I am generally a very optimistic and positive person. However this self-isolating is really, really difficult. I’ve had a tough week this week trying to keep myself motivated to work from my dressing table which is starting to feel like a prison camp! I realise how much I need people to be around to keep motivated to run a business and deal with the emotions that sometimes our clients inevitably display.
“I cannot even remember the days anymore”
As I write this it’s Thursday of what I think is now week four of lockdown (I cannot even remember the days anymore) and all I can think about is wishing it was Friday so I could justify having a bottle of wine. I am desperately trying to stick to only drinking at the weekends but it is tough I can’t deny it. I suspect we may become a nation of alcoholics before this is done!
I keep trying to think positive thoughts about how so many more people are worse off than me – I have a lovely garden and three of my four children isolating with me, not to forget my husband who keeps me well stocked in food and coffee. Don’t get me wrong I have absolutely loved my time with them and we have definitely created some memories I will treasure forever, but it has made me think a lot about what actually makes me tick.
“It’s a cliché I know, but your
work colleagues do become like
a family to you”
It’s just that there is something wonderful about working with other human beings who are all striving for the same goal as you and a number of whom you have known for many years. It’s a cliché I know, but your work colleagues do become like a family to you and I’m feeling this more than ever at this moment. It’s the little things I miss like being able to have a quick two minute chat with a colleague about their new puppy, or how frustrated their husband is making them feel. I miss my lovely receptionist bringing me a cup of coffee rather than my equally lovely husband, just to make a change of scenery.
It’s having a walk to the sandwich shop at lunchtime with a different colleague every day, helping clients deal with issues which are often way more serious than anything I face in my own life, or just sharing a joke with someone you don’t have to live with!
“I need my daily fix of human interaction
it makes me who I am and for that I am grateful”
Never before have I realised how much I value my work colleagues and I hope I never forget that when my alarm goes off at 6 am again (who would’ve thought I’d be looking forward to that!). Turns out my dreams of early retirement have completely changed – I now know I would be bored the majority of the time and that actually going into an office every day, whilst sometimes stressful it cannot be denied, is something I will now treasure. I need my daily fix of human interaction – it makes me who I am and for that I am grateful.
