There is no question that we have all had to make adjustments during the pandemic that affect every part of our life. It was like a sudden shift where every part of our life and the life of everyone we live with merged, and we had to take on responsibilities we never anticipated. Without warning, we all found ourselves in an entirely new world and while we all likely had the skills and tools to adjust, that certainly wasn’t going to happen overnight.
To remind everyone that nobody is alone in these circumstances, we asked a small panel of SD employees and shareholders to share their experiences both good and bad. As I listened to the townhall the following were the themes that seemed to be consistent:
360-degree communication is critical to managing through this
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We need to communicate with family members that are now sharing our home/work/school space in one location to let them know what we need and what we expect.
- We need to communicate with co-workers when we need additional help or additional time or other adjustments to work hours or meeting times to accommodate this merger of responsibilities that must happen all at the same time
- We need to communicate with clients, so we understand their expectations and let them know we are here for them and that they are important.
Planning is critical to avoiding difficult situations
- Looking ahead to see where adjustments might need to be made will be very important. For example, try not to plan meetings or call during a time when you know you don’t have childcare. Don’t be afraid to talk with other team members to see if they can help reschedule a call or meeting if you know that it will be difficult for you to participate without being distracted or distracting others on the call.
Giving yourself a break
- During this period of time where it seems we cannot escape the worries of all of the things demanding our attention at the same time, make it a point to schedule a time for yourself to do something you enjoy, or find something new to enjoy, and unplug even if it is only for 15 minutes a day.
- Don’t be too critical of the mechanisms you are using to get through the day. If your child is spending more screen time than you would typically allow in order to get things done, remember you are doing the best you can, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
We are all doing our best and it is important to still focus on identifying things that you are grateful for. There were a lot of great ideas shared in the discussion, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your colleagues and talk about difficulties you are encountering.
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