How’s everyone doing? The fact that most of us are now asking that question with a frequency and sincerity that few could have reckoned upon a few short weeks ago is proof that the social fabric of our country and planet is made of stronger fibres than I’d reckoned on.
We’re all so busy so much of the time now. Between doing extra hours in work, dropping the kids to one of their many activities, propelling between pillar and post like an Energiser bunny entangled in a mile-thick elastic band, it’s no surprise a lot of us greet Fridays with a mix of jaded and weary elation.
Quite when this ‘phenomenon’ kicked in is hard to ascertain from this juncture as I sit here, writing at my kitchen table on a day which, for the past decade or more in my case, has been traditionally associated with manic output levels.
Just as ‘work/life balance’ surely ought to have been considered in life/work terms, this crazed need to pack our schedules may be one of the greatest re-evaluations catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic. We all need to slow down. That it’s taken an appalling public health crisis to contemplate this issue is indicative of my own failings in this regard. Granted, changing jobs last June was precipitated by a long-standing aspiration to try something new but also by the need to drop a gear or two.
I relished my on-air work with WLR, putting together a weekly GAA show and a Saturday morning news magazine programme, but radio is time consuming in a manner that people unfamiliar with such work can’t really countenance.
I gave it my all for the 15 months I sat in the presenter’s seat but between newspaper work and the commitment that matters most - to my loved ones - I realised I had to call a halt. Being so busy was addictive. I felt like I had to ‘do this and do that’, but no-one else but me was making me so work-obsessed. That was all down to me.
So I hesitantly but sensibly left radio behind me – for the time being anyway, who knows what the future may bring. And within a year of making that decision, I had the opportunity to change my day job after 20 years happily working a short walk down the Quay from where I’m now ensconced. I’ve been at the Waterford News & Star for nine months now and it’s been very, very enjoyable.
Perhaps turning 40 last June had more of an impact on me than I’d countenanced before or since, but not being as ridiculously busy has, I hope, improved my work on the whole.
It’s certainly re-invigorated my love of journalism and reminded me of all the reasons I first considered a reporter’s life back in my early teens. The job is now being done at a less frenetic pace and those who know me best have seen a positive difference in my disposition.
Being around home these past few days catalysed this blog, something I’ve thought about doing for years. I kicked off a podcast at the Vintage Parlour Tea Rooms a fortnight ago thanks to Sarah Jane Hanton’s invitation and I’ll probably dabble a bit more in that area in the weeks and months to come.
Walking the dogs along a deserted Williamstown Road this morning – crossing the road to maintain social distancing when the time required it – I thought about how long it took me to undo ingrained work habits. For some of us, it’s akin to trying to turn an oil tanker but it’s not an impossible feat.
At this juncture in the Covid-19 crisis, we have no idea what awaits once this crisis abates but I’d suspect we’re on the brink of one of the greatest socio-economic wake-up calls in decades if not centuries.
“Life moves pretty fast,” so declared the philosopher cum slacker Ferris Bueller. “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Do you know what? I think he was onto something. Life, for a great many of us, may never be the same again. And that may not be a bad thing.
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