After an epic week in Sri Lanka I am back in busy Mumbai.
The usually buzzing airport was quiet this time around, and I must admit, I was rather thankful that the huge immigration queues were no more.
Covid-19 has certainly had a huge impact.
After an international travel, I was asked to self quarantine myself for 15 days. When I heard about it, yes the usual struck me, ‘how boring is that going to be?!’
It’s been a week and if I’m being honest, it’s really not bad as I thought it would be.
Technology has become the game changer and surely a life saver! I am quite surprised at the number of tools that are available to us in this day and age along with the manner in which it connects every department from the agency.
We are all aware of how crazy planning a boardroom meeting is by trying to get everyone in on time. However, these tools have greatly helped to make it a reality.
I see everyone joining calls, video calls on time and every meeting is short and effective, as it should be.
The norm being technology distancing people, I’ve realised that it actually does make you trust each other more and get the best out of people.
I do miss the hustle and bustle of the agency work environment and of course my delicious evening chai. However, this week quarantine has shown me that as much as I miss the crazy buzz of the agency, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
(Rinesh Jayarathne works with Leo Burnett Mumbai. He attended the maiden edition of the Epica Awards in Sri Lanka between 5-6 March 2020).
