The end of the second week of being a remote worker has come. It’s been the first full week.
It’s been strange. The whole family being at home all the time. The children know things aren’t normal. My eldest knows there is this “bug” which is going around and we need to make sure we wash our hands etc. and is generally getting on with things. She has her own little school space and gets on with some educational things. My youngest (3 yrs) knows he as to wash his hands, and is a bit confused why he’s not going to preschool and being able to see grandparents and cousins. He obviously knows something isn’t right as I’m at home all the time, which is not normal. They seem to be coping ok though.
Work has been productive and looking at the stats the teams are still being productive. I know a number of my friends and collegues “are over wfh” full time already but I fear this is just the beginning.
I am trying to keep active and I’m very glad I have a treadmill in the garage so have been able to go for a run most days. Not far, 3 or 4 km in about 30 mins, but enough to keep active. As an athmatic I feel I need to keep pushing myself as I can then start to tell if my breathing starts to become impaired.
I’m lucky in the sense that I have space in my house to escape and the kids have the space to run around in the garden so they’re not going completely crazy. I can only imagine how people are feeling being stuck inside a flat without any outdoor space. That must be so hard!
It’s very easy to become distracted, especially with what is going on and the kids interrupting my day, but I’m trying to reduce the interruptions and still getting on with things which is good.
I have however started to feel a bit isolated this week. My current project is across multiple teams but I am the only one in my team on it. Now the other people on the project are really good and supportive yet I’ve still felt a bit isolated. I’ve been on the project a long time, and thats not nessessarily a bad thing, but when I’m in the office I get to have conversations about other things, other projects and generally get involved in other conversations as well. This is what I am missing.
Hopefully as people get more climatised to the situation there will be more “pop up” meeting discussions and people will be more inclined to “jump on a call for 5 mins” to discuss an issue or idea.
On the upside we had our first virtual pub quiz on Monday and was really fun. Looking forward to the next one. I would strongly recommend a virtual pub quiz, or a daily break or lunch time video call with your collegues. It really helps seeing peoples faces during this challenging time.
As for the coming week, I have some ideas on items I can try to keep focused and keep positive, which I am going to try. I am also going to keep exercising as this is really helping me. It’s good to escape from the world, or at least the best you can during this time, and spending 30 ish mins on a treadmill watching some Disc Golf coverage or tv show is beneficial. Although I did hurt my ankle yesterday so after a rest day I am hoping I can get back on the treadmill on Monday.
Anyway, hoping the weather holds out today so we can have a bbq later. Let’s see how that goes!
Keep safe!