Lockdown days during a pandemic are different for different people. For some, it is an opportunity to better themselves. For others, it is far more difficult. I had a very hard time motivating myself to get up early and work on my summer activities. The sense of time was lost and the work that was needed to be done always seemed like it could be done later. Procrastination became my best friend and I would find no concrete accomplishment at the end of each day. My daily routine mostly involved killing time and watching TV. This was clearly not working. Talking to a lot of my friends, I found that they too were in the same boat. It absolutely needed to be fixed. I decided to start planning my day in a way so that I had something new to learn every day. 

Patience is the key. In today’s world of instant gratification, we seemed to have forgotten how to take time to develop something. An accomplishment that may take days or weeks or months. 

I decide to grow some herbs in our backyard. I took some tips from my mom since my past records were disappointing. Out of excitement and eagerness for quick results, I would always water the plants excessively and they would eventually die. I was patient this time. I wanted to get it right. I learned:

  1. Soaked seeds performed better. I tried experimenting with seeds that were soaked overnight. These showed much better results compared to the dry seeds from the packet. 
  2. Too much water is harmful. A spray bottle works very well when watering herb plants
  3. Sunlight is very important but one needs to be smart about it. Excessive direct sunlight does not help. If you have a South facing backyard then if you place the pots behind a glass window you can ensure good indirect sunlight throughout the day. 
  4. Focus on aesthetics. A regular recycled jug may work just as well for potting. But I decided to use mud pots. I decorated them too. It made my experience more fun and I looked forward to it daily.

The biggest lesson I learned was patience. It takes time and effort to achieve good results. And that can happen only through patience.