New "normal" ?

I'm wary of "new normal." The downside of human adaptability is that it means we get too quickly accustomed to conditions that should be objectionable, or downright unacceptable. Case in point, we hardly even notice the Trump administration's callousness and corruptness any more; it's taking a pandemic with deaths already in the thousands to get our attention.

At the same time... Having been working from home for a month, and having now recorded two episodes for KBOO from home, I feel like I've got a handle on how all this works. I'm back to pre-shutdown levels of productivity. I'm even managing to move forward with other parts of my life, checking in on progress with my editors. Going visiting (by video). Getting things done feels less desperate, stress levels are coming down a little.

We've often talked about how nice it would be to work from home part of the time. When the need for isolation eases, I think that conversation may continue. Portland and Oregon's goals around climate impact and congestion would certainly be boosted, if all or most basically-desk-workers, like me, worked from home one or two days a week.

That said, I miss my co-workers.

Fridays at home? I could live with that.

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