New family bonds emerging from a "new daily schedule."

Even when physically apart, skillfully using technology can make us feel closer than ever before. A slight shift in perspective can create entirely new connections. The new lifestyle emerging in the wake of COVID-19 could be called "Remote Connection Life" (Remote Connection Life). Remote Connection Life is Remote Communication Life, and it also creates Remote Comfortable Life. This series explores the "future vision" of this lifestyle—staying connected while physically apart—through conversations between magazine editors and Dentsu Inc. creators.
For the third installment, we spoke with Asako Imao, Editor-in-Chief of "VERY".

<Table of Contents>
▼【Remote Connection Life Story #03: A New Schedule】
▼ New Freedom Emerges from a New Schedule
▼ Moms' "Me Time" Shifts from Night to Early Morning
▼ A Positive Mom's New Realization Leads to New Actions
▼ The Cool Hubby Embraces a "Shared Mindset"
▼ Valuing communication that keeps us close even when apart

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【Remote Life Story #03: New Schedule】

(Case of Ayako Katsumi / Manufacturer Employee / Age 33)

The spread of remote work triggered by COVID-19 has meant working dads and moms are home more often. Naturally, this has changed family dynamics and marital relationships, but "VERY" Editor-in-Chief Imao emphasizes, "The biggest change has been each person's 'schedule.'"

"Working moms used to somehow fit themselves into the 'schedule' set by their company and their children's school 'schedule,' managing to juggle everything. So, with remote work, many people who had been convinced they 'couldn't do it' started thinking, 'Oh, I can do it if I just change how I use my time!'"

Based on Editor-in-Chief Imao's insights, how has COVID-19 changed "moms' time," "spousal relationships," and "family bonds"? We've compiled a few stories to explore this.

Tomohiro Nozawa (Dentsu Inc. 1CRP Bureau)

Illustration: Taro Uryu

5:00 AM. The terrace seats of a cafe near Komazawa Park are filled with customers who've just finished their runs. Ayako enters the shop and chooses a table by the far wall.

"I'll have a herbal tea, please." After placing her order, Ayako removed her mask and took a book and notebook from her bag. On remote work days, she wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and spends this "alone time" at this cafe. She reads a book she likes and jots down whatever comes to mind. Why hadn't she been able to carve out time just for this before...?

She'd come home from work, prepare dinner, and put her daughter—who turned four this year—to bed. She'd finish the work she'd brought home before her husband returned, then collapse exhausted into bed. Mornings were a frantic rush to get her child to daycare, leaving no time even for makeup, before heading to the office. "Me time" simply didn't exist anywhere in the family's schedule. After spending an hour at the cafe, Ayako headed to the long-established bakery in the shopping district. Since the park cafe started opening at 5 a.m., more shops in the district had begun opening early too. This bakery was already filling the neighborhood with the scent of freshly baked goods by 6 a.m.

"The weather's nice today, let's eat on the terrace," her husband called out to Ayako as she returned home, having just finished his workout in the living room. During the stay-at-home period, he'd suddenly decided he wanted to be able to do strength training in the living room. When they removed the low table that had occupied the center of the room, they surprisingly found enough space to move around. Now, he uses it in the morning, the kids dance there during the day, and Ayako does slow yoga in the evening. With the living room effectively becoming a studio, they often eat meals on the terrace now. It's just a camping table set out there, but it feels like the couple's conversations have increased compared to last year.

"I was supposed to go to work today..." my husband said, biting into a thick slice of bread, "but I'll just work from Ikai instead." "Ikai" is the workspace on the first floor of the apartment building. What used to be a reception area was renovated due to COVID and is now a space where residents can "work from home." My husband prefers using it, but Ayako finds working inside the house more relaxing. So, she cleaned out the space that had been her "makeup area" (which was really just a storage room) in the bedroom and decided to use it as her "mama room."

"I'll probably be free for about two hours starting at noon, so I'll make lunch. What do you want?" Before Ayako could answer, her daughter piped up, "Pasta!" "Okay! I'll be right back," her husband said, leaving the house still dressed in his T-shirt and shorts. Eight years into their marriage, she'd sometimes found him "indecisive" or "unreliable," but lately, she found herself appreciating his flexibility more and more. According to Maki, my best friend since college who's currently on the hunt for a husband, the ideal modern man embodies the "Three Softs." That is: "Soft manners. A flexible mindset. A flexible work style." Indeed, the fact that we could both work from home without stress was thanks to my husband's "Three Softs."

11:00. Just as I finished two remote meetings, the doorbell rang. "Oh, here they come..." Tonight, we have a remote dinner with my husband's relatives in Niigata. People who used to only gather twice a year for Obon and New Year's now meet monthly. My grandmother, celebrating her 88th birthday, looks forward to talking with her great-grandchildren every time. A little trick for remote dinners is to have everyone eat the same thing. Ayako had previously ordered delicious Sendai beef tongue online and ordered it again, dividing portions for each relative's home. And surely, something delicious would come from Niigata too...

"Delivery for a refrigerated package!" — Shrimp? Crab? What could it be...? Ayako held her breath and called out loudly into the intercom, "Coming!"

(This story is fictional. It bears no relation to any real persons or organizations.)

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New freedom emerges from a new schedule

Please take a look at the interview with Asako Imao, Editor-in-Chief of "VERY," which served as inspiration for the above "Remote Control Life Story."

VERY Editor-in-Chief Asako Imao, who kindly agreed to a remote interview (bottom row: members of Dentsu Inc.'s 'Remote Control Life' team)

What we value most at "VERY" magazine is listening to our readers. Their voices always hold hidden hints—small things that can bring a smile or inspire a positive outlook on life. We want to carefully uncover these hints and deliver them to our readers. That is our editorial policy.

After the stay-at-home period began, having children at home while both husband and wife worked remotely in a small space created pure chaos. Often, the burden fell heavily on the wife—working while supervising the children's studies and constantly preparing meals was incredibly demanding. Yet, what we started hearing more often from working moms was, "Remote work actually has a lot of good things too."

We, especially moms raising children, have long forced ourselves into rigid schedules dictated by schools, companies, and society. But remote work finally gave us a chance to break free from those traditional timetables. That realization feels like the most significant insight gained from living through "stay-at-home" life.

VERY readers tend to have very flexible mindsets and already enjoy their free time. They enjoy fashion and shopping in their own way. They find style in functional, comfortable things rather than mindlessly chasing trends. Even so, we've realized we were unknowingly bound by someone else's "schedule." But I think this is an opportunity, whether you're a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. We can live more freely. We can live more lightly.

Moms' "alone time" shifts from night to early morning

A clear example of how the traditional "schedule" has changed is "early morning time." For moms, "me time" used to be limited to the hours after the kids fell asleep until their husbands came home. Even then, it might be just a little time if the husband came home early to take over so she could go out for drinks, or if he took the kids to the park on weekends. That was about the extent of it.

But with reduced commutes and fewer drop-offs/pick-ups, many moms suddenly realized, "Wow, I had this much time!" For instance, going for an early morning walk and noticing bird songs they'd never heard before. Such small discoveries spark new awareness, enriching daily life as a whole.

Positive moms' new realizations spark new actions

Moms used to be too busy to really pay attention to their homes. But during this stay-at-home period, they started seriously thinking about things like "How can I get my kids moving?" or "How can I make remote work work well in our small space?" This led to questions like "What should the living room actually be like?" or "Where should the TV really go?" – problems that couldn't be solved without challenging preconceived notions about the home.

Some realized simple things like, "Oh, the terrace is part of the house too," and started effectively using it to create a comfortable space. I also heard many stories of moms starting dance or yoga sessions with their kids right in the living room. There are plenty of signs that positive moms are beginning to change their actions, sparked by small realizations. I think this stay-at-home period also gave us the breathing room for a shift in perspective and the time to unleash our imagination.

Cool Husbands Have a "Share Mind"

The image of the "ideal husband" might also change because of COVID. Simply put, it's about whether he has a "sharing mindset." I feel it's becoming incredibly important whether you can create a "schedule" together. While communication skills might sound like a basic thing, when facing new changes, you have no choice but to steadily repeat the process of discussing and updating each other's roles and rules, then discussing and updating them again.

So, whether someone excels at this kind of steady communication is super important when choosing a marriage partner (lol). I feel like men need the ability to visualize everything each partner can do and smoothly discuss, "So, who should handle this?"

This "ability to see the whole picture" might be needed not just for husbands, but for children too. Kids who understand the bigger picture—not just household chores, but life as a whole—like noticing "Oh, Mom used to do that," or "But Dad handled that"—aren't they resilient no matter what situation they face? It would be truly wonderful if we could nurture that kind of sense in them: the imagination to wonder "Hmm, who's handling this?" when looking at society as a whole, or the consideration to realize "Oh, someone's doing this for us," even for things we've always taken for granted.

Valuing communication that makes you feel close even when apart

It's not just online drinking parties, but things like close friends who live far apart connecting to eat together – I want to keep that going forever. At my house, we have weekly online family dinners connecting everyone from my 99-year-old great-grandma to my 3-year-old great-grandchild, and honestly, we meet more often now than before COVID (laughs).

VERY readers really love and value communication that conveys feelings even when we can't meet. While terms like "mid-year gifts" and "year-end gifts" sound formal, I feel this kind of communication – exchanging locally sourced items or sharing delicious things we ordered online – will only grow more common going forward.

The stay-at-home period was a time for thinking about different ways to convey feelings. I think it also sparked ideas about how to make people feel really close even when we can't meet.

[From the Remote Life Team]

From Editor-in-Chief Imao's remarks,
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◉ Early morning consumption
◉ 5 AM Opening
◉ Terrace as Living Space
◉ Living Room as Studio
◉ Mom's Room, Dad's Room, Kids' Room
◉ Coworking space in the apartment
◉ The ideal man embodies the "Three Softnesses"
◉ Remote Homecoming
◉ Online dinners
◉ Stay-at-home parties
◉ Mail-order & Sharing Meals

How will the novel coronavirus change our lifestyles? We aim to predict the future by focusing on the subtle shifts in daily life and the subtle changes in people's hearts that have blended into their routines, seeking to create new value. This series explores that potential through the lens of "remote control living."