CDC Says Hunker Down for 8 Weeks, and the Economy Is in Chaos. We Can Do This.

Like most people, some COVID-19 news items scare the crap out of me. Two examples from yesterday: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending a ban on gatherings of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, and the Federal Reserve, seeking to steady financial markets, cutting interest rates to near zero. 

The latter rattled me because the news will only spread more fear among investors. It signals that the Feds see recession. Global stocks took a hit from the news overnight, making another bad day on Wall Street likely. The CDC news rattled me even more. “How the hell are we going to hunker down like this for 8 weeks?” I thought.

Mood Music:

After a few hours of sleep and some more reading, I’m calmer. Hopefully, this post calms you, too.

Let’s start with the economy: There’s little doubt that we’re in a downturn. But there are myriad signs that we’ll adapt and even make innovations that will benefit economic growth in the long run.

NYC-based financial advisor Joshua M. Brown writes that we’re in for more scary headlines, but that like the alarming words we saw amid 9-11 and the 2008 financial meltdown, we will adapt and move forward. He notes:

Without a doubt, the news will get worse from here. But its ability to shock us will diminish.

Last night, after the governor of my state announced a ban of even midsized gatherings and sitting in restaurants and bars, there were signs of hope. I saw restaurants quickly adapting and making takeout options easier for people. I mentioned one such example yesterday: the Canlis Restaurant in Seattle shutting its dining room but switching gears to food delivery.

Schools are closing en mass, but instead of doing nothing, most are adopting online classroom options. I’m seeing this up close with both my kids at home.

Some areas of the economy are going to suffer more than others, obviously. Restaurant servers, Uber drivers, hotel workers and airline/cruise ship employees are in for a lot of pain. Those of us with the financial means to help should be thinking about what to do.

In many other parts of the economy, however, I see companies quickly shifting their models in ways that will keep them humming along. Microsoft and Google moved their employees to a work-at-home model earlier on. My own company has done the same, and we’ve been able to shift several of our in-person events to virtual without much of a sweat.

In the coming days, weeks and months, we’re all going to learn a lot about what my profession calls business continuity. The lessons will enable us to weather future crises with more ease.

In the meantime, how do we all keep from going mad as we isolate ourselves? Here’s my plan:

Daily walks and drives. We can still go outside as long as we keep our distance from others. I’ll be taking plenty of walks and a few drives to break up the day.

Being the change wherever I can. I’m fortunate to be in the cybersecurity business, which is heavily focused on business continuity and risk management. I’ll be tripling down on producing content to help our clients through this. I’ll also use my social media platforms to share common-sense guidance and shoot down fearmongering, dismissiveness and falsities as much as possible.

Music. I’ll be doing a lot of soul soothing by losing myself in some of my favorite music.

Movies. Our house will need breaks from reality, and we have Netflix, Britbox and Amazon Prime at the ready.

Healthy eating. I’m fortunate in that I dropped 70 pounds before this crisis and adopted healthier eating and exercise habits. As a result, I’m already finding it easier to weather current events. I have more energy and mental bandwidth to do so. These habits will continue.

We can do this. We will do this. Peace and strength be with you all.