London Land Life Under Lockdown
A little insight into how we have been adapting to life under lockdown.
Chloe
It has been a world of webinars, zoom calls and gaining inspiration through Instagram for me. I feel extremely fortunate and grateful to have been kept busy during these unprecedented times, we are delighted that we’ve managed to secure a new project amongst the madness; meeting the client for the first time via a Zoom call was definitely a new experience. Video calls have never been my favourite form of communication but I’m pleased to say I’ve learnt to embrace and adapt! Maintaining contact with my lovely suppliers has been essential so we keep momentum on the various projects. As my father has always said, ‘this too shall pass’.
Penny
I never thought I’d be the kind of person to ‘work from home’ and always imagined there would be too many distractions. When situations are forced upon us however, we rise to the challenge and adapt. Within a short space of time I had a routine in place and whilst I miss the face to face interaction with my lovely colleagues at London Land, technology has enabled us to keep in close contact. By not commuting I am able to look at improving the way I go about my job for the better of my clients and colleagues (not to mention being able to spend more time growing fruit and vegetables on my allotment, walking with my husband and dog and keeping in touch with friends and family much more.)
Dominic
Extraordinary times indeed and challenging from a business perspective of course, but our health and wellbeing have come first. I’m incredibly proud of our wonderful team here at LLM and the manner in which they’ve responded to the challenges posed by the lockdown, in the words of my son’s teacher……you’ve all been terrific ‘adaptable chameleons’! I’m delighted to say that we have successfully maintained our duties and responsibilities to clients, and of course tenants. It’s certainly been an opportune time for reflection and re-thinking in respect of a number of our internal systems and procedures; I’ve no doubt we shall all come out of this stronger.
Ellie
During the lockdown I have found it easy to keep up my motivation with not being able to go into the office, especially not having to commute every day! We have three calls a day with our team; one at 9am, 1pm and 4pm which enables us to update each other on what’s going on at all the properties and keeps us all in the loop. As recently becoming Private Homes Manager I have been communicating with our clients abroad and updating them with our current situation as well as enjoying in getting to know them. Having more time in the evenings, it has meant I have been able to go on some lovely walks near my home in the countryside. We are a close knit team and all extremely looking forward to getting back into the office.
Poppy
As the newest member of the LLM team, starting just a couple of weeks before lockdown began, it certainly hasn’t been the most typical start to a new job! I am very lucky however to have an incredibly supportive team around me and the wonders of modern technology have enabled us to maintain easy communication – via whatsapp, video calls or more traditionally (!!) email and telephone. The number one priority for us is to ensure our clients’ properties are legally compliant and as a result of lockdown the Government have relaxed the time frame in which certain certificates need to be undertaken – essential when many people do not want contractors in their homes. This does mean we will have a backlog of work to be completed after this period of enforced lockdown ends but as a team we are keeping this at the forefront of our minds to ensure we are as prepared as we can be when resuming “normal” life again. My days off have like most people’s in London involved long walks along the river or reigniting my love for baking!
Emily
During the lockdown I have been working from home at my parents’ house in Suffolk. Although it has been a strange adjustment from London life, our team at London Land have been continuing to communicate often, we have three video calls a day which gives us a chance to catch up on what we have all been getting on with throughout the day. I have continued to arrange for contractors to attend properties where absolutely necessary and have been communicating closely with tenants. Although working in the countryside has been a nice break from London, especially as we have a new puppy at home, I am looking forward to getting back to the office and seeing the team again.
Georgia
Both conveniently and inconveniently my house move in London took place just before the lockdown was imposed, so it was a bit of a mad rush, however I was lucky to be able to do so as I know many moves have been disrupted/halted due to the lockdown. Now working from home at my parents’ house in Devon I have had to adjust quickly to remote working life! Being outside of London definitely has its benefits, the air is fresher and I certainly enjoy the greenery, however English countryside is not known for its strong Wi-Fi so this has proven frustrating at times! Its certainly interesting how possible it has been to work as a team whilst not being together, and being separated has introduced us to new, constructive ways to carry out our work which I imagine we will continue to use. I know as a team we are all missing each other so we are patiently looking forward to being back in the office and getting ‘back to normal’ or the so-called ‘new normal’.
