A look back at corona time

Communicating and connecting remains key

When the second lockdown started in December, I noticed how much energy digital communication demanded from me. The combination of work and private life, a family with two kids of 1 and 3 years old, meant I had to find that right balance time and again.

I get energy from face-to-face contact and interaction with people. I miss the dynamics of being at the office. Right now it's mostly Teams, Teams, Teams.... Calling and pacing in the attic. A way of communicating that makes it difficult to have and keep a connection with colleagues.  

Before corona time, it was much easier to drop in on colleagues from business or IT. It offered the opportunity to have a brief conversation about personal matters. The power of non-verbal communication during such a conversation (according to studies about 33%) must now mainly take place digitally behind a screen.  

My biggest pitfalls

It is a special period that requires adaptability. The past few months I have mainly experienced what does and doesn't work and what pitfalls occur time after time. Each time I make the decision, at that moment, to do things differently tomorrow. I'd like to share them with you below. Maybe open doors, but very practical tips that work for me.

#1 I stay at work too long, like a "normal" work day.  

Working from home is really different and working all day long is bad for body and mind. I don't get the chance to have lunch or exercise, and working out in the evening seems to be too late a break from the day. That's why the following works for me:  

• Schedule free time. 2x 15 to 20 minutes spread over the day in my calendar. This gives me the stick behind the door to actually do it.
• Setting my smartwatch (Galaxy Watch) to motion notifications and then actually getting off your seat when notified.
• An active competition with remote colleagues (at TeamValue for example. Here we encourage each other to stay fit during corona, for example by using the app Ommetje. Highly recommended and an extra push in the right direction).  
• The sacred fruit and raw food moment in the morning and afternoon with my kids (if I'm in danger of missing that moment, I'm cheerfully reminded of it by my little daughter).  

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#2 The feeling that, at the end of the day, I have accomplished little.

The whole day I have been busy with, in my eyes, quite useful things. But at the end of the day, I still get the feeling that I haven't accomplished much. I've had a lot of meetings, some elaboration time, but the list of work doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. What am I trying to do differently:  

• At the beginning of the day I set two professional or personal goals. Just two goals, nice and clear and achievable. Don't think too hard. If I have to do something at the client's that day, then I put it down, for example, offer a (part of a) document for review or prepare a presentation for the next day. These are ultimately two nice contact moments with a follow-up action at the customer. But completed and of a quality that I am satisfied with.  
• Stop starting, start finishing: When I have too much work to do, nothing gets done. That gives me a bad feeling. So I finish one task first, before tackling something else. If work comes in between, I try to assess it as much as possible in terms of urgency and importance, such as with the Eisenhower matrix.

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#3 Stay 'on' at the end of the day

After a whole day of thinking I notice that sometimes I still have my head with the work and am not really in the 'here and now'. The smartphone is within reach. Very annoying for my partner and children, because we finally have time for each other! What I do to get out of my daily 'work bubble':  

• At the end of the working day I close my computer, take my notepad, take 10 minutes and write down what 'pops up' so I can pick it up the next day. Staring at a paper instead of a screen gives me more peace.

• I put my smartphone away and don't grab it again until after dinner and rituals with the kids.  

#4 Validate, communicate, validate

In my work, listening, summarising and asking follow-up questions are very important. During the course of an assignment, I notice that I have to validate more often, certainly hampered by the digital distance. In this way I try to prevent as much noise or incorrect assumptions as possible. Sometimes it's the smallest nuances that are harder to pick up when working digitally. The so-called 'Back Letter' is key for me: can I properly word the assignment and do I get confirmation from the client in word and deed?  

That starts with:

• Taking on the assignment by being critical of the request, the objective and desired results
• The execution and completion of the assignment by validating whether the delivered product is as expected, e.g. through a presentation, 1-on-1 with the client or by checking with stakeholders. I do this at least twice a week, both formally and informally.  

Enjoying your work

Of course this doesn't always work out, every day is different, but that's okay too! It's not sacred to me, but I do see it as a way or an incentive to get through this period better.  

I try to break through behavioural patterns and look for things that work for me at that moment. I try all kinds of things: cold showers, tabata-breaks, reading interesting books or in between times I put on a podcast (7 Habits, thinking differently about parenting, cold trick, Ben Tiggelaar podcast).  

Even during this period you can enjoy your work. Even if there is a less pleasant assignment. Being busy with new things keeps me sharp and gives me that fresh look. This makes working from home a lot easier for me.  

From these five months I can conclude that I should be able to laugh and put things into perspective. But also to be happy with what I do have. And then it certainly helps to have nice colleagues who support me, with whom I can talk, fool around or exchange ideas.