by Jay K. Hummer

The world is back! What pandemic? It appears most people have forgotten about masks, social distancing, and all things connected with COVID-19. In fact it has hit the streets in a hard way. I mean this literally, since the number of walkers in my suburban neighborhood has decreased dramatically. During the COVID shutdown, our quiet suburban street felt like a busy city block. There was never a time when you would not see walkers. Early morning? Check. During a rainstorm? Check. At all hours of the night? Check. During snowstorms? Check. It was amazing the number of people that were outside walking.  

Introverted?

Having been a pre-COVID walker in the neighborhood, I felt like a new kid at school-there were so many people I had never seen. This brought a surprising number of emotions. Meeting new people is always nice, but I was surprised to see the number of the new people who could barely look up and acknowledge my presence. As a personable guy, this took some getting used to.

At first I was taken aback, but as I ran into more of these unsocial folks I started to feel bad for them. I said to my daughter one day while on a walk, that we were lucky and not in their skin. Let’s face it, you never know what someone else is going through. And that is where I left it: the unfriendly walkers must be experiencing a bad day, and it was great that they were outside trying to feel better.

True to yourself

I did make myself a promise that I would be true to myself. Even if the last person I saw could not even acknowledge my hello, I would still offer that warm greeting. In fact I went a little further.

About half way through the pre-vaccination pandemic, I decided to move this issue a step ahead: I started to introduce myself to anyone who I did not know by name. This was great fun. First, it shocked people and second, I now had another person to address by name next time I walked by them, and made my walks more social in a time of social distancing.  

Recently, as people have started to return to the office, the number of walkers has diminished, almost to the point where it was pre-pandemic. The regulars are still there, butI only saw one person outside of my home office window during the rainstorm today.

So many of us have gotten used to the freedom of working out of our homes, I felt ecstatic, elated? for people, that they finally had some freedom. They could take a break from work and go outside! 

Re-entry tips

So now that many are shifting back to the corporate office, how can they stay connected to every day field trips?

1. Decrease commuting: The first thing we must do is get the number of commuting days decreased. If you normally work five days at the office, try to negotiate with your company for three or four days at the office. This will give you one or two days where you can save commuting time, and turn that time into a fun field trip activity.

2. If you are successful in negotiating that extra day or two to work out of your home office, you must commit to a start and end of your work day. I know this is hard, it is easy to wake up and get right into your home office. Big business has realized they benefited from having so many of their employees working at home. Americans are hard working folks, who put their nose to the grindstone and give it their best. Instead of waking up and getting right at your job, take that commuting time to take a walk, a field trip to a great breakfast place, catch a sunrise, or get a workout in.

There is something soothin about the water

1. While working in the corporate office, or at the home office: Take a lunch break every day that does not include working at your desk. You can visit a swanky new restaurant or drive to a great spot for a picnic lunch with someone special. The great thing about lunch is that you get it everyday, on another day take that lunch break on the go, stop at the food truck or other vendor and grab your food then head out for a sightseeing event in the city that you work in. Most people have never visited many of the great sights in their own city. The choices are endless, and it beats going to the company cafeteria.

2. When I used to work in corporate America, I would get tired at about 3:00 PM, out of pure desperation (so I would not fall asleep in a meeting) I held many of my afternoon meetings by taking walks. Let your team know in advance that you may call an afternoon walking meeting at a moment's notice, so they can keep a pair of comfortable shoes nearby. A combo work-field trip that gets your endorphins and metabolism going while keeping you fresh and literally on your toes.

3. If you do have the commute back in your life, take the long way home and see a sunset. Ask your family to meet you there.

4. Meet friends for dinner after work, or maybe dancing, or that karaoke/piano bar?

5. Never, ever, ever miss your kids' ball games, concerts, tiddlywinks matches (you get the idea), there is nothing more important. If that big customer cannot schedule around this, can you imagine what a bear he will be to work with for years? And if your boss does not understand, that is also a big clue to find a new boss.

I would choose to watch my son pitch over a business meeting, any day of the week.

Let's go!

As your work life returns to normal, you will once again start traveling more. This is field trip bonanza time!  Going to the city on a business trip? The absolute worst thing you can do is show up to your hotel and go to your meeting as planned and repeat this boring process for the duration of your trip. Are you kidding me, there is so much to see. This may take a little planning on your part. I personally would start the minute I drop my bags at the hotel. What lays outside the doors for you to discover? Theaters, museums, restaurants, dancing, bike trails, walking, parks, water, sightseeing, people and more people! So much to see and do. Work is back and it is going to be a blast!!  What are you waiting for??

“I’ve spent my whole life blurring the boundaries between work and play. Being a fun seeker since childhood, I figured out how to take every opportunity to do the things I love—playing sports, eating good food, connecting with people, and seeing the world.” – Jay Hummer

 Award-winning franchise executive, successful entrepreneur, former radio personality, baseball coach, world traveler, and overall fun-seeker, Jay Hummer’s new mission is to help others find joy in their life every day.