided that I needed to make a few changes in my life. Therefore, I choose to use “these circumstances” as a reason to improve myself.

I didn’t want to reinvent myself, just improve myself with a better lifestyle.

The improvements needed to be simple and implemented into my life because I know that if they get too advanced, I will go back in my old footsteps.

The improvements should be implemented as simple rules that quickly could become a habit in the long term.

  • The first rule I introduced was going to bed every day at 9:30 pm, reading a book for 30 minutes, turning off the light, and sleeping a minimum of seven hours.
  • The second rule I had was eating oatmeal, tea, eggs, and a cheese sandwich each morning. Also known as breakfast for champions.
  • The third rule was that I should run 9.32 mi (15 km) two times per week on my lunch break.
  • The fourth rule I implemented was a more balanced diet with a little less meat, more vegetables, and no semi-finished products.
  • The fifth rule was with the help of LinkedIn to get to a meeting every week with exciting people. The meeting session can be over the phone, via zoom, Skype, or at a nearby cafĂ© outdoors.

Now it has been over a year, and I have followed these rules, and I could probably never guess how this would change me.

The first rule has become such a solid and essential routine for me. Thanks to this, I have read more than 40 books in one year. Usually, I read maybe 5–10 books a year. I have learned so much from reading all these books. For me, who also has dyslexia, this routine has helped me a lot in my everyday life.

Another great thing is I now no longer need an alarm clock to wake up. It feels like my body is rested when I wake up at 5:30 am. I fly out of bed to catch the day, every day!

The second rule was the most challenging part. I have never been a breakfast person. The first week I had to force myself to have breakfast. But after already two weeks, it was much easier to eat. Over time, there was more and more food for breakfast and less food for lunch. As a result, my mood became more balanced and controlled. I became more efficient at work, shortened my lunch break, and did my own private errands at lunch. In addition, I have been able to save a lot of lunch money.

The third rule was not so hard to start with. I have run for many years but usually only run shorter laps and more sporadically. Running 9.32 mi (15 km) twice a week has strengthened my endurance. According to studies, you also get more positive thinking from running, and I have also noticed that. I have been able to solve daily problems while running in the woods. It’s almost like I turn all situations into opportunities while I run. I have started to think very positively during this year. If it’s entirely due to the run, I do not feel. But it has definitely affected my well-being.

The fourth rule has probably changed me the most. I have not eaten fast food in a year. Instead, I have eaten well-cooked food every day. As a result, I have managed to get the whole family to change their diet. We have less craving for sugar now. My wife and I hardly drink alcohol anymore. Not because it was planned, but it’s just the way it has been. I stand in the kitchen for at least one hour a day and cook. Before the pandemic, we ate many semi-finished products, and it was usually dishes with a lot of meat. Today we eat meat a maximum of once a week. Instead, it has become very vegetarian stews and pies. This is the rule of introducing a more balanced diet I am most proud to have followed. It has improved not only my well-being but also my loving family.

The fifth rule. Where should I begin? I have talked to so many interesting people. My contact network has grown, and I have received several attractive job offers and a couple of new friends. With LinkedIn, of all social platforms, I have started a running group for entrepreneurs. We run together, and at the same time, we talk about business opportunities, motivation, and life. A lot of good has come out of this. My life has been highly enriched by this initiative.

These five simple rules I wrote on a paper months ago have proven that everything is really possible if you are open to a change, even under restrictions.

I hope we all come out of this pandemic with hope for life.
We will need it.

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