Not too much novelty in my life during the past week. I have been working pretty much non stop. I had a major deliverable on Thursday – which went pretty well! – so I spent the week glued to my desk chair. Even with all of that, I keep being so grateful that I am able to work from home without major disruption.
On another topic, the other highlight of the wee was the delicious banana bread I backed. It was also approved by the Mr. and in his own words “It was the best thing you’ve ever made”. Nothing left to be said about the week at this point. Oh well, maybe I would just add the delicious Spanish tortilla I made on Sunday and that I will be eating for breakfast as you read this on Monday morning. Bliss.
The Weekly Reads
Managing remotely. Managing people is challenging enough when everyone is in an office, now with the layer of remote work, a lot of people might encounter difficult times. I personally stick to my weekly 1:1s + also add in additional face time. Whether it’s a check-in for important project deliverables, an alignment call or a simple check-in on a personal level, I make sure to do that via a video conference rather than just Slack. Nonetheless, during this time, it’s more important than ever to “…ditch your micromanaging ways… replace micromanaging with communication, trust, inclusivity, and support for your remote workers.”
Hobbies to pick up. While I have personally not felt an abundance of spare time during the past couple of weeks – work has remained rather hectic for now and thankfully stole most of my “air time” – I know that many people find themselves with more time on their hands and well, nowhere to go. If you are in that situation or just want to do something different, why not pick up a new hobby that you can do at home.
Job search in the times of Covid-19. I think a big question mark right now is around what does the current pandemic mean for your job search? It’s everywhere in the news that companies are laying off and not planning to hire – you might as well have heard the same from your own company if you are currently employed – but as always tines will change and getting yourself ready – whether it’s networking online or building up your skills make sure you use your time productively.
Financial date night. Such a good idea to have a dedicated “date night” to discuss finances with your significant other. I must admit that I am not as good as I would want to be at managing my finances yet – and I have several reasons for that – but it’s something I am being more and more conscious about.
What to shop. I think that spending more money than needed right now it’s not a necessarily smart decision right now but I also know that a purchase here and there can help boost the mood. The HM Conscious collection looks amazing and so does the Johanna Ortiz x HM one. I am thinking whether to get a pice from the latter – it would either be this one, this other one or this one in black and white.
What I am baking. I mentioned the delicious banana bread I baked last week but I don’t think my romance with baking is going to be over yet. I have at least one more banana bread planned for this week (!) and I am even looking forward to expanding my repertoire and some more baking recipes.
Thank you for reading and I hope you are staying safe & sane!
