The secret to working from home, from one who knows.
/And on the 2nd Monday of forced WFH time, the public cried: shit’s getting real.
Ironically, I spent the last month adjusting to life working in an office, and now, we’re back! But this means I can share all of the things I learned in my year of working from home with all of you first timers. Don’t worry, kids, it’s just like riding a bike.
I will spare you all of the tips that the news outlets have been running all over the place (still change out of your pajamas! even if it’s just into other pajamas!).
In fact I will just give you one magical secret - the one that changed my life as a person who worked from home, and the one that your boss doesn’t want to tell you but SHOULD. Because it’s better for everyone in the long run.
When you’re working from home, you simply cannot work as much. Burnout becomes a much bigger risk.
You may say to yourself “but I’m working fewer hours at home. How could I possibly burn myself out? I can go for 10, 12 hours on a normal work day.”
And therein lies the big insight that will make you go “OHHH”: when you’re working at home, you’re generally working harder than you would at the office.
Why? at home, there are far fewer distractions than there are at the office (for the most part - working parents with kids at home, you are our true heroes right now). At work, you small talk with your people. You sit in meetings that you’re not leading or deeply participating in. You are interrupted and asked to share an opinion. All of these things add up to several mental breaks throughout the day, a few minutes that quickly add up to a few hours of time that is not spent ‘heads down.’ A 9 hour work day becomes really a 5 hour work day with a lot of b.s. in between.
At home, there are much fewer built in distractions.
So we have to build them in ourselves… or risk running ourselves ragged.
So here’s what I learned about staying sane while WFH:
You’re allowed to work fewer hours because you’re working harder in those hours
You need to build in time for yourself - to take time away from work. It’s imperative. Even if it’s 15-20 minutes at a time. I learned to love flipping through magazines, COOKING lunch, prepping for dinner, doing a quick workout, catching up on a quick episode of a favorite show. You must do this multiple times throughout the day.
You must get to know your feelings and pay attention to them. When you’re getting ornery or tired or bored or frustrated, listen to yourself. Use it as a signal that it’s time for a break. Step away. Do something different. Get a chance of scenery.
You are allowed to relinquish any and all guilt around the above. In fact, you must.
You will always have more to do. Whatever you were able to get done that day was enough.
Some days will be more productive than others, and that’s okay.
Now go put on an episode of Schitt’s Creek and call it a day.
x
Katie