Our organisation’s sudden 100% move to working from home heeds big and sometimes surprising changes when it comes to how we work, how we live and how we stay connected. Every week you’ll hear from a new individual at RAPP. Last week, Head of Strategy, Caroline Parkes opened a window into her WFH life for us…
Tuesday
9am. The start of the new me! I am going to use this time of not commuting (I spend 4.5 hours a day commuting usually) to do some exercise, lose some weight, get some fresh air, and get some actual work done as I won’t be in constant meetings. How exciting!
6.30pm. I have spent 8 hours in back to back Webexes in a terrible seating position, and my muscles ache. Drink wine whilst batch cooking and trying not to weep into the veggie chilli, regretting that I spent my Sunday hosting a last hurrah party with my neighbours, rather than getting Ocado deliveries sorted.
Midnight. Go to bed having written pro-active strategy doc for key clients. Will check in the morning that they make sense.
Wednesday
730 am. A few grammatical tweaks of the night before’s work, plough through a gargantuan number of messages on Slack, WhatsApp, email, teams, text, bla, bla, bla.
1030am Host our second strategy team Webex of the week. Am loving getting a nose into my colleague’s homes, I would quite happily like Keith Lemon’s job! Spend most of my Webexes standing to stretch my muscles, but generally looking like a loon.
530 Dash to Waitrose and Cook and spend an obscene amount of money on posh ready meals. Am humbled and grateful I can afford to, and nearly crash car when the ‘schools-out news is announced’.
7pm Family meal where we discuss our new home school curriculum to include music, art, and nature discovery. Create a timetable for husband and self (he’s a Creative Director at McCann) to figure out how we will manage home-schooling and careers. Create a colour coded ‘Parkes Plan’ which makes me feel a little more calm.
11pm More late night working to catch up on the day. More wine. More biscuits.
Thursday
1030 am Team Webex. Today I am wearing a blue and purple wig, and holding a magenta paper parrot on a stick which is my new way of doing a thumbs up rather than interrupting the Webex chat. 12 of us sing happy birthday in ‘unison’ to social strategist Ash, who then wishes we hadn’t as his ears are now bleeding (Gareth Molone would be aghast). Feel like we are getting into a bit more of a rhythm now with work, but finding sharing a work-space with my hubby rather trying. Nice to have finally met his creative partner though, albeit by Facetime.
730 Google plural for Webex as I write diary article for Campaign.
Friday (day off for me in normal circumstances)
Hopefully: Last trip to Soho Farmhouse for some me-time, and a relaxing swim, before I have 2 kids at home for god knows how long. Likely to be interspersed with a lot of checking in with the team to check all is tickety-boo. Have organised prosecco in the park with my girlfriends, will this happen? Like most things right now…who knows?!
