Every business, family and person is learning to adapt to changes precipitated by the Coronavirus outbreak.  This morning, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, described our situation as “the new abnormal”.  Things are so dynamic tomorrow may cause us to adapt to our newer abnormal.  Change can be difficult in the best of times, but we all are learning on the fly how to make the best of things and (maybe, just maybe) find ways to do things better.

Working Remotely – To be honest, as I write this blog, I am the only person in my company working in our physical office space today, and that’s because I haven’t yet mastered the work from home concept and I’m not wearing pants (OK, that last statement is NOT true).  We discussed how to do this better today on our conference call.  Some takeaways were:

• Make your home workspace mirror your office setup with all of the peripherals, office supplies, etc. you need to do your job;

• Use a dedicated, quiet area and avoid distractions as it is really not possible to do two things well at the same time; and

• Insure your email system, documents, etc. are in sync as version control on multiple platforms is difficult to manage. 

• Don’t neglect system security.

Spring Cleaning – This is a good time to do things you have put off for a while.  In addition to the honey-do list around the house, in our business we are encouraging clients to identify short term projects that have been on the backburner we can help them knock out during this time. 

Available Talent – In the ERP staffing space where we are focused, there are very good people available for assignment right now.  If you are a client needing help now or in the near future, we can sort through a lot of talent to find the best fit for you.  At the same time, we are asking for consultants to show flexibility in their rates and patience with client turnaround as we position them for work.  We are open for business and still matching good people with good companies.

Family Time – One of the benefits people are experiencing during this period is we get to spend quality time with our families (and pets).  After all, you can only watch Netflix and YouTube so much!  While we are distancing ourselves from strangers, the idea of shared meals with loved ones is back in vogue.

Taking stock – Times like these make us prioritize what really matters in our vocation, family and faith.  Most of us have more time to actually think during this time…  If you are like me, there is a lot of stuff which seemed important a few weeks ago that you now find you can do without.  Watching prepper videos – yes, I admit it, it’s become an obsession – I’ve learned “the Rule of Threes”:  you can live up to three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter and three minutes without oxygen, but you shouldn’t live three seconds without hope!

We will get through this crisis and be smarter and more resilient because of it.  You may be experiencing other benefits as you go through this season in your life.  Please share with us any thoughts you would like and give us some ideas on how you are coping with your new abnormal.