Furlough is an opportunity

Writing for the Market? Starting from scratch

Furlough is an opportunity

Apologies if that comes across as toxic positivity. As someone who has encountered mental health issues, nothing riles me more than the toxic negativity set, or those who want to close their eyes to the world around them. Why have chocolate ganache as a first image? I used to have a real hang-up over making ganache properly. I have used the time to work it out.

Cooking: Ganache

COVID-19 has changed both the world and our own personal spheres. At the moment, I am on furlough from my retail job as a Store Manager in The Works. That is likely to be the case until ‘Easter’, although whether than means before Easter, the beginning of April, the end of the school holidays? Who knows? Everyone says we can learn lessons from what is happening, and some have. As the events of the past few days in the American Capitol have demonstrated, some can’t and won’t learn about how the world has changed.

Our Prime Minister seems to be doing his best to ensure that the UK is cut off from Europe, a situation with which I do not agree. In the course of my working life, I have travelled to most European conference centres, and ventured out of the hotel as well. The exchange of information at international conferences is a vital part of development, or without it, we will stagnate. I worked for companies who imported their products from Europe and further afield. In the cost-cutting world of the National Health Service (NHS), the prices of those products as a result of being made abroad were key. But, who will pay when those prices have to rise due to the additional paperwork? I can’t see companies like my last employer being able to swallow that price increase.

Cooking: Vegan Stir Fry

Then again, the pandemic has brought other opportunities. Looking as someone who has been out of medical sales, but with a 20 year career behind me, I have seen the NHS change. Reduced face to face contact. Scanning job advertisements, some companies view it as an ‘opportunity’ to speak to more customers. Does that take into account that those customers are, to use the vernacular, up to their eyeballs in dealing with the pandemic? I used to work with Anaesthetists and ICU teams, those same teams at the heart of the pandemic. As the world changes, so must we.

So opportunity? Reconnecting with people. I have been talking to my old role-playing writer friends, and enjoying the flow of ideas that comes from that. Cakes? Not so much because my husband really needs to lose weight. Cookery? Yes, because I have time now to plan meals, to cook those dishes which are more healthy but take time. Working where I have been has given me a huge library of cook books. Planning. I have seen people who say there is no point in planning at the moment. But, your life is in your hands. Outline your dreams, plan your ideal holiday. If you don’t examine the ‘what if’ , then you will stagnate.

Don’t try for everything at once. That was the mistake that I made in the last extended lockdown. Pick and choose what you want to do. I have donated those craft items I bought which I won’t use, to focus on my art, writing and cookery. And yeah, that home office of mine is in for a shake-up, now that I know I will be off work until Easter … unless I find another job. Who knows? Whether you take baby steps or stride off into the wide blue yonder will be your choice. There is nothing wrong with baby steps if that is what it takes. Sales can be a game of patience. The trick is knowing when to move.