Arbeta @ Home: Chelsey Lamb
Welcome to Arbeta @ Home, which is a series of content aimed at putting a smile on people’s faces and offering some tips and support during the coronavirus crisis. This week, we hear from our Ops Manager Chelsey Lamb, who keeps everything in order at Arbeta and is adjusting to life working from home.
What do you do?
My name’s Chelsey and I’m the Operations Manager at Arbeta. My job is to ensure the building is running smoothly and all our amazing tenants are happy in their workplaces.
What’s your new morning routine to get you ready for the day ahead?
I won’t lie and say it wasn’t hard at first – I live out in the countryside and commute daily, so all of a sudden I had no commute and no lovely office building to manage in person. Plus, the walk to a full fridge was suddenly a real thing and the temptation to go for the snacks is real (I’ve yet to pass up on the snacks).
But over time I’ve adjusted, I still set my alarm and get up at 7.30am – I’ve been trying to get into a routine with exercise and have been doing Zoom sessions in a personal training group, which really helps my mood at the start of the day (however, the snacks are still winning!). I think it’s really important to get into some kind of routine for our new ‘normal’. It’s easy to get bogged down at the minute with everything that’s happening around us.
Another big thing for me is if I’ve got a quiet hour or so in the morning or later on in the afternoon, I utilise the time to go on my daily walk with the dog, Albus. We’re super lucky because we have endless countryside on our doorstep, so I’ve been making sure we get out every day and the fresh air really helps me reset and stay positive.
How are you balancing work and home life?
I miss the office and my team a lot. I miss the change of scenery and how my job involves talking to different creative, talented people every day. I loved being with Arbeta during the build to completion, watching it grow and seeing tenants move in. However, I do enjoy the free time I’ve gained from not commuting – it’s given me more energy before and after work to do things in my house like painting or take Albus on longer walks, which I don’t normally get to do during the week. I’ve been strict with my working hours and make sure that as soon as Friday afternoon comes around and our weekly team quiz is over, I log off and enjoy a much-needed weekend off.
My fiancé is also working super hard during lockdown and has commandeered the office, so I’ve set up a temporary workstation in our spare bedroom this week, which is much better than the kitchen table – one, for the nice window to look out of and two, I no longer have a dog jumping on my knee every Zoom call to say hello to everyone!
What’s helping keep you and your team motivated while working from home?
Staying in touch with everyone is vital – not just from a work perspective, but also in terms of wellbeing as everybody is dealing with the situation differently and it helps to support each other. We have management calls every other day where we discuss any updates and I then pass any messages to my team members. I’ve also started a weekly team quiz to bring everyone together and have a bit of fun for an hour, helping us forget about our troubles and switch off from work.
What are you looking forward to most when lockdown is over?
Hugging my family is the most important and keeps me going! I live quite far away and my parents are both NHS workers, so I can’t wait for all of this to be over and not have to worry about their safety. I can’t wait to give my grandparents the biggest hugs and pop round for a brew mid-week after work. Not to forget all my amazing friends who I’m missing loads. I’m also looking forward to getting back to work (not a sentence many people usually say!) and filling Arbeta to the brim with tenants from the tech and creative sector.
Can you share anything that’s helped your wellbeing during this difficult time?
Firstly, it’s okay to not be okay at times like these – as long as we’re all talking to each other. Whether that be colleagues, friends, family, neighbours, anyone. Times like these are scary and unsettling, but keeping things bottled up will only make you worse. Get out for that walk a day and feel the fresh air on your cheeks, do exercise if it helps but don’t beat yourself up if you’re not doing any. Social media can be the devil at times like this, so we must be careful not to compare ourselves to others. There’s lots of advice through mental health charities if you’re struggling too.
When it comes to work, utilise your time effectively – most of the world isn’t as busy as usual, so if it’s a bit quiet use that time to read a chapter of a book or play with your dog. There’s nothing worse than forcing yourself to work when your mind isn’t in it, so take regular breaks. I find I’m most effective in the early mornings and late evenings at the minute – try and build a routine to suit your productivity levels if the work you do allows it. If you’re finding it hard, especially if you’ve got kids at home, then speak to your managers.
But above all, take care and stay safe. Normality will resume shortly and it will be amazing – all those memories and months we’ve got to make up for!