As we round out the sixth month of this global pandemic, it looks like there’s no end in sight for sheltering in place (at least here in sunny California). Our homes are working overtime as hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, gyms, schools and of course, offices. Since I’ve been “safer at home” for the past five years, I thought I would share some WFH knowledge.
Pre-COVID, I used to get asked about working from home quite a bit. Most people remarked that they didn't have the self-discipline to do it. My response has been that working at all (whether from home or in an office under the watchful eye of a supervisor) always involves self-discipline, which is easier to exercise when you have a productive workspace.
The conventional wisdom is that you need a dedicated office or workspace that is NOT in the bedroom. Now I'm not going to lie – having a separate office when we first moved into our house was delightful. But ever since our second child came along and stole my office, I've been making do, first with a nook in the den, then with a nook in the bedroom, and now with a nook in our garage (or as I call it, my groffice). Aside from it being a little unsightly, I don't think there's anything wrong with having your office in the bedroom (and for those of us who live in cities, it’s not really a choice anyway). I’ve worked just as productively in all three home office locations and so far, it hasn't cursed our bedroom.
The second thing I’ve noticed is that articles all proclaim that you need to "get dressed" every day. I say hogwash to that. A good two days a week I wear workout gear. All. Day. Long. My productivity increases by about ten-fold when I'm comfortable and. If I have a Zoom meeting that requires a little more polish, I throw on a blazer and consider myself good to go.
The next bit of sage advice from the masses is to have a set routine with scheduled breaks, including a lunch break. I know this works for some but it does not work for me. When work demands (as it has for the past year or so), I sit at my desk from 9-5 with almost no breaks other than to go to the bathroom or grab food and take it back to my desk. On those rare days when I have breathing room, I relish being able to hammer out some work tasks, take some time to do things around the house, then repeat until I feel ready to call it a day and get dinner started early.
This all flows with the next myth, which is that you shouldn't mix chores and personal tasks with your work day. I find the opposite to be true; I'm more satisfied when I can tackle enough work and personal things that I feel both areas are in-check. It doesn't mean that I'm slaying both, but I feel good as long as I'm not completely dropping the ball on either.
In closing, I’ll share my only two rules for working from home. My first is to get gear that you love. If you work for yourself, embrace that there are no corporate restrictions on computers or email systems or calendars. Even if you still have to stay within certain corporate guidelines, you can spruce up and decorate your workspace to reflect your own personality without incurring the wrath of your office manager.
My second rule is to acknowledge something good about working from home every day. Granted, this is easier to do in corona-less times, but even now I can always find something. Today it was wearing Birkenstocks all day but a few weeks ago it was taking a secret trip to the beach with Lily. These relatively small joys help me get through the groundhog day that we’re all living in right now.
Editorial Note: For those of you who read both this blog and my personal blog (hi Mom!), you’ll see that this post is an updated, slightly more professional take on this personal post from a few years ago. You can read about my groffice here.