Last Friday marked the end of my sixteenth week of working from home. Here are my takeaways from week sixteen:

• Month four – Hard to believe it’s been four months. If someone had told me I’d spend four months working from home and a few weeks completely locked down, I would’ve thought they were nuts. This has been an extreme exercise in human adaptability. We don’t like change, but we can deal with it when we must—no matter how drastic it is.
• Holidays – Spending holidays with friends and family is what I miss most. Time away from work just doesn’t feel the same when you can’t enjoy it with the people who matter most.
• Reflection – We’re halfway through 2020 and it’s been a crazy year. The second half of the year will be more of the same, if not worse. There’s been so much change in a short time. I hope there’s a light at the end of this tunnel.

Week sixteen was a good week. I’m glad it ended in a holiday weekend. That gave me time to reflect on the last four months and think about the rest of 2020. I don’t believe that pre-COVID-19 “normal life” will return. Getting back to it doesn’t seem realistic anymore. I also don’t think society will tolerate another lockdown; too many are resisting the very thought. In my opinion, something between those two extremes is likely. I think our current reality is our “new normal.” The longer we live in this “new normal,” the more society will accept it and learn to operate within it.

I’ll continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.