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Working Remotely – A Week Six Retrospective (Confessions of Inner Jimmy)

Welcome to Blursday my friends!  I knew this point was going to happen eventually.  If I did a retrospective the way I have the past five weeks, this week would be very boring and uninteresting.  For the most part everything is going exceptionally well, or at least as well as can be expected given the circumstances.

This week I’ve decided to do something a little different.  I use my Monday morning walk with the dog to try and arrange everything that happened last week in my head into a good retrospective article. Then, when I get home I sit down, write it and publish it.  However, this morning I couldn’t really recall everything that happened last week, so this morning instead I will give you the “Confessions of Inner Jimmy”.

Things that I’m thankful for:

  • My Family and I are all still healthy and safe. I am extremely grateful that thus far my immediate and extended family are all safe at home and surviving this pandemic.
  • My wife and I are still employed and after to provide for our son. I feel very fortunate that my wife and I are not only still employed but also 100% capable of working from home.
  • I have the ability and means to continue to communicate with friends & family in a virtual capacity. From zoom meetings to face time and discord, we have still been able to interact in a limited capacity.

Things that bring me joy:

  • I’ve been able to experience the changes in my son firsthand. With the three of us being at home every day, I have been able to see my son grow up right before my eyes.  His vocabulary has expanded massively in the past month.  He’s also really learning manners, saying please after he asks for a snack.  Saying thank you when someone gives him something and saying sorry when he runs into one of the dogs.  It’s amazing to watch!
  • Everyday is bring your dog to work day. If there is one major factor that would make me want to continue to work from home indefinitely, it’s this!  The dogs don’t bother me when I’m heads down focusing on work, but instead they sleep near by and it’s a nice reminder that I’m not alone.
  • I’ve started a weekly Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I’ve talked about this one it other threads so it won’t be new to some of you.  I should be playing baseball with friends in an organized league right now.  In the past, we have “never have any free time” to play D&D, well we do now, and we are having a lot of fun!

Questions I don’t have answers to:

  • Will my son have difficulties integrating back into daycare when it reopens? They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.  We have been in lock-down longer than that, and my son moved from the toddler group to the preschool group only 8 days before lock-down started.  I imagine the first little while is going to be hard and I’m not looking forward to that.
  • Will I struggle to go back to the office, or will I opt to try and work from home more regularly? I’m naturally an introverted person.  While I hear others struggling with the fact that they don’t get the see other co-workers or hear the ambient noise in the office, I love not having that noise, and the option to avoid people when I really want to focus on something.
  • Should I be concerned that I’m getting comfortable with this new normal? It scares me to think that I’m becoming accustomed to the way things are.  I know that it won’t stay this way forever, but will I then struggle to adjust to things going back to normal again?

Things that keep me up at night:

  • Did my latest trip to the grocery store put my family at risk of contracting COVID-19? I do the grocery shopping in our household because I worked at a grocery store in my teenage years.  I know how to navigate a grocery store, to get in and out as efficiently as possible.  Every week I see more and more homemade mouth coverings and every week people seem less concerned about keeping physical distance from others as if their bandana makes them immune to catching COVID-19.  It’s just one of those things always on my mind right now.
  • Are the companies my wife and I work for stable enough to continue to employee us through this entire crisis? I know that both of our companies have said they are in a strong position.  However, that doesn’t put my mind at ease as I see more businesses that decide to shutdown or temporarily layoff staff as a way of ensuring the company survives this crisis situation.
  • Do I have the mental strength to keep doing this for another month (or two)? While I may not be an extrovert I do have a small close knit group of friends.  I have also been known as the optimist, I look for the bright side or the silver lining.  The COVID-19 situation has taken it’s toll on my morale over the past few weeks and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to continue to stay positive before it breaks me as well.

Thank you for letting me share my inner thoughts this week.  For the fans of my weekly retrospectives I hope the new direction this week was a welcome surprise and change of pace.

If you haven’t seen any of my previous articles, you can check out last week’s article here.

As always, stay healthy and safe! I’ll see you all next time!

15 comments

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Gonchik Tsymzhitov
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April 27, 2020

Sounds great! :) 

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Teodora V _Fun Inc_
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April 28, 2020

Loved this article @Jimmy Seddon 💙

The openness, gratitude, and the questions by which we are all bothered. Please, never stop writing.

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Darline Auguste
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April 28, 2020

There's so much here that many of us can relate to - thanks for sharing @Jimmy Seddon!

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Susan Hauth _Jira Queen_
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April 28, 2020

Fabulous article Jimmy, and I must say I share many of your same thoughts and concerns. 

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nina_schmidt
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April 28, 2020

Thanks for sharing @Jimmy Seddon :-)

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Cassie Mayes
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April 28, 2020

So relatable, @Jimmy Seddon . Thanks for sharing. How old is your son? I bet it's so fun to see all of those changes. I too don't feel so alone when I see a dog laying near me. :) 

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Jimmy Seddon
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April 28, 2020

@Cassie Mayes he's two and a half, so he seems to be right at the age where he is able to tell us what he wants and doesn't want.  Even if he changes his mind ten time in ten seconds.

Mihai Schwarz
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April 29, 2020

Nice! :D

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Laura Holton _ACE Rotterdam_
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April 29, 2020

Great article @Jimmy Seddon Blursday is very true but it's really nice to read such a reflective piece that we can all relate to. 

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Monika Rani
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April 29, 2020

Great Article @Jimmy Seddon 

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"UGraham Gohil
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April 29, 2020

Great blog brother

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Mohamed Benziane
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May 2, 2020

Great article!! Thank for sharing

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Marilo Meta May 18, 2020

Great article, thanks for sharing :)

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Leslie Lee
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May 20, 2020

Thanks for sharing!

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Andy - PTC Redundant
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May 28, 2020

Excellent article @Jimmy Seddon - these are so good they could be compiled into an e-book!! Love it.

re the companies my wife and I work for stable enough to continue to employee us through this entire crisis?
Yo! One of my biggest concerns right now!
In the first week of lock down I saw many companies go into furlough.
Now though I am starting to see companies either fold completely or just lay off half their staff - and these are companies that were claiming a strong position back in March.

This remains a worry and we should all have mitigating action plans IMHO !

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