Yet another article about the post-pandemic “return to normal.” I disagree with almost everything in this article except for one statement: we should not return “back to normal” in the sense that its” normal to come to work sick and not to wear the mask, either for the reason that you do not have enough sick days, or you need money, or that it’s a way to demonstrate your loyalty to the company.
Hettie’s Reflections – Blog Posts
About School Closures and Openings
Last week, Anna sent me a link to one article in the Y TImes, which talked about the schools in Rhode Island: the only Democratic state where schools stayed in-person thought the whole time of the pandemic.
I wanted to write in-depth about this article, but it is massive, and I feel that I will never have time to write about it in detail.
I still feel that I should say something about it, especially in connection with the Chicago Public Schools situation, which just got resolved (at least we hope so!) after many weeks of the standoff.
Here is the link to the article. It re-iterates that every day the child is not in school does some damage and that all efforts should be made to keep the schools open. On the other hand, it does not mean that kids in schools do not pose any risk, and most of the article is dedicated to how the damage can be mitigated. No sugarcoating, very balanced, and very thoughtful analysis. And a must-read for those who what to understand the situation with in-person learning
Too Much Of Everything
Too much of work, roo muchof life, too much of everything!
I will be back:)
Chicago Under The Weather :)
Seriously, why it is that with the same or less snow and with the same or less cold, the resulting conditions in Chicago are so much different from Helsinki? Why nobody declares the state of emergency in Finland, as our governor just declared in Illinois?
I had to come to the city today, because I could not do it on any other day of this week…
Chicago Snowstorm 1951
Work- Life Balance, And What’s Not
Last week, our CTO asked the tech leadership team to estimate the percentage of all work time we spend on the following categories: the actual management, routine work and processes, and project work.
I was in Helsinki at that moment, and since I had some extra time< and Boris was there, I decided to approach this task creatively.
We had different views on what should be considered the project work and whatnot, but in the end, I decided to count as project work only the code writing and coming up with ideas on how to do certain things. I classified all the project planning, discussions with businesses, etc. as management.
To calculate the percentage of each activity, I needed to calculate the number of hours I spent on each of them. Since I had time, I didn’t just estimate, but I looked at the three previous weeks and calculated the average numbers.
It turned out that I work 55 hours a week, and I could not believe that number when I saw it. I always thought that if I worked during the after-hours, that’s because I spent some time during the workday for some non-work things. No wonder I felt so tired in the past weeks, and no wonder I felt that I need some vacation, And no wonder I did pretty much nothing in Helsinki.
All of the above might explain my reaction to the “Laziness Does Not Exist” book. These past three weeks were the weeks when we finished working on the book, and immediately all the extra time I had was taken by work, and that was not right. A side note: when I calculated the total number of hours I work, I included the “natural time waste,” which totals to about an hour a day: sort intervals between meeting, coffee, and bathroom breaks, stretches, and other small distractions. They are essential for your normal functioning, and thereby should not be subtracted from the work time.
It’s not that I never knew all that. I knew, and I was encouraging other people to not overwork. But for some reason, I always thought that “this does not apply to me.” Because I am passionate about my work, because this is not hard for me, because I am a superhuman, and for whatever other reasons.
I am trying to change it now, and I realized that I need to advocate for myself the same way I advocate for others.
A Flight Back
I have only one more thing to tell you about my trip to Helsinki, that is about the flight back.
During my pandemic travels, I learned that I need to plan whether I am going to eat on each of the flights. My flight from Helsinki departed at 7-20 AM, which means we left the house at 5 AM, and I didn’t have breakfast. When I was checking in, they told me that the flight is “almost full” (and for that reason, they checked my luggage, even though I had the “light” fair). That meant that I didn’t want to take my mask off on the plane, so I bought my breakfast at the airport and ate it in the far corner of the cafe.
It turned out that it was the right call to go back to the medical center and ask to fix the typos in my name: the certificate was checked at least four times! And each time, whoever checked it, verified my name on the certificate against my passport.
Maid: A Book Review
This is not the real review, just the short note, since I want to mention this book to my friends who are following what I read.
Another book I finished last week, was Maid by Stephanie Land.You might want to say that “that’s what Barbara Ehrenreich wrote about in “Nickled and Dimed,” except for (as she herself said in the foreword) that’s FOR REAL. Stephanie is not role-playing. it’s not a game, it’s survival.
Working hard is not enough. Working multiple jobs is not enough. Trying your best is not enough
My takeaway from this book is: people who are struggling, need help. They need help from organizations, funds, and people. From individuals. Otherwise, survival mode will stay forever.
Laziness Does Not Exists: A Book Review
I especially liked the first half of the book. I’d say I would give 5 stars to the first four chapters and four stars for the rest. I felt like the second half was partially repeating the first, and at the same time, it felt less convincing and slightly off-topic. But what I just said does not diminish the fact that this book is AWESOME! For me, it was also extremely timely – just when I felt completely burned down.
Interestingly, I knew most of the things this book is talking about many years ago. I knew that even when we have an 8-hour workday, the actual time we can produce the intellectual results is not more than four hours a day. I knew that switching from time to time your attention to something which is not “work” helps the thinking process. I knew that when you work too much and too hard, your body becomes less immune and more prone to all sorts of illnesses.
I knew it all, but after I joined my current company, where I really wanted to do all the things I wanted, and it was too much of these things, I started to think that if it is not “somebody” which makes me work more, but I, then “it does not count.” I do not know whether anybody can make any sense out of the last sentence :), but at least I know what I meant to say :))
Another thought which resonated with me a lot was about “me” and “everybody else.” Devon Price says that most of the people he interviewed for this book would agree that “people in general” are not lazy, but they would say: but I am REALLY lazy. For me, it was “nobody has to work overtime, and it is unproductive anyway,” but “I” CAN work long hours, because “I” have a very special attitude, and since I WANT it, not like somebody MAKES me, I will be productive. Maybe now that timing was right, but I took it in this time. Even before I finished the book, I resolved to make changes to the way I work now, monitor how many hours I spend working, and not allow my direct reports and people around me to work long hours. It is unproductive and sometimes dangerous.
And the final takeaway from this book was about stopping “saving” people. Once again, I knew for a while that I rush into “saving” people way too often. Recently, I started to distinguish between people who need just a little push or simply encouragement and people who need me to listen to their complaints about everything that goes wrong with their lives. It’s nothing wrong with complaining; I just started to realize that there are people who are not looking for ways to improve their situation but need to complain just for the sake of complaining.
To summarize, by the time I turned the last page, I had a whole bunch of resolutions, and I also liked the author’s personality and writing style a lot!
Getting Tested In Helsinki
Two weeks before I left for Helsinki, I started to research where I can take a COVID test prior to my return. All my online searches ended the same way. After finding a place end trying to see how to schedule an appointment, it would bring me to the page, which would require identification with the local bank card (that’s how people in Finland get access to their medical records.
Natasha called them, and they told her that I do not need to go to the airport. I can call and schedule an appointment in the city. The cost of the test and certificate will be 265 euros, which is 315 dollars.
I came to Helsinki on Saturday, and on Monday morning, we started calling. Yes, the nurses speak English, but the automated system speaks Finnish :).
On the second try, we figured out what were the hours of operation and called later. There was a new message :), which asked – press one to call back. There was no option to “remain on the line.”
All was good, except we had no idea when they will call back, and Boris had to teach online for three and a half hours on that day. That was the reason why I chose Monday to meet with Natasha.
As we expected, they called during the class, but thankfully they called back one more time, and I was able to schedule an appointment for Wednesday. On Tuesday, we walked there to make sure we know where the place is. It was a good call because the testing lab and the medical office were in two separate buildings.
On Wednesday, I went for the test. On the phone, they asked me to bring a passport to put the passport number on the certificate. But they didn’t do it when taking the test; they only checked it to see that that was me :). Also, they told me that I would need to pay when I am picking up the certificate. And that I should not come back until I know I have a negative result.
All of this left me slightly worried – what if the result won’t be there on Thursday morning? However, Thursday morning, Boris received a text message: login to view your test results. Ha. I can’t log in! I do not have the banking identification!
We called them again; and, again, pressed one for a callback. An hour later, somebody called. I started to explain that I can’t view the results, and a lady said: yes, that’s why I am calling. Your result is negative, and you can pick up your certificate. But first, tell me your passport number so that I can put it on the certificate.
I went there, paid for the certificate, and we even stopped in the Fazer cafe for some salmon soup – that was the only day I was officially out of the quarantine, and also, we found a cafe where every other place was marked as “do not sit here.”
Funny story. When we were already back home, the medical center called back: did you call us? It turned out, that the nurse who called us in the morning, didn’t “call back,” but just called, because she knew I won’t be able to view the results 🙂
Everything was great. We stopped to buy some bread and dairy for me to take back to Chicago. Then we came home, and I went for one more short walk before starting my half-day at work.
I planned to start working at 4 PM (8 AM Chicago time) to do some coding before my first meeting at 9 AM. I printed the attestation copies, which are now required to enter the US, and took my certificate out of the envelope. I looked at it and saw that my last name was misspelled!!! Three characters off, which is not a surprise with the last name as long as mine!
I looked at my watch. It was 4:05. Boris said: three characters are OK for the airlines, but… I said: yes, not these days! The Aavo center was still open, and I hurried up there! It was -3F, and ai had to put layers and layers on myself. Fortunately, the tram came right away, and when I arrived, they told me to go to the second floor to the nurse. The whole thing took less than fifteen minutes, and I hurried back with the new certificate. On the way back, the tram driver saw me running to the stop and waited for me. I opened the apartment door at 4:58 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 