Ed discusses his experiences in 2020 so far; chatting with us about his return to work after lockdown, managing flexible furlough and maintaining a positive mindset while looking ahead.
This year more than most, we’ve all had to adjust the way we live our lives due to events out of our control. We’ve all been there, standing in a long, socially-distanced queue, waiting for a coffee with our face mask on.
Over the course of the summer, many industries have reopened for business and this means the lucky ones, like me, have returned to work after a lovely, sun-soaked break in our back gardens. To some, this will be a welcome return to having some normality back in their lives, to others it may be a stressful time as they continue to be concerned about their own safety.
Personally, I returned to work full-time at the beginning of June. While this was a welcome change to me, as expected, it did take me a couple of days to adjust back into work mode! For others this may be a shorter or longer period of time; what’s important is remembering that each of us is different and we shouldn’t compare how long it takes us to adjust with how long it takes other people. A few months down the line in September my working hours were altered to 3 days a week in work and 2 days on furlough.
With the ever-changing picture in most aspects of our lives, it’s important we can identify what our biggest challenges are and talk about them. One of my biggest challenges has been adapting to working from home. I spent the first two and a half years of my working life in the office every day from Monday to Friday, so working from home was a huge adjustment for me. I focused my mindset on finding new ways to do things and how to break up my working day, as if I was in the office!
Although we can’t fully control what the world will look like post COVID-19, we can control how we want to think and feel about it. We can keep in mind what’s important to us and shape how we operate.
For me, it’s been a case of regularly checking in with myself and reviewing how I’m feeling about each aspect of my life. If one area is lacking or doesn’t feel great then I try my best to change the way I’m doing things in that area. A big one for me is considering what is and what isn’t within my ‘locus of control’. At Rambutan our ‘locus of control’ is something we often talk about. Essentially, it’s all about being able to recognise that we have the power to control our feelings and reactions to a situation, even when we can’t control the situation itself.
Following a recent Rambutan webinar discussing the topic of regaining control, we created a short video to summarise the key points. If like me, you often feel there is too much going on and your head is spinning a little, it’s well worth taking a few minutes to watch it here.
As David highlights in the video, we all have the ability to remain in control of our feelings and reactions. Why not take some time to see what works for you.
