Last night, Governor Dewine’s stay at home order went into effect. The news made Cleveland look like a ghost town, but I question how many people and cars are typically out at midnight on a Monday… maybe more than I would have imagined. What I can say is that my drive to work seemed fairly average. Maybe everyone was headed to the hospital to work, but the garage wasn’t very full when I pulled in at 7 am. I’m not saying people aren’t following the stay at home order, I think it’s too early to tell. I am nervous that local businesses aren’t taking it seriously as one of the local breweries has started delivering beer to people in their homes. I know they’re trying to keep their business afloat and my hope is that they are taking proper precautions to keep their drivers and the community safe, but the amount of apathy I have witnessed towards the pandemic leaves me feeling a little disgusted and afraid of what is to come.
The cutest coworkers
It is fair to feel like your freedoms are being taken away, but what is the point of having the freedom to come and go and do as you please if you risk no longer being able to share your life with friends and family? I know we’ve all heard the same thing about younger people not having as severe an illness as older or immunocompromised patients, but why risk exposing your loved ones? Last week I asked our baby sitters to stay home for a couple weeks for their own safety as well as the safety of my infant. I go to work every day and risk exposing myself, and have no intention of making this spread more quickly by having additional people in the house. With that decision came some consequences, especially for Shawn who is still working at home but now must balance work and childcare without the help of our sitters. I am trying to leave early as best I can to help out, but that doesn’t work out every day.
Shawn has to present to his colleagues on strategies for staying productive while working from home, since he’s been doing it for the past 3 years. Here are a few of his tips:
The rest of the WFH crew
Wake up at a regular time
Shower and get dressed as if you were headed to the office
Meal prep your lunches (I pack his when I pack my own)
Have a designated space for work and keep it that way
Try to establish reasonable work hours (this has been a struggle as sometimes when you get to be at home you feel obligated to respond after hours because you’re technically still at the office)
Everyone is trying. I wish I could stay home, while most of you are wishing you could be out and about. Nobody wins unless we can flatten the curve and keep our families healthy and safe. Keep trying, and don’t stop moving forward.