Good Monday, WFHers. Welcome to week two of working from home. Last week was a bumpy ride, even for those of us who already have this WFH thing kind of figured out.
My usual schedule and routine were upended by the urgency of checking on my 88-year old mom (she’s fine and even went for a drive with her 90-year-old friend who was going stir crazy in her house), making another grocery store run and checking in on family and friends.
Even in normal times, work gets interrupted by little emergencies. Breathe.
I received a lot of response from my column last Monday offering tips for those of you who were thrust into the WHF world with little or no notice. Ben Quick, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club offered this advice, “Get real familiar with how your mobile phone handles multiple calls. If you haven’t tried it before, practice putting calls on hold, switching calls, conference calls, etc.“
Ben mentioned getting familiar with Zoom for virtual meetings and conferences. Other events, such as happy hours and dinner parties are already happening via Zoom. We may be social distancing, but we’re keeping in touch with friends and clients in creative ways.
He disagreed with my suggestion to avoid doing the laundry during the workday, saying that he finds it a nice break between projects. Yes, yes, take a break. I agree with Ben on that. Go for a walk at lunch, get up from your computer, walk into another room and pretend it’s a co-worker’s office and you are headed there for a quick chat. Go do the laundry. I only caution against doing chores that you could not otherwise do if you were at work, because it’s too easy to go down the rabbit hole of distraction.
Another friend and colleague warned to stay out of the kitchen. I am pretty sure by that she meant resist the temptation to eat the whole bag of chocolate chip cookies. Then again, when you think about how many slices of office birthday cakes you will be missing, what’s a chocolate chip cookie or two?
Your kitchen is the new workplace cafeteria, but without the co-mingled aromas of microwaving leftovers and the odor of hard-boiled eggs. Be thankful for this bit of positive news. You may miss your co-workers, but not their strange tastes in food.
How was your first week WFH?
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