What’s one thing you’ll stop doing when the pandemic is over?

1. I’m going to stop worrying. I feel like worry has set in more and more, every day I battle it. I worry about the numbers. I want to re-evaluate my current situation all the time and be as realistic as I can be about what I can and can’t do. I can’t wait for a time when I’ll be able to do everything again.
   a
2. I’m going to stop worrying: What’s cash going to look like? Where are sales going? What happens when we get our first positive case? We need to get back to doing the more strategic things for our business.
   aa
3. I’ll stop ignoring peoples smiles – it’s easy to not notice the expressions of people’s faces.
   a
4. I’m going to start shaking hands again. I feel like we’re pushing employees away, making them remote by always meeting on zoom. It’s making everyone feel disconnected. Zoom meetings just aren’t as much fun anymore.
   a
5. 8 in the morning when there’s hardly anyone there. I don’t linger, I don’t chat with anyone. I’m a social person; when this is over, I want to do something for fun again.
   a
6. I’m going to stop ordering groceries on line. I miss picking out my own produce and the spontaneous “good buys” as I walk down the aisles. One of the highlights has been seeing what kind of mistakes will be made on my order, some of them are laughable!
   a
7.  Stop wearing masks!
   a
8. I’m going to stop the work from home / work in the office split. Employees accommodated it well at first, but it’s time to put it aside – not because productivity but because of the impact it has on the team. They enjoy each other’s company and feed off each other’s energy. They’re not as creative, it’s as if there is a schism in the team today. Form my company, it’s not sustainable.
   a
9. I’m going to stop hiding in a remote conference room where I don’t have to wear a mask.
   a
10. I’ll stop attending so many meetings about what to do about the pandemic and stop reading about all the programs the SBA and SBDC have. There will be so many other things to occupy my time.
    a
11. Stop sleeping in. It’s been easy to fall into a “nothing specific on the agenda today” attitude and lay back and enjoy.
    a
12. I have noticed the fear in my employees, and it has affected my business. I hesitate to make decisions or take risks as I would normally. When this pandemic is over, I’m going to move forward, keep my chin up and it will be business as usual!
    a
13. I’ll stop separating / social distancing people. We need to get people back together. I’ve noticed the connection between employees isn’t as strong, some of the joking and good-natured banter is gone. Spacing out lunch tables for social distancing keeps people apart too. I’m going to stop avoiding people.
    a
14. I will stop having so many zoom meetings. I really believe in being face to face with customers and vendors. We want to scale the business and it’s good to get back in front of them (as much as the customer or vendor will allow).
    a
15. We’re going to have more personal contact. The pandemic causes a lot of stress. We had a meeting last week and I had reservations about it.
    a
16. I seem to be forgetting so much – I even forget words in the middle of a conversation. The pandemic has caused high stress.
    a
17. I feel fortunate, I’ve managed to avoid tough choices and have continued to run my business pretty much as we always have.
    a
18. We’ve had to be respectful of others and navigate around their wishes. Overall, I can’t wait to get back at standardized social norms again.
    a
19. I’ll stop holding so much inventory and go back to just in time inventory – if not completely, at least at a hybrid level.
    a
20. Stop postponing vacations and travel again.
    a
21. We switched all our grocery shopping to pick up. I’ll go back to shopping locally.
    a
22. I’ll stop talking about PPE, taking temperatures, scripting the next step, and making sure no one has any “symptoms”.
    a
23. Stop watching the news so intently – especially the COVID numbers locally and our state.
    a
24. Having a strategic plan is so important. It helps you think about the “what if’s” when things go great and when things go bad.
    a
    You look forward to where you want to be, and you look backward to see where you’ve been.