Surviving and Thriving in the Face of COVID-19

My parents sprung for the 30-day free preview on Netflix and my mother bemoaned the fact that they had seen many of the shows and movies that they were offering so she wasn't sure they were going to sign up again. As members of Netflix for many years, I found the thought of giving it up horrifying. In fact, we are contemplating Hulu at some point since they have some original shows there which I want to see, but only after getting through my current list of shows. So, without further ado, here are some shows to binge watch: Ursula's Recommendations The Tiger King (documentary, comedy,WTF) The Staircase (documentary) Broad Church (British drama) The Wire (Crime drama) Breaking Bad (Crime drama, comedy, WTF) Fleabag (Comedy) Peaky Blinders (British drama) Black Mirror (British drama, comedy, WTF) American Factory (documentary) Tell Me Who I am (documentary) Abducted in Plain Sight (documentary) Ozark (Drama, comedy, WTF) Mindhunter (drama) Russian Doll (drama, ...

One of my all time favorite cereals is Lucky Charms. I even still remember the addition of the purple horseshoe shape marshmallows back in the 80’s. Most days, when I do allow myself the guilty pleasure of enjoying a heaping bowl of sugar, I try to soothe my conscience by concentrating on the “gluten free” label on the side of the box or by mixing it with some version of “healthy” cereal. A bit crazy, right? The other morning as I was indulging in my occasional bowl of Lucky Charms by mixing a delicious “bad” cereal with some kind of bran flakes, I began to question why I always feel a bit guilty eating them. Why feel badly about something that in the grand scheme of things is unlikely to have any real negative consequences. It’s not like I’m having a sugary cereal every morning. That got me thinking that maybe my idea of simply enjoying the Lucky Charms for what they are instead of dressing them down with some kind of “healthy” side cereal might hold a lesson for l...

Challenge equals opportunity… I am amazed at the extent to which our lives have been altered of late.  It’s incomprehensible to me (and likely many others) how things have changed so dramatically worldwide. These are challenging times indeed!  These same hurdles should also be forcing us to think differently about our routines, our relationships, our business practices, pretty much everything we do.  If you’re like me, you’ve been spending most of your days indoors, on a phone or in front of a screen.  Communication with others has been difficult at best.  This challenge has become an opportunity for me to interface with my employees more often but in a different way via video chat or call.  I’m typically working with all my employees and colleagues on various projects or tasks each day, also reaching out to see how they’re doing and make sure they’re ok.   There are challenges in parts of our routines that we may not be able to readily ...

For many years, decades even, movies about doomsday cold war apocalyptic scenarios in Hollywood were part of American culture.   Think about the movie The Day After or Patrick Swayze’s Red Dawn, & Mel Gibson’s Mad Max.   It was resource competition, and sci-fi theorizing on what came next.   In each movie there’s a protagonist (the good guys) and the antagonist (the baddies) clearly defined. Today, deep in the throws of our corona virus reality, we find ourselves ill-equipped to combat the baddies because of our general lack of movies regarding viruses and contagions or public health officials wearing blue tights and a cape.   It’s not readily available in our imaginations to envision both, what day to day life looks like, or how this ends.   The closest thing matching the spread is likely some zombie flick but since Covid19 affects people in different ways it’s not a perfect match as there is no spectrum zombie disorder in any of the movies ...

I'm a professional networker.  I attend trade association events, participate in committee meetings, and visit clients in person, all in an effort to keep mine and my company's name out in the market and hopefully be the first choice if our type of service is needed.  So, what happens when we are hit by a pandemic and the world essentially shuts down?  You have to get creative. The need for networking still exists.  Most of our industry businesses are essential and continue to serve clients.  How do you stay connected so that they know you are available and ready to help?  By now most of us know that virtual meetings are a great option.  I myself have set up numerous meetings via Zoom.  I have paired up with fellow Business Partners to set up virtual meetings and happy hours with our clients.  We have even created a standing day and time for one happy hour and anyone in the industry is encouraged to join.  I'm finding this to be highly...

All: We are super thrilled to share this guest blog post from Elizabeth Kirk, Marketing Directors for TRC Engineering.  Please give us your comments and feedback and perhaps we will see Elizabeth posting here as a regular contributor!! Careful What You Wish For For weeks I would tell anyone who would listen, what I really need is time at home without any distractions—none: no traveling to meetings; visiting clients; association events or anything that makes me leave my house.   I certainly don’t want to eat out anymore – ARGGHHH.   I mean NOTHING for about two weeks that’s all I was asking for in order to grab my crazy life by the horns and get all my ducks in a row personally and professionally.   Two weeks at home with no distractions – none, not even the kids.   I typically work from home and I have a nice set up in the basement; it’s usually very quiet (except when a passerby gets the attention of a dog, then of course the other two dogs ...

When the pandemic really hit hard and our lives and routines were being altered by executive orders, I struggled a lot.  I am a very outgoing person who thrives on interaction with others and to take that away, the gym and eating out, my entire world basically collapsed. My hobbies were gone. My stress outlets were gone. And I was limited to being at work (I am in a very small office in Bethesda that at most has 4 people and usually only 2, including myself, so don't worry about that) or home.  Every day was a bad day. Bad days for me are days when I constantly update CNN, check posts on social media, do very little work and find myself depressed over our current situation - basically a very long pity party. I realized fairly quickly that this was not going to get me through this in one piece, so I started to find new routines and outlets. I started walking . I set a particular course that is about 3.8 miles with gradual hills. Well lit and nice neighborhood views, I st...

Adjusting to this new environment I have been working remotely for over 7 years. I have my dedicated office set up in the den with doors and windows. The adjustment for me being here almost 100% of my time is somewhat easier for me but I need to make some adjustments too. I now have to have video meetings in addition to the normal email and phone calls. These are some tips I and others have found useful. The Office Space Not everyone can have a dedicated space to themselves and must share with others. Set aside a quiet, distraction-free space. Hopefully, this can be a dedicated space. Make sure it is both mentally and physically comfortable as most of your day will be spent here. The table height is important for typing and writing. The chair should be comfortable but not too much. No napping! Have your usual desk items like post-it notes, pens and whatever else you may need within reach. You may need to share the space in a busy house. Have a secondary location that can be ...

Thirty years ago I joined the Army.   As someone who catches on quickly there was a part of eighteen year old me that resented the redundancy of repetition of training exercises.   I wanted to move on to the next thing, absorb the next piece of knowledge, get qualified on the next weapon system and blow up the next target.   What I did not quite appreciate back then was that repetition leads to reflex and that reflexive response was incredibly important in high stress situations.   Redundancy in training was what allowed for fluid response in the face of danger.   Near constant repetition fostered the desired outcome, a successful mission again and again.   That brings us to our next item: the mission; what is it?   It varies for all of us.   We are managers, service providers, engineers, architects, construction professionals, attorneys, insurance agents, financial experts and ninety days ago the mission was the protection,...

Because bad jokes are always fun, here are a few that I enjoy. A guy told me, "Nothing rhymes with orange." And I responded, "no it doesn't." I just wrote a book on reverse psychology.  Do not read it. A guy goes into a bar/restaurant/lounge wearing a shirt open at the collar and is met by a bouncer who tells him he must wear a necktie to gain admission. So the guy goes out to his car and he looks around for a necktie and discovers that he just doesn't have one. He sees a set of jumper cables in his trunk. In desperation he ties these around his neck, manages to fashion a fairly acceptable looking knot and lets the ends dangle free. He goes back to the restaurant and the bouncer carefully looks him over for a few minutes and then says, "Well, OK, I guess you can come in - just don't start anything." My new thesaurus is terrible. Not only that, but it's also terrible. What did Batman say to Robin before they got i...

This page will be updated with additional resources and websites as people suggest them in the comments or otherwise.  Executive orders are being issued in the local jurisdictions and laws are being passed in Congress regularly as a result of the pandemic and my firm is trying to keep up with them and get updates to clients.  Our website is open to all and below is a link to the same for your reference. Check back regularly for addition websites https://reesbroome.com/news CAI websites have a ton of information as well and below are the links to the National website and local chapter websites for your quick reference:                              https://www.caionline.org/Pages/Coronavirus.aspx https://www.caidc.org/ https://sevacai.memberclicks.net/ IREM has a great resource page with additional links https://w...

 As the third week of working remotely draws to a close, I am starting to feel the pains of not having the in person interactions that I am used to.  As a vendor and business partner in the Property Management Industry, my days used to be spent at association events, committee meetings, lunches, happy hours, etc.  I had endless opportunities to stay connected to my clients and friends in person on a regular basis.  Things sure have changed in a short period of time. Last week, as week 2 of no in person interaction began, it started to hit me that it could be months before our industry could interact in person again.  I have to be honest and say that I panicked a bit.  I rely on these relationships on more than just a business level and I know I'd be lost without them. I started seeing social media posts about people holding virtual meetings to stay connected and "see" each other.  Several were even being held as a happy hour.  What a great idea!...

I’ve definitely had a chance to listen to a little more music over the last couple of weeks – often streaming in the background while working. I especially paid more attention to my streaming usage after I looked at my bank account and noticed that Sirius renewed my membership at the low, low price of $336.37. What???!!! Some changes will need to be made. Typically I find myself listening to more mellow music while working. Sirius has a station called “the Coffee House” which has a good selection. However, I’m an 80’s person and when it’s time to clean house or exercise, let’s hear it for Big Hair – Poison, Def Leppard, Heart are a few favorites. HOWEVER, I have no idea what has come over me, but in the last week I’ve started listening to country. I hate country music. What is happening? Am I slowly going crazy with all this isolation? So, there I was last Saturday morning cleaning the bathroom while blasting artists like Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cli...