Lesley McNiesh Gets Intentional

I’ve had a desk in this spot since I began working at VACO (Veterans Affairs Central Office) every day, but when we moved to remote work with the pandemic, I fixed it up to create a more comfortable, ergonomic full-time work place. I miss interacting with colleagues in person, but I feel really lucky to have a job I can do remotely. The virtual collaboration tools available today are really amazing, considering the challenges we faced, even just a few years ago, vis-à-vis video-conferencing, group document editing, virtual white boards, and work task management.

Outside of work, I’ve been trying to be intentional about activities that get me up and moving instead of just sitting at the computer, including walking my dog and taking online fitness classes with my gym. I definitely recommend trying live video exercise classes to anyone thinking about it. There are so many factors that make staying healthy especially difficult right now, and I’ve found classes strike a good balance between pandemic safety without sacrificing the motivation factor of exercising with a live instructor and group.