I wanted to discuss this topic because this is a conversation I’ve been having a lot in all avenues of my life — with my best friends, my coworkers, my sisters, the strangers in line at the store: are you more of a homebody after the pandemic?

Before the pandemic, I was pretty much out of my apartment from 8am to 8pm. I lived my life on-the-go. I commuted, worked eight or nine hours, and then, most days, had plans after — whether it was a group fitness class, happy hour with friends, a date, or networking event. It was a rare day when I went directly home after work and spent the rest of the evening there. And, I traveled often — both for work and pleasure — often spending three or four weekends in a row out of town.

Then, March 2020 happened.

And we all know how that went.

I was suddenly home all. the. time.

And, it was a huge disruption to my routine — which is one of the reasons why I think the pandemic was so mentally challenging in those early, dark days. (Not to mention the isolation, fear of getting sick, worry for my loved ones and our essential workers, an economy in free fall.)

But once I got in the swing of my new, home-centric life that was forced upon all of us during the month of war — dare I say — I actually quite enjoyed it. It was nice to settle into a slower pace of life, with more meals cooked at home, more television binge watches, and more lazy weekend mornings with nowhere to be by a particular time.

At first, I wondered if a bit of Stockholm syndrome was at play, but as time marched on, it became abundantly clear: I’m a bona fide homebody now. 

Nowadays, I never make social plans on Mondays, and you’d be hard pressed to find me with an after-work activity on Tuesday or Wednesday. Sure, I still exercise once I log off for the day — but I do it on my time, and am not at the mercy of the local Soul Cycle or Orangetheory schedule. It’s been a great practice of following my intuition — doing whatever feels good for me that particular day instead of blindly following calendar holds for classes I made weeks in advance. 

In hindsight, I truly don’t know how I kept up the schedule that I did — I’m exhausted by plans just one night a week after work now, let alone multiple. While I love being social and still have a great community around me, my social battery just dies much quicker than it did before.

Granted, I was 29 when the pandemic started, and I’m 32 now. Age could be a contributing factor for this shift, as I know from the wide breadth of memes on the topic that it’s common to stay in more in your 30s and — speaking from personal experience — be more impacted by what even a singular glass of wine can do to one’s sleep as you get older. But, as Covid did with many things, I think it changed the trajectory of my life forever in this regard. Inertia is a powerful force, and before the world shut down, I was an object in motion.

Now, I’m content being an object at home — most of the time, anyway.

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POSTSCRIPTS —

+ I loved this article from The Washington Post about why new furniture doesn’t last very long. I have three vintage dressers in my home, and they are all so well made compared to furniture I’ve bought from big box chains today. If you’re shopping for furniture, I can’t recommend going the second-hand route, whether by browsing places like Etsy or Chairish, Facebook Marketplace, or your local thrift stops. I’ve found the quality and price — even if it’s more of an investment upfront — to be better in the long run.

+ Now that we’re back in the office about half the time, I’ve been on the search for the perfect work bag that can not only carry my laptop, but can easily slide onto my carry-on so it’s easy to travel with. Once I found the Beis Work Tote in Cognac Croc, I’ve never pressed order on something so fast. It’s the perfect size, easily slides over the handles of my carry-on, and is so stunning. Plus, I love that it’s neutral enough to go with pretty much every outfit.

+ One of my favorite TikTok follows as of late is Kelsey — she’s 23 and asked for a New York Times Sunday subscription for her birthday and breaks down articles she reads in the paper on her account, with the goal of getting Gen Z interested in reading print media and increasing media literacy. It’s extremely well done, and has increased my own desire to be better about reading print media.