I need to start by expressing how lucky I know I am to not only keep my full-time job during this crisis, but to also work for a company that took a proactive and human-centric approach to allow all employees to work from home even before our city installed a "stay at home" rule. There is definitely a large group of the population that was not afforded this privilege, either because of their profession or their location. Despite the unknowns of COVID-19, I am grateful that I am able to prioritize the health and safety of myself and my loved ones and still have an income.
I was always curious what it would be like to have a remote job, but I never could have imagined that my first experience with it would be because of a pandemic.
The last time I worked in the office was March 12, 2020. It's now been over half a month of self-quarantining, and my co-workers and I (and millions of people around the world in the same situation) have no clue how soon we will be able to safely return to normal WFO-ffice life. We left under the impression that we'd come back in a couple weeks or months, but many experts now project it could be much, much longer.
Right now, I'm okay. The news cycle combined with the anxiety-powered wheels in my head have left me spinning at times, and I've had to be mindful not to muddle my work-life balance too much, but I'm finally feeling like I'm getting settling into a new groove. The following are my takeaways thus far:
I've had to mimic my in-office set up as much as possible to keep my productivity (and sanity). There is enough change as it is, and much of it is out of my control. However, one thing I have been able to do is mostly replicate the environment I'm used to working in. The first couple days of being at home, I was very unproductive. I had my wireless mouse and my laptop, but at the office, I work off of a desktop with two screens, a keyboard (with a number pad—very important for the nature of my job, and a mouse. So a tiny screen, a trackpad, and limited keyboard would of course slow me down. Once I got a monitor and a wireless keyboard, I was able to work at my normal speeds again!
Now that my boyfriend has basically become my coworker, our own space is necessary. Our dining table has transitioned into my desk (where I spend 80-90% of work hours, and the remainder is spent with just my laptop in bed or on the couch). It'd be nice to have a designated area.
I shouldn't have left my notepads and Post-It notes at the office. I never realized til now how much I rely on them for quick notes.
The news is too destructive to my productivity. I watched it religiously the first two weeks of being home, and seeing the case numbers and deaths in the US and around the world has really taken a toll. So, I've gotten more mindful of when and how long I let myself consume the news.
I need to remember to take breaks and eat three full meals. I've been starting work earlier than usual (before I get hungry) and have found that it's easy to work through to lunchtime. So I'm prioritizing "the most important meal" so that I'm ready to eat/rest at lunch and have a big dinner too.
My dog, Archie, is a lot more needy now that I'm home all the time. I think he's always nervous that we're going to leave the house without him like we used to for work.
I really wish our apartment had a balcony. It's too cold in Chicago to sit out there right now, but it'd still be nice to have that option when the weather warms up.
Recommendations to get dressed in the morning are B.S. I can be just as productive in my comfy clothes, my mindset doesn't change with my clothes.
I'm sure this list will need expanding, depending on how long quarantine extends, but I'm thinking this list may be (hopefully) amusing to look back on as a capsule of this strange time we're in.
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