Day 21. I think?!?

Last week was hard.

Not only because the novelty of working from home has worn off but because the endless streams of advice from media and government seem to push and pull in all different directions.

This week, I’m finding myself missing the team (the whole DDB crew), the office, the highs and lows of meetings, the wins, the lessons, and most of all the none contextual but fulfilling chit chat and passing “hello.”

I can 100% say that I am not ready to live in a world that does its business through a screen. You miss too much without living in the peripherals as well.

I’ve been speaking to people loads, phone, VC, text, WhatsApp and more. It’s reassuring, but it’s like the eyes in a video game character’s head; they are there, but they lack the emotional nuances of real life. The darting glares of “ah, here we go” when I say “right, here me out” or the nods of approval when I hold the Xbox controller aloft for a quick game of FIFA.

We spoke about pitches not being quite right despite best intentions and great ideas. It’s tough to read a digital room. The uncomfortable adjustments in people’s seats when an idea is so good, they want to sign in the room, or the disapproving but subtle inhale when an idea has gone too far.

These are the moments in our industry that we live for. These are the very moments that make us who we are. We aren’t designed to do business through 16x9; we are designed to feel, to connect with our partners, our teams, and our friends emotionally.

Here are the things I miss:

The sound

The shaky glass door 30ft away from my desk opens with such a unique noise, I always pop my head up to see who it is. The sound of the boss’s door opening and closing. The sound of laughter that means an inside joke has gone down extremely well, and again the inhale of the “here we go again…” braces of the team.

The coffee

Not the drink. The act. The getting to it and it is stone cold and has to be reheated or rebought.

The pub

Definitely the pub.

The meetings that could have been emails, that are now emails

I miss these. There is something about just hammering a chat out in person that can’t be done on-screen or email.

The people

That’s the thing that we all miss most. The comfort of being around your mates and colleagues, saying nothing or chatting the back legs off each other. The in-jokes, the tension of opposing ideas, the hushed conversations, the looks, and the co-creation.

What is keeping me sane:

Facetime

Making an effort to ensure where possible my calls are via Video Conference so we can at least connect ‘phygitally’.

Meditation

Headspace is my go-to. It’s great for drowning out the noise of the industrial fan in my makeshift office but also drowning out the noise of the overactive thinking that is present in long periods of isolation.

Training

Trying to get my ass up every day to train is hard. But it helps. Just 10–30mins, it massively helps.

Dedicated Family time during the day

Just 30mins where we get to play, talk or do homework. Really, really simple, but makes the world of difference. Also, a load of exercise for them like Youtube PE. It makes sure they are active and most importantly, exhausted ar night.

Accepting this won’t last forever

As I said, I’m not ready for a world where we have no human contact outside of our homes.

I’m ready to go back to the office, but only when it is safe for us to do it together. In the meantime, we will find workarounds to connect and share.

We have to stick this out. We have to be better at staying away from each other.

We are living through a life-changing event that only we can collectively address and then celebrate overcoming in the days, weeks or however long it takes to get our society healthy again.