For me this is week 6 of isolation and I have to admit that my greatest challenge right now is remaining focused.

It’s not that I don’t have anything to do, I actually have a substantial to do list,

my phone is ringing and I’m having great conversations with our clients and candidates.

The problem is I’m not under the same amount of pressure that I usually am - and for methat’s never been a good thing.  Now, I’m not talking about financial pressure - that’s a whole other story.

I’m talking about time pressure. Whilst the days go relatively quickly, my ability to focus for long periods has shifted.  Anyone who has worked with me, knows that my ability to get things done is off the charts. You want something done, you ask me to do it, and it’ll get done before you’ve got time to finish the thought.

This experience is different and the more conversations I have about it,  I realise I’m not on my own.

Every one of us is motivated by different things and many business owners and leaders will admit that they seem to work better when under time pressure, when we are pulled in many different directions.  We might complain about it at the time, but we secretly know it works for us.

So, if you’re starting to feel like this too, then its safe to say your employees probably are too so we need to find out how our employees are feeling in isolation.

Are they finding it harder to remain focused, motivated and productive? You might find their nervous about telling you the truth because they’re so grateful that you’ve kept them on. So giving permission for them to tell you how they’re really feeling, is  critical to you being able to give them what they need so they’ll continue to add value on our road to the other side.

So the top 3 things I’ve learned this week that you can do token your employees motivated are

Letting your employees take as many breaks as they need to.

If the sun is out, encourage them to go for a walk around the block every hour or so. Maybe create competition around how long each person can hold a plank or how many pushups they can do in a minute. Have some fun with it, and do it online as a team.  The key is to keep them active.

Consider whether they need to be doing 8 hour days?  There has to be an upside to being in isolation and maybe a shorter, more intense working day is the answer?  Perhaps its a two hour break in the middle of the day so they really can go outside and get some real exercise in before it gets dark?  A shorter working day, without a reduction in pay, will be long remembered as a genuine way you supported them throughout this crisis too.

Set individual daily goals with each team member.  Something that will put them under a bit of pressure that they then have to share with you and your team at the end of the day.

The most important thing is to remain connected to your team and that’s not via email or texting. Face to face calls are really important whilst your team is working in isolation.  We have the technology so let’s use it.

In the meantime, thanks so much for listening and have a great day.

Vicki-Anne