Make hay, whilst the sun is shining.

Well its 11.30am on a Sunday, and I am going to brag… Dinner is already cooked and ready for the oven. Washing for the week done, dishwasher on. Little one down for a nap. More winter clothes for the little ones are ordered. The supermarket bits and pieces again ordered online. Three meals prepared and organised for the week again ordered online – thank you Hello Fresh.

There is so much more I can do now, and avoiding the supermarket is the best feeling in the world for me, especially with two children and a face mask.

I know I sounds smug but hear me out. This online shopping situation I use to roll my eyes at, has been life changing. At this present time, I don’t particularly want to leave the house. The face masks drive me nuts and I am all for sucking it up when I go out however after long walks, sweaty upper lips and hardly being able to breath got me thinking.

Victorians should have had this brought upon us earlier. I can guarantee we wouldn’t be having the issues we are having now. They really are a buzz kill and the annoyance of them has got me outsourcing as much as humanely possible. With all these new handy online introductions in my life, and yes, I am well aware I am so behind the times. I am not sure how many I will get rid of when we all go back to our new normal, whenever that maybe. Hello Fresh has been a game changer for me, I own that I am not a domestic goddess and really don’t enjoy cooking weeknight meals. Since hello fresh I look like I am super mum, the food is delish, and I am saving so much money. I must admit the money I am saving is probably now being spent on uber eats for the other nights but wow the time I am saving! There is so much more I can do now, and avoiding the supermarket is the best feeling in the world for me, especially with two children and a face mask.

It had me thinking and asking others what can we do to set ourselves up for when we go back to our new normal? How can we make hay while the sun is shining (in other states not here in Victoria)? What should we all be doing to get ourselves ready? Because let’s be honest when we can I am sure we will be racing to start our new normal again.

Last post I mentioned a big thing I am working on now is my health both physically and mentally. If I can’t get that right in this time at home well what a waste of isolation. I am also getting all my work affairs into gear. I completely understand I am so very fortunate that I have amazing work and I am surrounded by some truly clever people that I am learning from every day. For those out there that might not be as fortunate, who might be working but it’s not their dream job or worst still unemployed, spending time actioning small pivots might not be right for now, but now is definitely the time to think about it. Especially as we are not having to sit in horrendous peak hour traffic or on commute on public transport, make hay and plan your next move or even side hustle.

The news this week with another eight amazing publications closing has given me the chance to reconnect with some of the most talented people. In its hay day, when I first started it was so glamorous, in my eyes it never lost its sparkle but wow it was tough. I have never worked so hard and had so many setbacks and push backs in my life. However, the people I met and worked with made it all worthwhile and the relationship driven salesperson I am today. Some many of my calls, messages have made me smile, not one of these people past and present in publishing are resting on their laurels so to speak. Many have already been working on side hustles, others are already invested in study and most importantly already to take on what the next chaptered is going to bring their way.

Interestingly, a lot of clients I have been speaking to in the past few weeks are also reassessing, how they can be ready for the “new normal” and what they need to put in place. The clever ones know now is the time to invest in themselves, their business, their brand and their people. They know they are going to come out better and stronger than their competitors if they spend the time looking at their brand and how they can make it stronger. Spending time and money now on how they can do things better, how they can stand out from their competition and how they can build stronger and better relationships with their customers. I love healthy competition I feel it’s what fuels many of us out there, it makes us better and ensures we push harder. But being strategic in this very hard and unprecedented time is what I call getting your competitive edge and will pay you back in divide ends when the market bounces back. And it will, we have all seen when we came out of our first round of lockdown how keen we were to get back to normal, and I know I will be ready to embrace our new normal and will be getting out.

I love healthy competition I feel it’s what fuels many of us out there, it makes us better and ensures we push harder.

So, my advice, is to make hay while the sun is (not) shining, I mean I am a Victorian so have to be honest about the sunshine here. Take the time now while you can to take stock and build for your future.