I consider myself very blessed as the real process of developing work/life balance had already taken place in my life before I was locked down and grounded in Serbia. For this reason I very quickly accepted that it is what it is and decided to make the most of it.

For those who know me, I am a high energy person always on the move. Having spent over 20 years building a regional law firm and being primarily responsible for strategic business development in recent years, my life was on the road, or in the air, or travelling however possible. I truly love travelling, so for me these months on the ground here has been the longest period in 23 years in one place! I still look up at the airplanes that pass by and wonder when I will travel again but for now my focus has been a more internal journey.

I decided early on to have a structure to my day. I wake early, do my meditation and either walk or bike by the Danube every day. This means that by 9 am I have cleared my mind of the bad news all around and am ready to face the work day positively. Given that I have back and neck injuries due to years poured over a laptop on the move, I am also using the time to fix myself so I live with less pain. Excellent physiotherapy helps me to maintain myself for the future.

As the office closed down early on, we are all working from home and I am really surprised at how quickly the world adapted to use of technology. For sure there are times and events that cannot be replaced by a screen but in terms of being effective its proven better than I expected. At this stage however, the initial excitement of Zoom events, Hang Outs, Microsoft Teams meetings and Whats App calls has faded somewhat so it will be interesting to see what comes next if the pandemic continues. There is a certain technology fatigue developing which means content will have to be even more interesting to keep us engaged. This is particularly the case with business development and sales.

The sense of foreboding about the winter- the famous 'winter is coming' sentiment and the inevitable recession creates huge anxiety everywhere and I am very aware of those around me and how they are coping personally. We must all be on the lookout for each other. Just being aware and able to speak to someone about how we feel is key and I try to support others by just having a call or getting out of town.

This year has been amazing for my hiking weekends in beautiful Serbia. I had always travelled throughout the country but now make a point of getting out of town almost every weekend- different bunch of people and different routes but always fun and a diversion from the drama around us. It clears your head and gives you a perspective which is helpful these days. Everything will pass and living in the moment is all we have. So let’s make it good!

I have had more time for my family this year, as we all have, and feel grateful for it. My kids are grown up and studying so I am blessed not to have to manage the home schooling and supervision which I hear from friends is very difficult. More than ever, women have shown their ability to multi-task to the extreme as they ultimately had to manage the household, the children and the job. This juggling has taken its toll and shows once again the importance of personal resilience. Time to yourself, to recharge, to balance yourself is a must and no one should feel guilty for taking that time. There is always something else to do, task lists to complete, but by making a routine it becomes part of your daily life, and then your philosophy and you will be surprised at how you can change your outlook and resilience to what life throws at you.

So, my take-away from this COVID experience so far have been:

1. Grateful to be well and work on staying healthy and happy
2. Grateful for others and being part of a community looking out for each other
3. Getting out into nature as much as possible and exploring Serbia
4. Adapted to new technology and this new world quickly
5. Learning new things
6. Developing personal resilience

In this way, even if it’s difficult around me I try to make the best of it. And one day will fly again and not take it for granted