Patrick Hendrickson Accentuates the Positive

In the early days of the pandemic, I anticipated only having to be fully teleworking for a few weeks before we all returned to the office and back to normal. After April and May came and went it became apparent that this crisis was going to last much longer and I needed to establish a more permanent workspace. I was fortunate to commandeer a vacant bedroom in my house as my housemates set up shop in the living room and the basement to conduct their remote jobs. We’re all familiar with the sad aspects of the current situation, but looking on the brighter side, I shaved more than an hour off my daily commute, get to eat homemade breakfast and lunches, and have saved a lot of money on coffee!

It has been my experience that, with Microsoft Teams and other technologies, the MPS team has been able to facilitate more efficient meetings, have more quiet time to be productive and thoughtful, and have wasted less printer paper than ever before. I also purchased a large second monitor that has allowed me to toggle between meetings, slide decks, documents, and Teams conversations more efficiently than ever. I’m optimistic that this experience will reimagine, for the better, how organizations work.

In addition to my primary commitments to my clients, I have had the opportunity to mentor and work with two cohorts of our DTX interns – an exciting program that began just as the pandemic hit. I have also benefited from the many professional development trainings MPS and our partners have to offer – and logging into an evening class is much more convenient when not having to travel across town in the DC summer swelter.

Outside of ‘the office’, I’ve enjoyed watching sports as they’ve slowly returned, going for long walks in my neighborhood while catching up on political podcasts, playing virtual trivia with my parents and siblings online, and fighting with mosquitos in my backyard. I’m looking forward to seeing my colleagues in person again and being able to attend large events, but in the meantime, I’ll take advantage of not commuting and just enjoy the extra hour to sleep in the morning.