Two weeks in with limited opportunities to get outside mean the extra hour of daylight introduced by the clocks moving forward has made a big difference for our evening walks. Last week it felt like we had a short window for a walk after finishing work before sunset whereas now we have a bit more flexibility in our evening.
This, combined with our council re-opening our local parks gives us more choice when it comes to where we go and helps spread out the people to avoid the same busy areas we were seeing earlier in the lockdown. Some areas, particularly the scenic river near Hammersmith Bridge still veer on being a bit too busy with a few people seemingly unable to keep a reasonable distance. The council have done a good job at increasing signage and painted lines in an attempt to raise awareness. Moving slightly away from here things become a bit easier as the streets are a little quieter and keeping a safe distance becomes a litte easier.
Over time, we've worked out which routes work for us and which don't. Trying to avoid places that are likely to be busier has led us to exploring quieter parts of the local area we wouldn't usually have reason to visit which has revealed picturesque streets and parks.
Working patterns
Continuous working from home has introduced a number of complications, particularly as people are now juggling work and home-schooling, whilst a large number of our team are of ill with suspected COVID-19 cases. Fortunately, we're in a position where we can be flexible, and everyone is recovering from their cases.
This, combined with an increase in time spent on communication to make up for the lack of direct contact, has all had a significant knock-on impact to our ongoing projects particularly as we try and establish the longer-term impact this is going to have.
The additional communication has made the last few weeks feel like a constant stream of meetings and calls without much time to actually focus on other areas of work. During this week I started to find a better rhythm to my working day to introduce a bit more "focus time", clear of meetings, to spend on catching up on other tasks which has all helped me feel a bit closer to normal productivity again.
Shopping
What used to be a quick visit to the local supermarket at the weekend has now become a far more stressful experience. Our local store has continued to introduce new measures to enforce social distancing which are working quite well. The queue to get in this week was significantly longer than last week, but inside the store was well organised and well stocked.
Improving weather
After both the change in the clocks and now the improving weather it definitely started to feel like summer is starting to approach. Usually, that comes with a sense of excitement about summer plans but this year it is clouded with a sense of uncertainty about what this summer could be like and how long these measures may be in place.
In the short term, the biggest concern was what would happen if people ignored the rules over the weekend to sit out in the sun with friends and therefore risk the health of others and keep this lockdown happening for longer. As we walked through Ravencourt Park there were a fair few people ignoring the lockdown rules however it was good to see an increase in police patrols to put a stop to this.
