Too Legit

Today, I celebrate 7 years of working from home. I can’t believe it’s been this long! In some ways it feels longer, and in other ways shorter. And it certainly feels different now compared to pre-COVID19, let alone how it was when it all began.

Getting here wasn’t easy. There were a lot of doubters and downright saboteurs. The technology has struggled to meet the demand for both speed and functionality. Every day was another day of battle, fighting to prove that this workstyle could be as productive and engaging, if not more so, than a traditional office. While the global pandemic has introduced many new people to this way of working and changed some minds, the fight still isn’t over.

With that said, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some at-home moments and lessons over the years to reflect on the good times and the opportunities with renewed optimism for the future. As part of that reflection, I sent a note out to some members of my old team from around that time to congratulate them on setting the foundation for where we are today and generally check in. I’ve received some touching responses in reply, such as this one:  “…I can with tell with 100% certainty 2012, 2013 and all those times under you were the best time of my work career. Sometimes I feel like I want to go back to that time and re-live that moment again…” (I saved the really sappy parts for myself!)

This puts it all into perspective. Sometimes I get so caught up in supporting the work-at-home movement that I forget that it’s bigger. The responses aren’t that this was the best virtual team, best virtual leader, best virtual coworker, best virtual whatever – it’s simply the best. Whether it is in spite of or because of being virtual, or a little of both, we created an amazing experience. We delivered awesome results and supported each other like family.

While most of my original at-home team is doing other work, just as I am, my hope is that this legacy continues and has multiplied. I hope each team member took something positive and carried it forward, and took any opportunities and made them better, and the result is that each separate team they now work within is better for it. I hope I’m doing the same with my new team, each class I teach, and each new blog post.

This journey has been legit. Definitely, too legit to quit.