This week marks Centercode’s 19th birthday! 🎈 While we’re celebrating much the same way we all have these past two months — virtual happy hours, slack chats, and other new-normal gatherings — we’re still coming up with fun and creative ways to stay engaged with our coworkers.
This week’s Hometasking challenge asked us to create quarantine-specific postcards we could send from the safety of home.
Mike repurposes his ski gear for a different kind of slope.
As an additional challenge, Centercoders submitted their baby photos in what turned out to be the hardest game of who’s who we have ever played.
Our CEO Luke Freiler as a toddler…probably. He’s 90% sure. “All babies look the same to me,” he said.
The more time goes on, the more we surprise ourselves with fresh ideas for staying productive and sane. This week, we asked Centercoders Ben, Dema, Dustin, Matt, and Sabrina to share photos of their home workstations and tell us the creative ways they’re coping as we continue to shelter in place.
Ben, QA
“Working from the home office has been a surprisingly easy transition. As a PC gaming enthusiast, I was already pretty well set up for this. I’ve been enjoying the freedom and flexibility it provides me. I miss social interaction with my peers and the office culture/environment, but I could see enjoying a bit of both (some days working at home, some days in the office collaborating).
“Since shelter-in-place orders started, I’ve been walking at least twice a day and eating more meals at home so I’m losing weight. 🙂 I also find I get more sun because I have more time to enjoy the backyard with the family. Overall, it’s a work/life balance that is pretty appealing. It hasn’t been as tough or distracting as I had originally imagined.”
Dustin, Dev
“You start to get cabin fever after a while, always being in the same place and indoors. For me, doing the work isn’t the hard part — it’s the lack of separation between work and home space.
“I miss rock climbing, so I got a hang-board for keeping my finger/arm strength up (it’s like a bunch of climbing holds in one). I’ve also taken up some gardening in the backyard to reduce the feelings of cabin fever. And I’m growing out the “corona-beard.” I have a competition going with my brothers and we send random beard pics to each other.”
Dustin’s “corona-beard”
Dema, Marketing
“I had a pretty set routine before shelter-in-place started, but now I’m making an additional, intentional effort to step outside and walk around the block for 10 minutes. I’ve also turned on my Apple watch notifications to remind me to stand, breathe, and check on my daily activity.
“When we were in the office, I did not get up from my desk unless it was to go to a meeting. Since I don’t need to get up for meetings anymore, I forget to take breaks!”
Dema also shared photos of her family’s workstations around the house.
Matt, Customer Success
“My life hasn’t changed that drastically because most of my work and many of my hobbies can be done online. Still, I am disappointed that some of my favorite pastimes have been put on hold. For example, my wife and I just purchased new skiing equipment right before we were told to stay home.
“At the same time, it has given me an excuse to get back into some other hobbies, such as drumming. I’ve been out of practice for a long time but I just bought a djembe and I’m excited to try it out.”
Sabrina, Product
“As you can see, my kitchen table is now my personal, at-home workstation. It’s definitely been a transition to be at home 24/7, and, thankfully, my productivity level has kept up with the unconventional circumstances. I do miss being in the office with my fellow coworkers, but it’s been fun to navigate this new culture with all of Centercode.
“Since quarantine started, I’ve been trying to learn how to bake with the rest of America! I’ve always liked cooking, but now I’m trying new things from scratch, like pasta, tomato basil soup, flan, and soufflés!”
Let’s Stay Connected
How are you staying sane? We’ll be posting more dispatches from across our remote offices as the shelter continues. In the meantime, if you’re looking to add new tips, strategies, and expert insights for continuous customer testing to your inbox, sign up for our monthly newsletter.
