Nicola Patrick: Changing to adapt to unusual times

The new office - a Zoom meeting. Photo / Nicola Patrick

Working from home has a completely different sense around it after two years of quarantines, lockdowns and self-imposed isolation.

I'm a raging extrovert, normally, but these aren't exactly normal times. I'm reflecting on what this now multi-year experience of a global pandemic is doing to my personality and my work habits.

I've been choosing to work from home since the end of January, and now am keeping my children home from school, too. We've luckily not had Covid (and I don't want to say yet because my plan is to avoid it if we can), nor have we had to isolate as a close contact or household contact.

My plan is to ride out what is the current peak period by keeping a relatively tight bubble and only meeting people outside where the ventilation is not in question. I'm still doing a few cafe outings but choosing outdoor settings.

Zoom has become a daily tool of choice, along with Microsoft Teams and Google Meet and even the occasional old fashioned phone call. I'm doing one-on-one meetings, workshops, council meetings, webinars, conferences and more online these days.

As someone who has worked from home for two different employers prior to this Covid pandemic, I have plenty of experience (good and bad) with WFH as it's now abbreviated.

But in those days, I still got to go out with friends and travel to meet in person — working from home was a flexible arrangement as I lived in Whanganui or Taranaki, away from my office base.

These days, working from home is accompanied by managing children learning from home and connecting with others who are not so well set up for this situation, whether it's a lack of quality internet coverage or knowledge of how to use the video technology ("you're on mute").

Then there's the impact on productivity — but it's not all bad. For some people, working from home is a grateful break from the noise of an open plan office.

For others, however, it is tough. A lack of stimulation and no one to bounce ideas off when writer's block hits is frustrating.

I've had a mix — but lately, my attempts at greater discipline in blocking time out for priorities are starting to stick. My bad habits at multi-tasking out of boredom are reducing so my focus is going up, although checking for the latest case numbers after 1pm remains.

Not driving to Palmy for meetings is a bonus — while not being there in person means I can't read the room or have informal catch-ups, it does give me back two hours of time a day and reduces my carbon footprint.

So what are we going to keep when these pandemic-prompted changes expire?

• Nicola Patrick is a mum of two boys, a Horizons councillor, leads Thrive Whanganui, is a Green Party member and has a science degree.