2 dogs, 1 cat, 2 rabbits, 2 lizards, 14 turtles and a husband with cabin fever… Life is definitely interesting!
At first, I was a little dubious about working from home. I’m not a different person when I’m at home but my mind set is most certainly different. Usually when I walk into the office in the morning in my office attire (and of course killer heels), I get into character. I’m no longer a wife, step mother, daughter etc. I’m a business women with one aim, to go above and beyond for my clients.
So working from home meant I had to adjust, I’m a realist, I knew this wouldn’t happen immediately and there would of course be glitches.
I live in St Saviours so usually I would be at work for 8am, but that first day working from home I didn’t set my alarm until 7.30am!! What bliss! A shower, leggings and a comfy hoody later I was ready for work. No make-up (which meant no eyebrows), no false eyelashes, breakfast on the couch with my dogs blanketing me… Heaven!
Of course it didn’t continue to be heaven when the dogs started barking, the rabbits started rattling the doors of their mansion, the cat was walking across the keyboards and we started cursing, but like I said, glitches.
Logged in and ready to work before 9am, and then it hit me, this is going to be one of my biggest lessons in self-discipline. I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted. I’m not going to bore you with the details but I will say we created a routine similar to what we had when working in the office. The rabbits now go outside in the day and enjoy their bunny haven. The dog bed is moved into the conservatory/home office in the morning and put back in lounge at night. The cat, however, continues to make us both laugh and curse.
I now love working from home! Not only am I getting more done from home, I’m also now more conscious about how long I am spending in front of the computer screen and making sure I take regular breaks. For some reason I’m drinking more water (can’t be bad thing). I’ve also started doing yoga to help with the transition from work to home life at the end of the day. The dogs are asleep the majority of the time but are thriving on the extra attention when they’re awake. The rabbits are eating a huge amount. The lizards are now extremely friendly. The cat, well he’s not over the moon about the change.
I’m under no illusion that me and my husband have it 100 times easier than most, we aren’t trying to teach children while also working, we’re not essential workers risking our health and that of our families in order to do our jobs of saving and feeding others. We’re also fortunate enough to rent a home that has a garden to get fresh air in and space where we can separate our working day from our home lives.
For those of you struggling in this new ‘normal’ stay strong, this will end. For those of you risking yourselves for the sake of other, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, your bravery is empowering and your dedication is inspiring!