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2/ But why? Some of it is likely the whole geopolitical mess that is 2020. But I think a big part is that those of us who are working from home have suddenly, and catastrophically, lost ~90% of our thinking space.
3/ Lots of people are arguing for a return to offices in support of the economy, mental health, or something like workplace & #39;culture& #39;. But I think some of what worked for helping us think was a lot more basic:
4/ 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚲" title="Fahrrad" aria-label="Emoji: Fahrrad">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚈" title="Stadtbahn" aria-label="Emoji: Stadtbahn">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚙" title="Wohnmobil" aria-label="Emoji: Wohnmobil"> The Commute - an embodied ritual for changing roles. In the old world my journey involved periods of physical exercise and then stillness, sitting on a train. Now there is a single door between Worker and Father versions of me.
5/ When lockdown started I tried cycling around the block as a kind of transition, but it was hard to keep up. I guess part of what made the commute work was that it was involuntary
6/ https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪑" title="Stuhl" aria-label="Emoji: Stuhl">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🖥" title="Desktop-Computer" aria-label="Emoji: Desktop-Computer">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🪑" title="Stuhl" aria-label="Emoji: Stuhl"> Meeting rooms - embodied rituals for meetings. In the old world we had to go and find the next room, and get up and leave at the end. Now the biggest change is switching from Hangouts to Zoom.
7/ As a host, you could also protect the space a bit; tidy up, lay out the chairs, open the window, or put something on the screen. There isn& #39;t much you can do about poor signal except switch to audio.
8/ Online meetings have less humour and movement. People don& #39;t unmute just to get a joke out, and the camera restricts movement. I used to do a lot of standing up and walking around, and writing things on white boards, etc...
9/ https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👩💻" title="Woman technologist" aria-label="Emoji: Woman technologist">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧑💻" title="Technologist" aria-label="Emoji: Technologist">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👨💻" title="Man technologist" aria-label="Emoji: Man technologist"> People - not just the interactions, but the way people serve as physical reminders of the wider context. Just seeing someone can prompt you to re-prioritise your own work. A sad face prompts you to be encouraging, etc...
10/ https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌳" title="Laubbaum" aria-label="Emoji: Laubbaum">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="☕️" title="Heißgetränk" aria-label="Emoji: Heißgetränk">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👬" title="Männer halten Händchen" aria-label="Emoji: Männer halten Händchen"> Liminal spaces - staff room, kitchen, coffee shop, parks, etc... In the old world I would get up and go somewhere to talk or think. Time to let down the facade a bit; be honest with each other about frustrations, etc.
11/ All of these things gave us time and space to think. To feel. To digest new information, and process things we can& #39;t yet articulate. An opportunity to think about feelings, or feel about thoughts.
12/ And while there are ways of replicating each of these things online, at home, none of them happen automatically. The pressure is on you to make them happen. More demands. More ego depletion. More guilt if you can& #39;t keep up!
13/ But it& #39;s becoming clearer that we need to start adapting rather than holding out for a return to & #39;normal& #39;. A consultant friend, Ben Neal, described it as getting to the end of a marathon and being told you have to keep going.
14/ This stuff is psychologically devastating... You can& #39;t fully process a trauma if it& #39;s still happening.
15/ So what can be done? I don& #39;t think we should idealise going back to offices. Most of these benefits were accidental rather than by design. The purpose of a commute was not to provide thinking time!
16/ I do think we should continue trying to build our own thinking spaces at home. Marking transitions somehow. Giving ourselves space. Getting up and walking around. Maybe just doing some calls on the phone instead of video.
17/ But as anyone who has worked in operations roles will tell you... things that rely too much on self-discipline and motivation don& #39;t last. Good operations makes it easiest for people to do the right thing.
18/ We need to find easy ways to give ourselves time to think. Ways for the work itself to become supportive. Perhaps this stuff will evolve as working practices change. Anyways, yeah, thread...
