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Published on: 29th April 2020

mike-smith.jpegHi to all - I'm Mike Smith, Operations Director here at Frank.

As we all get used to working remotely as a team and helping to support all of our NHS clients as best we can whilst they all do a fantastic job day in day out combating this virus, I thought it would be good to jot down my checklist of what’s been going on in my lockdown.

As a project manager, I love a task list:

  1. Becoming a Jedi Master of TikToks – Daughters have obviously been a massive influence - Check
  2. Painted the front of the house – Including the front door in NHS blue! – Check
  3. Monitoring all the neighbours secretly trying to outdo each other on home improvements - Check
  4. Front and back garden tidiest they have ever been, waiting for the green bin collection to recommence so I can trim the lawn with the nail scissors again – Check
  5. Daily battles with Claire (my wife) as to who works in the quiet office space and who works in the kitchen with daily traffic like the M60 (I normally lose the coin toss...) – Check
  6. Checking every other day when I will be getting a refund for flights booked for the summer holiday – Check
  7. Getting more stressed out trying to complete 11+ maths with a 10 year old, who is better at it than me, than I do with my own work tasks – Check
  8. From the above point, having more admiration for teachers than I already did – Check
  9. Being warned on a regular basis by Claire that I might be sent to live out the rest of the lockdown in the shed - Check
  10. Loving being part of a street/community that applauds/whistles/bangs pans in honour of the marvellous NHS workers every Thursday night – Check
  11. Exercising daily with family, really enjoying those moments together - especially when we have to walk in single file, to safely pass others and I cannot hear the daughters moaning about having to walk - Check

On a serious note, my thoughts go out daily to those families who have family members in ICU or have sadly not won their battle with COVID-19. My family and I and all of the team at Frank will continue to do what we can to acknowledge the Government's directives and help to keep the NHS safe.

Take care,

Mike.