Adjusting to the bubble-life

We didn’t choose the bubble life… yet here we all are.  Adjusting to the rigours of working from home, staying connected with our colleagues, and producing work we can be proud of takes extra effort in this new world.  Cathy de Jongh dives into the bubble-life and shares her pearls of wisdom.

This working from a bubble business is all a little strange, and certainly not as simple as just taking your laptop home and getting started.

To begin with, no two bubbles look or feel the same. Some of us are in solo bubbles, while others are locked down with a multitude including grown children, small children, flatmates, extended family, random strangers, and/or pets.  Some of you may have a well-established home office to work from, while others are perched at the kitchen bench.

The makeup of your bubble, and your physical environment, will have an impact on how well you adjust to this new way of working. While some things will be fixed in place – you’re stuck with those grown children for the duration I’m afraid – there are some adjustments you may be able to take on board to make the following few weeks a little easier.

Get to know yourself

It’s important to know what is going to work best for you in this new environment.  What can you to accomplish? What are your limits? What is your preferred work style?  You might like a set routine or, by necessity, you might need to be more flexible. Take your time to get into the groove with what works best.  Be kind to yourself. If you are juggling caring for others, be realistic about how everything will fit together.

It’s not just you

Everyone is grappling with how to live and work in their bubble, including others in your bubble.  Some will find it quite straightforward, while others may be struggling.  I know my son, and my cats, are struggling with having me around the house 24/7!

Take the time to listen and ask your family and your colleagues what works best for them.  Do you need to consider someone else’s preferred workstyle or make allowances for their family arrangements? This is a time for being flexible and compassionate.

Think of it as an experiment

While you’re figuring out what works best, be open to trying things out. Maybe you need to set aside a couple of hours in the morning to be in contact with others, and then do screen work in the afternoon or vice versa?

Your team members will also be experimenting with how they interact with you. Keep talking with them and keep experimenting with ways of working together.  Be prepared to keep adjusting throughout the lockdown.

Work out what gives you energy

Whether you’re an introvert, extrovert or somewhere in between, we all recharge in different ways. Extroverts are often energised by being around other people, while introverts may prefer to recharge by being alone. Living and working in your bubble is likely to be wreaking havoc with how you usually recharge!

Work out strategies for how you best manage this. A stroll at lunchtime, listening to music, chatting to a friend or colleague –whatever works.   Personally, I’m going to encourage everyone in my bubble to embrace an hour of solitude at 3pm every day.  I’ll let you know how that goes…

What really matters right now?

Individually, and as a team, prioritising what work gets done right now is one of the most important things you can do. Don’t be tempted to keep on going with the same work you had on your work programme at the beginning of the year. This is a brave new world and priorities will have certainly shifted.

Consider:

• What might it be appropriate to stop, delay or do differently?
• Where are new priorities emerging?
• What might you need to prepare for?
• Are there strategic projects that will make the most of this time?
• Is there a project that a small team could work together on?
• Is there some learning and development that you and your team could do?

Stay connected, and have some fun!

Collegiality is an important aspect of our work lives. For many of us our close connection with our colleagues is one the best things about where we work.

He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. 

This is an ideal time to make the most of that social connection and built-in support network. Take time to chat about the small stuff, the big stuff and everything in between. Tell dad jokes, share videos and do the daily quiz together. Share a virtual cuppa or a virtual Friday afternoon drink together.

In short, continue to do whatever you normally enjoy doing together, only more deliberately.