Teleworking - Week 2

We are nearing the end of the 2nd full week of teleworking.  In general, it is going ok.  It is quite draining to do on-line meeting after meeting.  That was a huge problem yesterday, but I don't have nearly as many meetings scheduled today or Friday.  Also, fortunately, my team has far fewer group check-ins or team meetings (maybe 2 short ones per week) compared to other teams.

For me, work always blended into my "real life" too much anyway and, when I am trying to solve some problem, I'll be working at odd hours and for far longer than my scheduled work hours for the week.  This crisis really hasn't changed anything for me in that sense, but I think it is a bigger challenge for others, not used to working this way.  If anything, I find I am working a bit more right now, esp. as there are so few "real world" distractions and places to go, though there are just as many on-line distractions and the siren call of the news sites and the coronavirus counter.  I was good and didn't watch The Show Must Go Online during working hours (a new play, The Taming of the Shrew, starts today at 3 pm Eastern), but I did record the audio stream and then was able to watch the video stream later on.  It's a bit unclear to me if they are only going to archive past shows for a week or longer.  They've revamped the site a bit, suggesting they expect to archive the shows longer, which is amazing.  I haven't donated to the Patreon page, but I probably will this week, as I start deciding how much to donate to arts groups vs. the Canadian Red Cross, United Way and so on.

At least for the moment, I'm actually reading a bit less than I was before the crisis -- and watching no more tv, movies or video streams (with the exception of The Show Must Go Online), though that may change eventually as the new routine becomes more routine...

It goes without saying that I am fortunate to have a job where I can work from home and there are no whispers at the moment of any job cuts or furloughs.  While I am only involved in longer term planning of the transit system, the agency as a whole is directly involved in transit provision and, as such, is considered a vital lifeline in these troubled times.

My home office set-up isn't too bad.  I actually can look out a window and see some trees and a bit of sky, and as the weather warms up, I'll be able to open the screen door and get some fresh air.  The layout isn't completely dissimilar to this Stay-at-Home Dad's den...

I do know that I am not getting enough exercise.  Tuesday I did go for a slightly longer bike ride and then walk (as I had dropped my bike off for a tune-up both because I want to make sure it is in good shape during this crisis but also to put a bit more money into the bike shop, so it doesn't close).  Wed. I went for a very, very short walk but didn't go into any of the stores (or to check out how Gerrard Square is doing with virtually all its stores closed down*).  This morning I did some crunches and push-ups, and will try to force myself to make that part of the new routine.  I should be able to get my bike back this afternoon and go for a short ride, and then I expect I'll take some longer rides this weekend, if I can figure out places where other people aren't also riding.  I'm definitively snacking a bit too much, though there aren't too many sweets at the house, and I'll just have to show some will power in not buying any when I am at the store.  I've never really been a vitamin person, but I am taking Vitamin C until this all blows over.

So it could be better, but it certainly could be a lot worse, and we'll just see how it goes over the next few weeks.  I'm still holding out a bit of hope that there will be some kind of a home Covid-19 test to enable the really widespread testing that we need that might then allow the world to slowly get back to normal, though I am well aware that it won't be business as usual until there is a working vaccine against the coronavirus.


*  Food Basics and Home Depot are open, and can be reached from both ends of the mall.  Presumably Walmart is open (for now) but that means they have to leave the whole mall open but with all the other individual stores shuttered.  I mean I am curious, but not curious enough to go and run the risk of catching the virus.  I'll probably just stick to No Frills for when I absolutely need to go get something.  (At the moment, the lag time in on-line delivery of groceries is pretty long, so we'll probably go ahead and risk it, though I will start wearing gloves for sure...)