Sometime back, well, actually its been 2 years now, I had written a post on my Working from home experience [as a freelancer], and then along came 2020, forcing the whole world to switch to ‘Work from home’ mode~  How has life changed for me? Is there any change? Read on to know…

Are you one of those who had to switch to work from home format? What is your take on it? Accepted it [cos no choice & happy to have work/be busy?] or
Hate it [cos no choice, but it’s crazy, no life-work balance] or
Couldn’t care either ways [ you were wfh a couple of times a week even otherwise]

I know of quite a few who are not really enjoying working from home, the common complaints have been,
1. Spouse nags they arent helping around
2. Kid is constantly interrupting work/calls and demands attention
3. They are unable to focus with all the distractions around [family, TV, balcony, etc]
4. Unable to focus cos there is no chatter around them [colleagues yapping away]
5. Biggest complaint has been the water and tea/coffee breaks, plus loo visits that get them away from the seat for a while…
6. For some, work has become a 24/7 thing, clients/boss expect them to be available round the clock [else the “what are you doing, cooped up at home only right, might as well finish this task statements are thrown around]
7. The number of calls, which ideally should have been a message or mail taking away a big chunk of their time.

Personally for me,

  1. The hours spent online/on a screen [ phone or laptop] has gone up like crazy
  2. I have set clear boundaries [with one client who expects us to be available round the clock] that I will be available once in a while for a late evening call, not on a regular basis
  3. I turn off my laptop [ shut it down at times] when am done with work
  4. I take multiple short breaks during the day – it also helps if you have a pet, cos they are constantly hovering about seeking attention, or wanna go for a walk to pee/poop etc..
  5. I don’t live in my pyjamas, actually never did.. I have been wearing T-shirts, tops with pants or culottes, & dresses when at home.. Yes, I wore earrings and eyeliner/lipstick only when I stepped out.
  6. I always always shower in the morning- as always.. This has been the norm all my life, except when am on holidays [actually even then if am going to head out, I shower 1st, before breakfast]
  7. Invariably I am cooking lunch, and so I plan my morning such that I am done with lunch prep by 9, complete one round of client calls, head back to the kitchen to get lunch going before hitting work. This helps, otherwise am constantly shuttling between the dining table and the kitchen.
  8. I always have my water bottle with me, refill it during my breaks.
  9. When am on the laptop, 99% of the time you will find my earphones /earbuds plugged in – sometimes am on calls, other times listening to music, and 2% of the time they are just there.. Noise-canceling concept rocks~
  10. If am not in the mood to work, or my brain is fried, I just shut the laptop and get-away… Go sit in the front porch area, or walk around the house with music/nothing…

    What has life been like for you? Any new habits cultivated? Do your hobbies continue?

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
Share
Instagram