Never thought you’d actually miss something as simple as your daily commute to the office, huh? How have we made it through the last six months without regular, in-person connections with our work family? COVID-19 flipped our worlds upside down this year, for sure.

Sometimes a shake-up isn’t the worst thing that could happen. 

• The pandemic has shown us that working from home has some wonderful advantages, some challenges and that, as we begin to return to our offices, we see that commuting doesn’t necessarily have to happen every day.   
• We experienced a significant drop in air pollution with the decreased number of cars on the road. I am hopeful that seeing that drop will encourage all of us to make continued changes to reduce our footprint, as COVID-19 restrictions begin to lift.
• We found the time to reconnect to ourselves, by focusing on self-care and hobbies, and to our families. We discovered how to “Harness Our Power”!

The challenge during this pandemic is that you cannot really do what you would like to or would do normally. It has forced us to reevaluate almost everything and make different choices. Understandably so, some of us are growing weary of those choices. We were not aware until now how much the work family contributed to our social experience. When we return to the office in whatever form that is, we will likely show up with a new appreciation for the folks. I imagine there is a list of things for which we will have a newfound appreciation, as the dust continues to settle on our new normal.   

Take a moment to take stock now in what is important to you. As restrictions are lifted, do you truly want to resume life as it was pre-pandemic? If so, why?  If not, what changes have you adopted that you intend to maintain? We have been here several months and still have some to go. The idea of a vaccine seems to be on the horizon. With that in mind, what is your plan for your life when we shift yet again? If you don’t have one, now’s the time to make one.

Dr. Lisa Toppin

Our theme song is “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash