I’ve been working from home since March and I’ve only seen 2 clients face to face since then. It's been strange times hasn't it?
I saw a client yesterday and to be honest I was a little anxious about getting back to it. All those things I used to do without thinking I suddenly needed to think about, if I had my note pad? the address handy? had I prepped? It has made me empathise clients who have been off work for long periods due to injury. Must be so difficult to get back to normal after a lengthy period off work. I found it more difficult and I've not had any health issues to contend with.If you are returning to work after injury it's important to:
Build hours up slowly
Build tasks up slowly
Think of a way to talk about your injury and time off that you are comfortable with (you don't have to discuss your medical history with everyone)
Seek support at work
I'm still mainly working from home and I've developed a love-hate relationship with Zoom. I've very grateful for Zoom allowing me to work from home, but I do find meetings with lots of people in really hard to deal with. I'm not usually in favour of capital punishment, but I think we should make an exception for people who don't mute their mic. The heavy breathers/ the typers/ the washer in the background. It drives me nuts. It must be really difficult for people with brain injuries who may have difficulty with concentration. There is a lot going on on Zoom and it's difficult. I think it's a bit easier to manage meeting fatigue in person as you can gauge body language of people and have a comfort break or make the conversation a bit lighter.
I've got to admit I'm getting bored of working from home. I am quite introverted and loved the lockdown at first. I still like social distancing, I hate people invading my personal space and so the 2m thing is great for me. But I am starting to struggle to keep motivated for another meeting at my kitchen table. When I'm procrastinating at home I go and squat in a friend's office or go and work from the library at Bolton University (I'm a Visiting Fellow so I'm allowed) but it doesn't feel like the right thing to so right now. I have found that I miss my time in my car, it's not really driving I miss, it's the head space between appointments. I've tried to create this by setting an alarm on my phone for Pop Master so at least I feel like I have some normality at 10.30 each day.
I tried a see through mask. I think it is difficult to communicate if you can't see someone's mouth moving, but I did find it uncomfortable. Think I’m going to get a visor, I can pretend I’m in Flashdance and be a welder by day and a dancer by night