Staying Apart, Together: I last walked through my office a year ago today
I haven't worked in an office in a year.
One year ago today I was attending a training with a group of coworkers, and I distinctly remember that when a coworker I hadn't seen in awhile greeted me, she went in for a hug. I stopped her and stuck out my elbow for a bump instead. The next day I worked from home, and the day after that we were told not to come into the office because someone on staff had been exposed to COVID-19. We have yet to return.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who is looking back on the final days of "normalcy" a year ago, when COVID was scary but not scary at every moment. Reflecting can be good, and we all have a natural desire to mark anniversaries and milestones.
But I don't want to live in the past to the detriment of my mood now. A year seems like an infinitely long time to have been living like this, which can be depressing and sad. So I thought about this anniversary, tweeted about it, but then it was time to move on with my day. If the past year has taught me anything, it's to cling to a good mood if I'm lucky enough to get one.
Do you have thoughts on the COVID one-year anniversary? Send them to stayingaparttogether@usatoday.com and I might include them in a future newsletter.
At last: Guidance for vaccinated people
If you don't already have dozens of reasons to get a COVID-19 vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are giving you one: maskless gatherings with fully vaccinated people!
The CDC released guidelines Monday designed to ease restrictions for Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, my colleague Adrianna Rodriguez writes.
The agency’s guidance says those who are fully vaccinated may get together with other fully vaccinated individuals in small groups inside their homes without masks or physical distancing. They can also visit with unvaccinated people from one other household who are at low risk for severe disease.
“You can visit your grandparents if you’ve been vaccinated and they have been, too,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a White House briefing Monday. “If grandparents have been vaccinated, they can visit their daughter and her family even if they have not been vaccinated, so long as the daughter and her family are not at risk for severe disease.”
You can read Adrianna's full story here.
How to combat pandemic fatigue in the meantime
Until everyone can get a vaccine, it's still important to stay safe. Unfortunately, our early quarantine motivation to bake sourdough and learn to knit has stagnated, leaving some of us less energized to continue taking precautions.
Contributors Emily Balcetis and Dennis Aronov explain what professionals are calling pandemic fatigue.
We're tired of our “new normal” and — to a dangerous extent — exhausted from the constant anxiety.
And pandemic fatigue is contributing to the decline in the use of personal safety precautions. A study published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association found in April 2020 80% of people stayed at home except for essential reasons, but by November only 40% did so. The researchers noted that such declines in mitigation efforts appeared in every single U.S. region tested.
Here's how to combat it:
- Stop looking back on the past because that is no longer going to motivate. Avoid counting up the number of days it has been since you’ve seen your friends or family. At this point, that number likely is very large and may not help you find the resolve to continue on.
- Set smaller goals to stay energized. Set a goal for one month to engage in something that could increase health and happiness.
- Tempt yourself with short-term rewards. Immediate rewards are key to sustaining long-term goals. Especially now, we might find the strength to carry on by choosing safe courses of action that simultaneously help us feel good in the moment.
To read more, click here.
Today's reads
- The pandemic has been all sorts of bad, but these are the things we'll miss when things are back to normal, from comfy clothes to more time with pets.
- Want to take a trip to Wakanda? A new collection of short stories from Black authors will transport you to the fictional African country through text.
- Here's how to plan the perfect in-state road trip during COVID-19.
- We have officially entered tax season. Have questions about stimulus checks or PUA payments? This tax Q&A story has you covered.
- Wonder what it's like to be in a movie theater during COIVD? Here's what happened when my colleague Patrick Ryan saw 3 movies in 2 days when New York City theaters reopened.
Today's pet
Meet Sam.
"I thought I’d share my couch potato cat Sam with you all," writes Kimberly Helgeson in Pennsylvania. "Hoping you’ll agree he’s pretty comfortable."
Thanks for reading! My colleague Sara Moniuszko will be guest-starring as the writer for the newsletter this Saturday. I hope you all enjoy hearing from her this weekend. And remember you can send pet photos, coping tips, TV thoughts and anything else to stayingaparttogether@usatoday.com.
All my very best,
Kelly Lawler