Could it really be 100 days?

Yes, it has been 100 days since we re-set the clock on our work-from-home strategy.

The HMA team made a valiant attempt to return to the office in early June. We had a detailed document outlining the steps we were taking to ensure we were safe in the office, protocols for meeting with clients, how we would handle travel, etc. Hand sanitizer and masks were provided.  We were set.

We gave the team the option of coming in, continuing to work from home or a combination. We made it about eight days and then we saw a spike in positive COVID-19 cases in the restaurants near our office. So back to working from home.

These last 100 days were quite different than the first 100 or so days. When the decision to work from home was first made, we thought it would be temporary. Just a couple weeks and then we’d get back to the office.  I was working from my dining room table, no need to invest in a desk, after all we’d be going back to the office pretty soon.  Well, “pretty soon” stretched on and the uncertainty of that was quite taxing on all of us.

And here we are now. Much more at ease with working from home (I did buy a small desk and chair, although I still like working from the dining room table).

There have been a few silver linings over the past few months:

• Working from home doesn’t have to be my home. I just got back from two weeks in California, working from my sister’s dining room table. We’re already talking about me coming back in November.
• We had a flood at the office. Fortunately, no one was at the office, but quite a bit of property damage.  The insurance company is handling new carpet, tile and painting and quite possibly, new equipment.  We’ve been talking about selling our space so this really might be a good thing.
• I can now be in three places at the same time. Two different Zoom webinars, one on each laptop, and watching a Facebook Live on my cellphone.  I don’t recommend triple-booking as a regular course of action, but every once in a while, it isn’t a bad thing.
• I’ve always been a fan of the handwritten note, but like so many, have relied more on email because it is a lot quicker and easier. My friend Laurie mentioned that since the pandemic, she was writing notes to family and friends and I was reminded how much I enjoyed sending notes, too. Now I try to send a few notes out each week, just to say hello.
• It will never replace face-to-face, but online video chats with family and friends means we are staying connected.
• I’m not a great cook, but I am definitely enjoying it. In fact, I’ve got three new recipes from my sister that’ll be trying soon.

Like all of you, I am eager for this pandemic to be a thing of the past. But until that happens, I’m grateful for the positives.

What about you? Any silver linings you’d like to share?