James Morley

My Blog: insights on issues impacting brands and businesses today

What now, what next?

What now, what next?



In this unprecedented moment, we all face growing uncertainty of what happens next, and not having all the answers we want or expect at this point is frustrating and difficult.

As we see in our business transformation work with clients all the time, this frustration is perfectly natural – but it’s not where we do our best work, and we need to make sure we don’t get stuck there.

What now?

It is challenging on a personal and professional level to keep focused, productive, and positive. But there have been so many great ideas and suggestions in the past few days for how to adjust to the new routine of working at home.

Some of best tips and suggestions I have seen are:

  • Keep your daily routine – wake up at the usual time, get dressed, take a lunch break, and make sure you close your laptop to keep normal working hours and avoid burnout.
  • Be Brave - Use technology to stay connected with colleagues: Teams – there are lots of ways to make video calls. Turn your webcam on – it makes such a difference to your well-being.
  • Be Social – Video calls aren’t just for work: Just because you can’t actually meet your friend or colleague at your favourite cafe doesn’t mean you can’t chat. Have a virtual lunch together … just make sure you connect.
  • Crowded house – work separately: Give yourself space and respect others who need it to work too.
  • Move: If you can (and are allowed to go outside) … go for a walk. Exercise is really important for mental health as well as for boosting immunity. If you cannot leave your home – use some of the brilliant health and wellness apps out there or take up yoga
  • Take a break: Make sure you are taking regular breaks from your computer – schedule them in fact.
  • Home/office: It is really important to have a practical space to work – table/desk to put your computer on, chair that you can comfortably sit on at the right height.
  • Kids at home?: I don’t have kids and can only imagine how challenging it must be for parents at the moment. There are some great activities to help keep them entertained. @themothershipdxb is a well-known mum blogger and journalist; she is live-streaming reading children’s books on Instagram.






What next? A Smart Working Evolution

With any type of change, we all experience it in different ways and at different stages – it’s never easy, and it’s completely normal to follow the standard change curve.

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We are all thinking ahead to help our teams and friends stay positive and keep focused. As the situation evolves we may move back and forth along this curve.

Right now, the priority should be to help each other adjust to these shifting conditions. To have patience with ourselves and one another, and create space for the different ways we’re processing what’s happening.

Over time, we will adapt and create new routines and ways of doing things. I’m confident we will even find creative solutions and better ways of working. After all, we’ve been practicing cultivating an above-the-line, growth mindset: agile, creative and resilient. This moment is what our work with “the line” is all about. Our new behaviours will feel strange at first but we’ll soon adapt and evolve as professionals and as a team, as a result.

#transformation

#productivitytips

#wellbeingatwork

#employeeengagement