So, have you made a post-COVID-19 commitment yet?

It is clear (if my daily online conversations are anything to go by) that after the restrictions ease, everyone expects things to be different. That it cannot be a return to business as usual. But when the doors open again, it is also likely that we will quickly be encouraged to return to our old ways of being. It is how business is structured. It is how our networks ‘work’.

But do they always have to be that way?

In the last month, I have joined numerous meetings with people from across the country that would normally have taken weeks to set up, after searches for mutual availability through online polls and calendars, and building in travel time too.

There have been some glitches here and there of course. Every so often, the IT has ‘dropped out’, but in the main, it has been stable and we have been able to have useful conversations. In fact, these conversations have been more frequent, and, in many cases, less formal and more productive than before. (Perhaps we are more relaxed when chatting in the spare room than in a soulless office.)

And work is still being done. Our new online careers offering and the Skills Matching Service were launched in just a few weeks. Sure, there will be tweaks that we need to make along the way, but normally by this stage we would still be sorting out suitable dates for our initial meetings.

Face-to-face meetings clearly eat up time. Not just in the actual getting from place to place, but also the process of trying to find dates that will work for us all. And then of course the time we actually start meetings is often delayed due to traffic or weather.

So, will this be no more? After the restrictions lift – will there be a huge rise in people working from home, with virtual meetings becoming the norm?

Although I have no regrets about moving from Inverness, I really don’t like the traffic in my new city of Perth. It seems to have more than its fair share of road works and I never feel entirely safe negotiating its traffic, never knowing if this will be the time that a driver will forget to use their mirrors or will just ‘risk it’, to get past the cyclist. 

It’s no secret that I don’t love driving either. I get train sick (that high speed bit on the line to England gets me each time) and although it is sometimes nice being the youngest person on the bus to Glasgow, the inevitable wait in the freezing cold of Broxden Park’n’Ride rather offsets the benefits. 

But I do miss it.

Well, I miss the face-to-face aspect of meetings. I miss the valuable opportunity to make a connection with a new group or organisation, building trust and understanding prior to forming collaborative joint projects. I miss the informal chats in the office, that helped provide a litmus test for how everyone was doing ‘under the surface’.

However, I also see that, for years, I could have done it better. Rushing to a different location each day for a ‘key meeting’ that was often more about getting formal sign-off on a project that was going to continue anyway, was rather a waste of time (we have all been there I am sure). And in the office itself, we would sometimes email the person sitting at the other end of the room, rather than having an actual conversation with them.

So recently I have been thinking about what my normal will look like, after COVID-19. Will I need to keep travelling as much?

The future is uncertain. Lots of individuals and businesses have serious concerns about keeping going with the financial pressures the are experiencing. The impacts of this virus will be severe and long-lasting, and I worry about the legacy this leaves the next generation.

However, the flipside of uncertainty is opportunity. We are seeing some innovative business models emerging, and (ironically) the spirit of community and collaboration has never been so prevalent. It would be wonderful if this could continue, with the flexibility that these organisations and businesses have offered customers and partners carrying on after COVID-19.

I have already started to think of the time that restrictions lift as being a ‘new year’. And, as I always do when a new year looms, I have realised that if I want to do things differently, I will have to make a resolution.  To commit to a change and to do so publicly, otherwise I run the risk of falling into old behaviours.

So, the first of these (and I know there will be more), is to treat essential travel as a privilege. To enjoy the journey where possible (not just checking emails on a tiny phone screen) and to observe and absorb my surroundings. I also commit to ensuring I actively support and engage with plans to increase the cycle network in Perth .  Something that is sorely needed and could have significant benefits for my commute and those of the next generation.

So, when this is all over, and the world knocks at your door again, what are you going to do?