Let’s talk about…. Furlough Life

The last week of March is usually my favourite week of the year. Spring is in the air, the days get longer and I usually eek out birthday and anniversary celebrations over at least a week. This year, instead, it was the week I found out I was being furloughed from my job and dealt with the fact that I didn’t get to see one of my close friends walk down the aisle in Oz and the two years I had already waited to see friends across the world would now be much longer.

I know none of this is bad. I know none of this is anything to compared to what many people are facing and one of the hardest things has been dealing with the guilt of feeling sad about things that are minor in the wider reality of what so many face right now.

Just a few weeks ago most of us had never heard of the word ‘furloughed’. Simply put it means that you have been temporarily laid off from your job, at a % of your salary. I work for a not-for-profit health body representing the fitness and leisure sector, we are a small business that represents an industry that have been as hard hit as any, my projects were rightly put on hold and in the shoes of our executive team, I would have made the same decision. They have been amazing in how they communicated and supported me through this.

But the truth is, this is tough news; especially if like me you are the kind of person who likes to feel useful. There are the financial implications to think about but once you’ve brushed off the temporary damage to your self-esteem, you can either sulk or use it as the opportunity that it is.

I am choosing to see the positives and finding a way to make a contribution, both to myself and also to others. I’m lucky really, I’ve been here before and I know the drill. Until last year I worked in the event industry – I was either freelance or on fixed term contracts and my husband was the same. We have had times where only one us worked, we plan for uncertainty in income and we have lived off one salary more than once, importantly we are used to having honest conversations and continually switching roles in our relationship.

I’ve always been good at using the time wisely. In the past I’ve learned to knit, qualified as a Prince2 practitioner, learned French (with limited success) and discovered a love of running.

This time feels a little bit different, I am finding it harder to focus because I’m distracted by the current world situation, options are more limited and the long term uncertainty is greater. I also don’t want to do something entirely for myself as I want to do something for the bigger picture this time.

So this what I’m going to do:

1. Use the time to work on my own health and fitness
2. Learn a new creative skill
3. Learn a new business skill
4. Raise some money for charity

I have more time, I have a great indoor fitness set-up and I can still run outside a couple of times a week. With unlimited access to my bike turbo trainer (husband negotiations permitting) – it’s a great time to focus on Ride London which is still set to go ahead in August.

I’m a keen knitter and I love knocking out baby hats and blankets for all my child-having friends so I’m going to improve my skills, finish the 4 frogged projects in my knitting box but also learn to sew. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do so now seems like a good time – youtube tutorials here we come. New babies can expect wonky bibs and dodgy quilts – you’re welcome.

Just before all of this happened I had been offered a voluntary Non-Exective Director position on a board of an organisation I am very passionate about, this is on hold for now but I hope will still go ahead later in the year. I wanted to do this to develop my broader business skills, so now I have more time to prep for that. I’m looking at options for courses to do, I’m planning to find modules that would eventually contribute to an MBA should I decide to do that in the future but I haven’t quite decided where to focus just yet.

I missed the window to apply as an NHS volunteer, but I can continue to support my local community and check-in on the people in my street and I will continue to explore how best to help our local community. But I still strongly believe that non-directly related charities are going to be hit hard by this crisis so I want to ramp up my efforts for MacMillan. I’m kicking off with a virtual pub quiz tomorrow for the We Are Runner pacers, and hope that the sewing will yield something I can explore. I’ve got time to get creative and pre-plan some activities for later in the year to make sure I smash through my target.

I’m a planner and I like to be busy, I like to be a contributor and I like to feel useful. For me this is the best way I can find to do those things during this time and also protect my own mental health. But I’m also going to go easy on myself, if somedays I want to stay in bed and read my book then I will; if I don’t solve world peace in the next two months then that is ok, but having some kind of plan will hopefully support me mentally until I can go back to the job I love.