お久しぶりです!
Long time no talk!
しばらく更新せず、すみません🙏
I'm sorry for not updating for a while...
そして今日もTOKYO FM『高橋みなみのこれから何する?』ありがとうございました!
And thank you for those who listened to the Tokyo FM radio show that I'm on every Monday!
英語だとどんなシチュエーションでも、まぁ大丈夫だろうと余裕を持って挑めますが、第二言語の日本語となると、その日の調子やトピックによって急に詰まることがあったり、逆にスラスラ話せる日もあったり…コミュニケーションって本当にメンタル要因が大きいですよね。
Regardless of what situation I'm in, so long as it's in English, I usually have the confidence to face any challenge. But when it comes to talking in Japanese (my second language), depending on my condition that day or the topic of discussion, I may suddenly choke or get stuck, or if I'm feeling good, I may have no problem smoothly expressing my thoughts in Japanese. I do feel that your mental state is such a significant factor when communicating.
メンタルと言えば、実はここ１～２週間くらい、頭がぼーっとしてしまい、ふと気づいたら自分が人と話していることに気づき、我に返るという、なんだか不思議な現象を経験するようになりました。
Speaking of mental state, actually, these past one or two weeks, I would experience this odd state in which my head would feel fuzzy, and I would zone out...then suddenly realize that I was talking to someone and snap back to reality.
口を開けて、声を発してるのに、なんだか外側から自分の言葉を聞いている（？）という、なんとも奇妙な感覚。約４か月間在宅勤務で環境の変化がほとんどなく、仕事も倍以上に忙しくなったので毎日朝から晩までPCの前に座っていて、ストレスなのか、ただ疲れてるのか、自粛生活に未だに慣れることができていなのか…。
It was a strange sensation -- I would be opening my mouth and speaking with my voice, but it felt like I was listening to myself from somewhere outside myself. Since I've been working from home for about 4 months with no change in my environment, and I've been doubly busy, spending long days in front of my PC, I thought: perhaps it's stress, perhaps it's exhaustion, or perhaps I haven't been able to fully adjust to a lifestyle of self-isolation...
明確な原因はわかりませんが、何であってもリフレッシュが必要だなと感じました・・・ので、ホテルに３日間滞在することにしました。
I didn't know the exact cause, but whatever it was, I knew that I needed to get away to reset...so, I decided to stay in a hotel for 3 days.
都内のホテル、家からタクシーで１５分。しかも平日なのでいつものように一日中リモート会議があり、ホテルからほとんど外に出ることはなかったのですが、いつもと違う景色を見て、違う環境で仕事して、違うベッドでぐっすり寝ることによって、精神的にも身体的にもリフレッシュすることができました。
A hotel in the city, located just 15 minutes by taxi from my home. Plus, since I was staying there during the week, I had my normal schedule of back-to-back remote meetings all day and ended up not really leaving my hotel room. But by gazing at completely different scenery, by working in a completely different environment, and by sleeping in a completely different bed, I was able to feel more refreshed, both mentally and physically.
毎日の散歩も、違う景色！ミーティングの合間、外に出て、いつもと違う空気を吸って、気分転換。
I was able to see new things during my daily walk as well! I went outside in between my meetings, breathing in different air for a change of pace.
最近、都内のホテルでも「テレワーク応援プラン」を提供しているところがあるようですね。
Recently, I've heard that some hotels in the city are offering "telework support plans."
私が止まったホテルはそのようなプランはなかったですが、ホテル側のコロナ対策はしっかりしていて、ロビーが混まないように人を上手く誘導したり、いたるところにアルコール消毒液が設置されていたり。
The hotel I stayed at didn't have such a plan, but they were very good at taking measures against COVID-19, such as guiding people in the lobby to maintain social distancing and setting hand sanitizers all over the hotel.
短い間でしたし、部屋にずっとこもっていて仕事していたんですが、ちょっと時間がある時は少し昼寝したり、仕事が終わったらお風呂でゆっくりしたり、いつもと違う夜景を眺めたり…ありがたいことに、予想以上にリセットすることができました。
It was a short time, and I spent most of it in my hotel room, but I was able to take naps when I had a bit of time, take a nice long bath after my last meeting, and enjoy a different night view...thankfully, I was able to reset, more than I had expected.
環境を変えるだけでこんなにすっきりするんだ！と気づき、このラーニングを踏まえて、家に戻ってから、少し環境の変化を心がけています。デスクの位置を頻繁に変えたり、全く違う色のカーテンを買ってみたり、散歩は毎日違うルートを歩いたり。
Based on my learnings from this experience that changing my environment can result in me feeling more refreshed, I have been trying to make small adjustments in my home environment -- for example, frequently changing the location of my desk, buying different colored curtains, and trying to find new walking routes for my daily walk.
ニューノーマル（新常態）が定着していくなか、試行錯誤を重ねて新しい生活様式と、自分と周囲の健康を両立しなきゃですね！皆さんも在宅勤務や新しい生活様式に関してお勧めやチップスがあれば、是非シェアしてください
As the "new normal" becomes...well...our daily normal, I suppose we all have to find a way through trial and error to balance this new lifestyle with our own and others' health! Please do share if you have any tips or recommendations for this.
Stay safe! Have a lovely week :)