Whether you’re in your second, third, or nth lockdown by now, the ongoing pandemic has left most of us feeling stressed and tired of life. It can feel extra challenging to summon the motivation to get through each day with no clear end in sight.

If you’re feeling this way, too, it might mean you’re stuck in a pandemic rut. Here are some tell-tale signs:

• You are stressed and overwhelmed with your responsibilities, whether they’re related to work or another part of your life.
• You’ve abandoned some or all of your healthy routines.
• You find it hard to look forward to most things.
• The days seem to blur together.
• You feel like you’re running out of time while the pressure to do something with your life keeps building. …

The COVID-19 pandemic was the earthquake that shook the ground beneath our feet for months on end. It disrupted our lives in ways that most of us have never experienced before, destroying entire institutions and ways of thinking, while simultaneously giving new ones the chance to flourish.

In all likelihood, we will feel the aftershocks for the rest of our lives.

There are a lot of names for everything we just went through: The Great Pause of 2020, The Year of the Cough, The New Normal, to name a few. Whatever you want to call it, this past year has changed absolutely everything. Virus and health crisis aside, the pandemic has had a knock-on effect on other parts of like including our politics, economy and social issues. …

At the start of the pandemic, I thought to myself: “Wow, even though life sucks right now, I’m going to save a ton of money since everything is closed.”

Sadly, my bank account would prove otherwise.

That’s not to say I regret all my lockdown purchases. In fact, this Hydro Flask I spent $150 and 18 hours bedazzling is one of my proudest lifetime achievements:

Webinars have been all the rage since the cancellation of most in-person events. The chance to learn from the comfort of our own homes is one of the few perks of this pandemic, so I’ve tried to take advantage of it as much as possible for the sake of my own marketing career.

Recently, I attended a webinar run by the OK Mentor program that left me feeling especially inspired. The session included a panel of three women, all sharing practical advice for those entering the creative industry. …

It took me four whole years to realize that my career wasn’t going in the direction I wanted it to. Sure, there were little signs here and there pointing towards something not being quite right, but for the most part, these were ignored.

The problem was, I didn’t know where else to turn. My jobs always had decent perks and kept me busy enough to not justify looking sideways or backwards for other opportunities. Straight ahead and up the corporate ladder was the only direction I thought I could go.

Despite four years of trying (and failing) to make office jobs work for me, this year I finally reached my breaking point. I realized that dream careers don’t plop down in front of you unless you go looking for them, so that’s exactly what I’ve been doing these last few months. Although it takes a lot of perseverance and soul searching to uncover new career paths, trust me when I say it is well worth the effort. …

Growing up, I always had a little side hustle in me. Yep, I was that kindergartener who sold papier-mâché hats and beaded bracelets to fellow six-year-olds. With fake money, of course.

Now that I’m in my 20s, not much has changed, not even my obsession with arts and crafts projects, although these days I prefer real money as payment. Sadly, the idea of making additional income alongside a day job excites me more than I care to admit. Especi ally if that additional income is earned passively while I sleep, or if it could one day replace my day job. …

I’ll never forget how many hermit crabs we saw in Atlantic City. We visited this beach casino town once when I was ten, as part of a family vacation. Along the city’s seemingly never-ending boardwalk, we walked past tens of small beach shops selling hermit crabs as pets. I begged my mother go inside one of them so we could take a closer look. All the crabs had such colorfully painted shells, I thought they were so beautiful. Naturally, I asked if I could bring one home and promised to take such good care of it. …

A is for Amanda, who was crushed by a panda

B is for Ben, who always drew on himself with a pen

C is for Clara, whose eye got infected from old mascara

D is for Daniel, who was bitten by a Cocker Spaniel

E is for Elise, who kept prank calling the police

F is for Faye, who devoured the entire all-you-can-eat buffet

G is for Garry, who thought the film was too scary

H is for Helen, whose head was hit by a melon

I is for Igor, who refused to do a single chore

J is for Jack, who choked on his afternoon…