March 2020

I gave myself a little time out this morning to reset…..and look at things from a different perspective.

I gave myself a slow start…….the fur babies in my bed clearly have that agenda every day……and my phone and email isn’t exactly running hot now (nearly ALL of my clients are small to medium sized businesses being hit hard with the sudden COVID 19 impacts……so recruitment is the absolute opposite for them at the moment)……Just had to make sure to get the teenager off to school (only 2 days to go now for him as notification was received from the school late yesterday advising that the decision has been made to start the Easter School Holidays a week early so they can finalise the online learning plans for start of Term 2 on 20^th April……..GREAT decision Hillbrook, I think the other schools should follow this in Qld as well).

I did 30 minutes of basic exercise and stretches before taking the 20min walk to the local shopping centre to grab just a couple of items. I passed 4 people on the way to the shops and only 1 on the way back……I quickly learnt the unspoken rule for “Social Distancing” was to use the footpath as a measuring stick……1 of us on each side, with the cement path in the middle. I paid close attention to each of these people – observing their body language, facial expression and general demeanour. Everyone was very respectful and gave a friendly smile and nod……except for one more elderly lady walking her small dog in a section of the footpath that had barriers on both sides which meant that we could not walk on either side of the cement path……she prepared herself and the small dog by standing sideways up against the fence with her back facing outwards making it very simple for me to respect her obvious need for “Social Distancing”. Hopefully we will be able to continue going for walks over the coming weeks with people being so attentive in this regard.

Walking through the shopping centre, I took my time to look into every store and to take notice of the workers. Almost all of the small retail stores were void of shoppers and the retail workers were either trying to look busy moving stock around, or standing out the front watching the world pass them by…..we would exchange a half smile and a slow nod acknowledging the situation to each other. I could see that they were happy to have a job (unlike soooooo many), but also felt useless while knowing that it is only a matter of time before they join the rapidly growing jobless numbers.

I grabbed my handful of items in Woolworths and headed to the self-service checkouts and stood on the “X” marker behind the person in front of me. The 15 items or less lane had 3 or 4 elderly people fussing between themselves clearly confused over the “Social Distancing” etiquette and markers on the floor.

These are the people I am genuinely most concerned about at the moment……I really don’t think we are doing enough to protect the elderly as they are the most at risk here. Over their lengthy lifetimes, they have contributed sooooooo much to our society. There were WAY TOO MANY elderly people in that shopping centre this morning. I was SUPER CONSCIOUS of maintaining a good distance from them….while at the same time desperately wanting to assist them. How many of our Grandparents and Great Grandparents are we going to lose in the coming weeks and months????

I haven’t visited with my parents in over 2 weeks now as I KNOW that if my mother gets THE VIRUS, she will almost 100% DIE due to her existing lung conditions. My sister and I have had numerous and lengthy discussions with both Mum and Dad to ensure they understand the seriousness of their actions and they made the decision to self-isolate. It’s Mum’s birthday tomorrow……so 2 weeks ago, we arranged for family portrait photos to be taken in our backyard (Thank you Awesome Photoz)……she now has a package to open in the morning with portrait prints ensuring that her family is with her.

Jarrah’s (Most of you know that Jarrah has been the Assistant Finder here at Acworth Recruitment for the past 4 years) 18 year old sister is now finally on a plane heading home from England after having 2 other flights cancelled. The plane is due to land in Perth this afternoon….and then HOPEFULLY a domestic flight to Brisbane and into self-isolation for 2 weeks.

Am I worried and stressed at the moment…….ABSOLUTELY !!!!!

BUT, I also know that there are MANY, MANY, MANY people out there in WAY WORSE situations than me.

However, I still have a mortgage to pay, car repayments, insurance premiums (don’t these add up…..house & contents, car, health, income protection….), water, rates, electricity, school fees…..plus all the normal costs of living.

So what am I doing????

1. I made sure all my invoicing was up to date and sent out……as long as they all get paid…..it should by me a good month.
2. Communicating openly and honestly with Jarrah……she’s not just an employee to me…..we’re in this together.
3. Working with my Accountant (thanks Kevin from Jones Howard Chartered Accountants) to make sure we understand the Government Stimulus options and how to access them.
4. Researching the markets that are really busy (such as food delivery services….YouFoodz, Marley Spoon, Hello Fresh etc) to try and find contacts to reach out to…..Let’s face it…..the online recruitment technology and candidate recorded video interviews will be more than just helpful now…….ANY contact links in this regard are HIGHLY WELCOMED !!!
5. Looking at what we can do differently here at Acworth Recruitment…..for when we come out the other side……there are going to be A LOT of people looking for work.
6. Review the budget and spend……know where money is going 100%……and cut out any unnecessary items.

Whilst it feels like we are caught in a swirling tornado that keeps growing and changing directions……we ARE still RESPONSIBLE for OUR OWN ACTIONS…….reactions and behaviours…..and to be CONSIDERATE to those around us……..