How I'm working and staying connected.. remotely

On March 5, my firm announced that nearly all employees would be working remotely indefinitely due to COVID-19. Karen made a joke that while it sounded like fun, we would get sick of it at some point. I knew I would get sick of it immediately. As a fairly new lawyer, I loved the ease of being able to leave my office and walk a few steps into another person’s office for fast advice. You spend so much time at work, your coworkers become your family. You joke about work, sports, relationships, what you’re having for lunch every day...

That all went away abruptly in March, and I realized I was less of an introvert than I had always thought.

As a way to stay connected, my firm scheduled weekly all-firm and all-attorney meetings over Microsoft Teams. We started a standing Lunchroom meeting every day. We’d video-call each other spontaneously and joke that we were walking into each others’ offices. It wasn’t the same, but it was something.

Outside of the office, friends’ birthdays are being celebrated over Zoom. Book club meetings are held virtually. I’m on FaceTime constantly with friends and family. In the month of March, the HouseParty app was downloaded 17.2 million times (I was one of them). Even though trips and weddings have been canceled or postponed, this slowdown of life has been a reminder to reconnect with friends and family more than ever before.

I hope everyone’s staying safe, healthy, and sane. :)