Driving to an in-person meeting Friday morning through rush hour traffic, I realized that I was not going back to a daily commute. Luckily I was able to use my transponder to avoid about 10 minutes of super stop-and-go on the 10 freeway, and I got there on time. But, news to me: I don’t enjoy driving anymore!
Not that long ago, I was driving 18,000 miles/year. It was just what I did. I didn’t really even think about it. Then it dropped to about 15,000, when I was able to do some meetings by Skype. Then, COVID changed that to about 4000 miles (not including trips to Mammoth). Now, I can work from Mammoth or anywhere most of the month. Now, I get to choose.
Thanks to technology, many of us found that WFH (work from home) became our life and a common acronym. We were forced to make it work and we did. It was often ugly as internet dropped or dogs barked at critical moments. Friday, as I tried to fix a technological mishap during a member presentation while fielding complaints about the sound from the zoom participants I realized we are not going back to the world we knew in 2019. Guess what? While it is sometimes ugly or interrupted, it opens up previously unavailable opportunities.
We should be proud of how we survived. Depending on your industry you might even be able to say you thrived. For most of us, honestly we are still in recovery. From my conversation with small to midsize business owners, the supply chain is not fixed. Producers are experiencing inflation higher than the fed is predicting. It is hard to retain and recruit team members. And, we still are getting COVID. Just fewer people are seriously ill or dying from it.
If you are feeling exhausted, I get it. It is time to take stock and for some vacation. Do both. Then seize any opportunity that opened up for you. We are not going back.
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