With 2 back-to-back bank holidays in the UK, normally at this time of year, many of us would be off to sunnier climes, on vacation.
Last year, of course, was different, we were in full lockdown and at this moment in the midst of a full-blown toilet paper crisis… there were just more pressing issues than taking some time off.
This year, however, with better numbers, and plenty of holidays carried forward, it is a different story and this week many people seemed to be off work. Emails were quiet, only a few meetings and certainly less deadline pressure.
It was as if we all breathed a collective sigh of relief and took a few days off. But, with shops shut, no travel and activities still limited, we have all still been at home… just in a different room, if we have one.
Logged off but logging in
As a result, it has been really hard not to check in on emails, just to see what was going on. It was as if the work-life balance simply shifted to be more life than work for a bit.
Maybe with remote working looking increasingly like it is here to stay, this is also what the future of time off it going to look like? We will see.
Historical Acceleration
My other task this week has been a bit of digital spring cleaning. This has involved the tidying up of my bookmark list, moving old stories into an archive, organizing the digital detritus.
Seemingly a chore (I have been putting it off), in fact it has been an interesting journey down memory lane, looking at the stories and concerns, pre-COVID, pre-Brexit, even pre-GDPR, PSD2 and IFRS9.
One of my favorite, a report on the impact of remote working… something we all wonder a little less about these days!
A bit of historical perspective can always be interesting, especially on reflection. Will the stories that seem so important today be important in 5 years’ time too, will predictions be accurate or what will be then important…. who remembers BBM… who misses it? It is amazing how quickly things change these days.
There is still another week of vacation to go, only as far back as 2016… pre 2010 still to go. Expecting it to be busier too!
Some other stories of note this week.
Have a good weekend everyone…
