Good Morning everyone, hope you are all well
I returned to work this week after my nine-week hiatus and may I add, I’m glad to be back!
During my time away I can say that my new roles included Cleaner, Head Chef, Painter and Decorator, Joiner, Iron monger, Landscape gardener, Head Teacher, Fitness coach, Dance teachers assistant, Songwriter, Dog walker and an Asda Home delivery driver. I would like to say that I had a chilled out nine weeks but I would be lying.
Actually, I needed to be busy. I needed to stay in a routine and have purpose. So, I’m grateful to my wife, who was continuing to work at home as a social worker for the local council and my three daughters for finding me a million jobs to do and supporting me in being a house husband and Dad.
So, what have I learnt over the past nine weeks,
· A little Italian and about the same in Spanish.
· I miss football on TV.
· How to braid hair and make friendship bracelets (same method).
· Completed a few Audible Books.
· I miss family and friends and BBQ’s.
· My top visited website has changed to Sky news.
· My Wife, Kids and I enjoy each other’s company.
Don’t get me wrong… I really enjoyed some of it. The weather was amazing, eating meals together as a family and sometimes at eight o’clock, as not needing to be at a certain place at a certain time, no dance classes, no events, no horrible commutes on the M60. But equally there are things I didn’t like.
So back to work this week and hopefully this will start to Answer some of my questions from over the past nine weeks.
· What does the new normal look like?
· How busy will it be?
· Being a social person, how will I cope working in isolation?
· Will there be any face to face meeting this year?
· Are customers in the buying cycle for my team’s products and services?
· What do we need to do to adapt?
· What new skills do I need to learn?
Given I have only been back two days I don’t have all the answers but what I do know is that for the foreseeable, my new normal is working from home in my office with the easiest commute to work I have ever had. Microsoft Teams will be my gateway for personal interaction and engaging with my colleagues and hopefully customers and partners, Prospects and friends and family, So first job was to have my teams backgrounds created.. (always on brand).
The coming weeks will be Very interesting and I’m ready for the challenge.
I need to thank my Directors for their support over the past nine weeks.
I hope everyone continues to stay safe and I really hope to see you very soon.
Take care
MB