We are all facing uncertainty as we navigate through “The Great Pause”, as Rich Bradley calls it, on our way to our new normal. Taking advantage of this time at home can be cathartic if we use it in a good way. Science has shown that it is important to walk away from your desk, but what happens now that your desk is wherever you are, all day long, every day? A study by Shape.com shows that revisiting an old hobby, finally getting started on a project, finally finishing a project, creating some new family-fun traditions, doing workout videos and attending zoom classes can boost your mental health. All of us at TeamBradley have been busy working from home, and in our free time we are finding ways like those listed to change up our everyday routines. We hope by sharing how we are navigating The Great Pause we might inspire you to try something new and fit something fun into your day! We would love to hear what you are doing to make your everyday routine more fun!
Mary Kate, our administrative assistant, has been spending time with her 5-year-old daughter Sophia playing Crazy 8’s or having dance parties to Disney music. She also has been taking the time to have fun with her parents and sisters. Mary Kate is lucky to have a mother who takes care of her daughter while she works from home and she is also very lucky to have a boss who will do FaceTime crafts with her little one. She’s spending as much time outside as she can; If the sun is out, she is out playing with Sophia. Mary Kate is a hard-working college student, which she was doing online pre-quarantine, so not much change happened there. Working out has been added to her agenda, along with trying to make healthier choices in what she eats. She has also been virtually visiting her friends on Facetime, Zoom, and Google Hangouts, which helps her feel like she hasn’t lost time with them. She even did a 30+ person Hangout with her mom’s whole side of the family to say hello to their grandma! Her goal is to stay connected, even when we are apart!
Our handy recruiting assistant Emily has taken this time to start cooking and baking more. She is doing her best to replace her usual delivery method with healthier alternatives and even her own recipes. She has been spending her lunch breaks on walks or runs when it is nice enough outside to get some sun, and she even added workouts in after her work hours to get some endorphins pumping! If she is at a loss for what to do, connecting with friends and family to see if they have any ideas keeps her moving and on her feet. Along with all these great ideas, she has unfortunately created an online shopping problem–or more correctly stated, added to an already existing one. A better idea of hers, rather than shopping, is listening to new music and dancing it out! Keeping busy is keeping her positivity up!
Rich and Amy already work remote and reside in Florida. Even so, they are also experiencing shifts to their working and personal lives. Grocery shopping has taken on a whole new life of its own, although Amy describes it as only slightly stressful. Their daughter Cas is finishing her senior year of high school at home and experiencing the loss of her senior spring events for both school and her club rowing team, such as banquets, prom, graduation, family celebrations, and pretty much all of her rowing spring season. Amy’s other career besides TeamBradley is in fitness, but for now, both TRX and hula-hooping are on the back burner. On the positive side, Amy is excited to be spending more time with Rich and TeamBradley during this Great Pause. Even with all of that happening in the world and at home, the Bradleys have kept their spirits up and found ways to stay busy and positive. They are enjoying the family time with Cas, while also virtually spending time with their other 2 daughters and the grandkids, who still live in Illinois. Amy has been hosting Social Distance Dancing from her driveway nightly to keep up neighborhood moral and community. As a family, they play cards and board games with dinner since Cas is home and not at crew rowing practice. With workout facilities closed, the family has been doing lots of bike riding and TRX. They are embracing this time to create stronger family ties. Coco Bean, their dog, is enjoying more walks in the Florida sunshine. Rich and Amy have also been learning more about ways to communicate and organize work. They have been using Teams to stay in contact with their employees, learning Zoom and other video platforms to find recruiting success with clients and candidates. Staying connected, healthy and upbeat is the key to happiness in the Bradley family’s plan.
As a team we are grateful that we are all still working, because lack of work is an issue faced by many people right now. We hope to assist wherever we can and to keep people interviewing and employed. With that, recruiting requires that we are focused, positive and remembering we are in this together. So, dance away the stress or bake it out in a cake, and let’s push to get through this Great Pause.
