Being Adaptive in our now Socially Distant World

Being Adaptive in our now Socially Distant World

By: Amanda Hamilton

The global pandemic covid-19 has completely changed everyone’s lives over the last six months. As a college student, I have struggled with my productivity as well as my mental health. We as a society have had to think of new ways to continue to collaborate together. Some of these adaptations are things that have actually affected people’s quality of work for the better.

The way we now work and function as a society in our careers is something that we will have to be open and adaptable to in this new world. In the Ted Talk series “The Way We Work” leaders and thinkers offer some wisdom on how people can adapt and excel in a world where workplaces are shifting. The series covers everything from advice on workplace romances to discussing personal finances.

Matt Mullenweg in season one resonated with me the most. Matt’s episode which is titled “Why working from home is good for business” discusses the popularity of working from home and how this changes typical office dynamics. Matt is the CEO of Automattic and has employees all over the world and finds that when people have control of their work environment, they are put on an equal playing field. This allows for people from everywhere to be a part of a company that might not be able to work where the company is based, “I believe that talent and intelligence are equally distributed throughout the world, but opportunity is not.” Matt states.

Matt makes a point on how important their short, productive face to face time is, he gets his team together for short intense bursts. Once a year the whole company comes together for a whole week, the goal being in connecting people.

Watch the series: https://www.ted.com/series/the_way_we_work

In my college classes, I am starting to get the experience that Matt describes in his company due to covid-19. For many of my classes, we only go for one face to face class period a week, making this the most crucial time. This is a time when we as a class come together to get on the same page and regroup our learning from the week. This gives college kids a lot of “flexible time” outside of class so they must be responsible for getting the same amount of work done in whatever environment they choose.

For me, this new hybrid learning has been a struggle because I find it hard to separate when it’s a day off from doing work or when it’s just another day for me to catch up on something I need to do for one of my classes. In season two Rahaf Harfoush talks about how burnout makes us less creative. She discusses how as people “productivity is part of self-worth, making it impossible to stop working.” But she adds to this that it’s impossible for brains to create with no rest.

Often at our age I think it’s easy to feel burned out. We are constantly trying to succeed at something, sometimes we forget that it’s good to let our minds wander. A wandering mind is capable of making sense of things around them. I know for me; I always feel more inspired and motivated after spending time doing something I love.

Taking time off for yourself improves creativity and productivity. Doing things that you enjoy recharges and inspires you.

Understanding how people work and what people need to make them most successful and happy in their careers is important when thinking of the future. We must be open to learning and working in different forms of communication, all with the intent of being a part of a successful workplace in the future.

photo by: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/video-conference-meeting-webinar-5314869/