Transitioning Well in a Pandemic

November 2020

By: Sam McManus

It’s a crazy thought: around one-in-ten adults in U.S. ages 18-29 have moved due to the coronavirus outbreak.  With the job market turning in a new direction and with all the recent graduates from the spring and summer semesters, you might find yourself trying to transition to a totally new season of life.

But the pandemic has brought about challenges that many people haven’t faced before when moving.  Becoming content in a new city and in a new job is possible, but your transition is going to look a little different than what it might have looked like before the pandemic.  Here are 4 things you can do right now to begin to transition well.

1. Find Community

Now this might be an obvious first thing to do, but this proves to be harder to do than ever before given current circumstances.  Community is essential in any season of your life because with the right people around you grow, gain accountability, and you are pointed back to the person of Christ you need to become.   Who you become in this new season is contingent on the people you surround yourself with.  So how do you find good people when everything seems to be shut down?

Church 

Even though many churches do not have large in-person Sunday gatherings, small groups have started back up and it’s easier than ever to get involved in one.  Find an all guys group or co-ed group today and begin to meet people in your new city.  

Fitness

Many gyms have opened back up and getting involved in one will help you meet people.  I love F3 because it facilitates free male community focused on Christ-centered community…and it’s free!  See if there is an F3 group in your area!

Volunteer

Find a serve team at a church and go all in.  I recently volunteered to help with the parking team at my church doing coronavirus testing in the parking lot and this was a great way to meet people I had never met before.  You may also consider volunteering at local nonprofits to discover the needs of your new city and meet a wider range of people.

2. Get in a Routine

With working from home and not having a ton of things to do in your new town, it’s easy to want to roll out of bed and do whatever you feel like throughout the day.  Getting in a routine will drastically advance your overall health and help you stay on top of yourself as you transition.

Wake up (early) at the same time each day, plan time to spend with the Lord each morning, and build exercise into your routine.  Eat meals at the same time each day and plan time to call friends and grab meals with new people you’re meeting.  Remember, what you focus on grows; if you focus on building good habits now, you could reap residual benefits over your lifetime.

3. Work Well

Gym shorts and Zoom meetings probably weren’t exactly what you had in mind when you accepted your new role at your new company.   Even though working might look different, it’s important that you still engage in your job and grow in your career.  Humans are designed to work and the more things you can do to connect to your original design, the more fulfilled you will find yourself during this transition.  You have an incredible opportunity right now to focus undistractedly on your roles and grow in your profession.  Grab virtual coffee with your coworkers, watch extra training videos, and learn as much as you can during this season.  You never know what kinds of things you need to learn now that will help you in the next stage in your life!

4. Set Goals for Yourself

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision the people perish.”  You want to thrive in this new season, so you need to set some vision for your life.  Create weekly, monthly, and yearly goals for yourself.  I personally think starting over your life in the midst of the pandemic is a big blessing; you get to focus more on who you want to become and work with minimal distraction to achieve the best version of yourself.

Set a checklist for yourself each day and write your long-term goals down and post them where you spend the most time.  Memorizing scripture verses or becoming debt free are great goals to set for yourself.  Physical goals are great too; I recently did a challenge with a friend to do 1,000 air squats in one week.  Get creative with your goals and get one step closer to the person you want to be and who God needs you to be.

In a time where a lot of things seem out of control and unpredictable, focus on controlling the controllables.  How incredible would it be if 10 years from now you could trace back habits in your life to beginning during this transitioning season you’re in right now?  Though it might be unusual, you have an incredible opportunity to radically transform your life by pursuing what really matters.