Silver Linings and other Learnings from 2020

As 2020 draws to a close, I thought I would reflect on the year that was. It was certainly a year of turmoil that has certainly changed how we do business, big or small compared to 2019.

While lockdown has kept us apart to a large degree, in others it has most certainly brought us together in others. I spent a small portion (6 and a bit weeks) of the year working from home. This was the first time I had done this, and it was certainly surprising. Our broader Team had leveraged existing technologies to ensure were continually able to collaborate through WebEx Meetings & Teams, while most of them were WFH. These tools brought us closer together as our communication was no longer limited by our work Campus. I took the opportunity to reach out and communicate with Colleagues within our Team I would not have done normally. Regular catchups with the broader Team were scheduled by our Leadership, something which had not been done previously at this increased regularity.

While WFH, I was also concerned about losing focus on work, and conversely ensuring I could delineate between work and home life. To help me with this, I ensured work started and finished at the regular time, while being dressed and presented for on site work. A temporary home Office was setup where I would work for the day, them didn’t go back until the next.

2020 has also given me the opportunity to start focusing on some Goals, having been able to create plans with Site Leadership along with Management within my Team and others on site. This is something I hope to take full advantage of during 2021.

During our Teams regular catchups, Silver Linings had been a recurring theme we kept coming back to. What can we take from our forced choice to do business differently that we can leverage to improve the way we do work when we return to what will be the new normal? Many projects were taken out of this, and I will certainly be looking to using some of the new flexible ways of work moving forward.

As WFH has become more normal, I have begun to setup a new working from home Office (still a work in progress) after some Lockdown redecorating. The Desk (complete with Factory Asset Number) is from the old Port Melbourne de Havilland Aircraft Factory (since having been incorporated Commonwealth Aircraft Factory, then into Boeing).  We still have the matching Chair, but I have upgraded to something a little more ergonomic. The Lego Space Shuttle is one of my favorite Lego sets, showcasing NASA’s immense engineering effort in creating a reusable low Earth Orbit Spacecraft.

How has 2020 changed the way you will be working in 2021? And what lessons learned from 2020 you will take moving forward?

I for one am looking forward to the challenges 2021 brings.