Many of us are working from home via Zoom™, Teams™, Skype™, or Facetime™ these days. It isn’t always easy! We are thankful that the camera only sees so much. Polly is feeling the same way, wanting to appear confident and in control, even when chaos is all around her.
Can you relate to the contrast between Polly’s “Zoom life” and her “real life?”
Lol — my house isn’t that bad, but I do have to clear off my kitchen counter on a regular basis because it’s visible behind me on Zoom calls at my desk! It doesn’t take long, because everything is either trash, mail, or has a home for me to return it to, but things do have a way of piling up.
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You do have to “set the stage” for the professional calls, right? there is always a stack or pile somewhere that needs to be dealt with. I am now sharing space with my husband a lot, and we have different definitions of “orderly.” So, we try to flex and make it work, and I clear before my calls.
Yup, can totally relate and looks about right for the times here, too ?
For sure, Janine. We all have some disorder that we would rather the camera not see!
Thanks for this light hearted look at life right now!
Even organizers have a little disorder we would rather the camera not see, especially when we are on calls from spaces we are sharing with family members. It’s okay – all in the same boat:)
Oh yes! I think this is true for everyone these days. It’s not just the clutter in our homes that we may be hiding but also the clutter in our minds. Peace to you and Polly!
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That’s for sure, Sabrina. I, for one, am glad that no one can read my mind. I’m not certain that someone won’t figure out a way to do this down the road, but I’m hoping it doesn’t happen:)
The area behind my desk never used to bother me on Zoom calls, but I’ve now seen so many friends and colleagues with beautiful blank walls, art work, etc. behind them that I’m wondering what I can change to make mine more attractive.
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Seeing other people’s spaces often makes us reflect on our own. Crafting a “zoom-friendly” space (and wardrobe) seem to be a thing now, right?
I love Polly! She always tells it (shows it) like it is!
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That’s the goal, Diane. To show how people are truly behaving and feeling, and let everyone know that they are not “the only one” who doesn’t have it all together:) Thanks so much for the affirmation!
Yes! It is good that only so much shows. It isn’t easy to manage a home office and a home when that is not the normal lifestyle. While I am thankful for Zoom I know it really doesn’t replace in person contact. It may be the way of the future however.
Yes, that is a tough balancing act for most families these days. We are all doing the best we can! I agree that this may be the way of the future.
I’m finding this with almost every new client right now. I have people asking to configure spaces so that members of their zoom classes can’t see the mess. I’ve been asking “what if we organize your space so that you don’t mind it being seen instead?”
It’s quite interesting coming up with creative home classroom/work stations through this season.
I love the question you offer back! That probably opens peoples’ eyes to new possibilities they hadn’t considered. Crazy time, but we adjust and make the best of the situation:)
LOVE this. I’m still laughing. I think we all have a little bit of Polly inside of us. At least she gives us a sense of privacy.
This is definitely to the point. I still have to make sure that my surroundings are neat during a Zoom call. This is just in case the camera decides to do a wide view on its own without any help from me.
Seems there is always something back there that you didn’t remember! I try to take quick peak before I begin. That said, it has been fun to see the background of everyone else’s Zoom screen. Reminds me that we are all doing the best we can!
Polly is totally relatable here! You just need to add a kiddo underfoot and the barking dog – lol!!
Both of those would have been good additions! The barking dog is a tough one to deal with, especially when someone rings the doorbell!
Your Polly cartoon cracked me up. Often when I’m on Zoom calls, I have a screen behind me. Primarily I use it so that whoever I’m talking with isn’t distracted by the colors and objects in the room. It also creates a calm-looking backdrop. But just the other day, I was on Zoom, and someone commented about my calm background. I joked with them and said, “You should see what’s behind it!” I was kidding. The room was in fine shape. But when I read your cartoon, it made me laugh. So often, we’re trying to “look just fine” when we’re on Zoom when we’re really feeling quite chaotic inside or out.
What you see on Zoom isn’t necessarily the full picture, right? Love that you have a screen behind you. I sit with my back to a window, and I draw the shade down so I’m not backlit. Zoom has become the new social media, where the public face may or may not represent the way things really are.
I’ve seen lots of spaces (over zoom) that have told me a lot about how people I worked with or network with live. It’s been quite interesting. The shows that people are really clutter blind.
It has been interesting to see what might be hanging out in the Zoom background. It’s actually been fun to see the newscasters from home. Of course, the virtual background is an “instant fix,” but I like seeing people in their real space:)
My kids started fulltime remote learning today and it was a little rough,. I hated Zoom well before COVID but I’m trying to put that aside and be positive for them. It’s a steep learning curve!
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It is a learning curve for sure. One that pretty much everyone has had to run up without any training. Good luck to the kids. They will probably pick it right up no problem:)
This is so funny because it is so accurate!
The truth is always the funniest stuff there is, right?