Home is Where the Work Isn’t

Dear Reader,

Do you work from home? When speaking with colleagues, almost all look forward to home-office days. Today, I had a unique opportunity to work from home. I learned a very valuable thing from this experience — I’m not a house person. 

I’m probably an outlier when it comes to work style. For one, I enjoy my long (~50min) walk to the office every day and I’m eager to get to my desk well before 9am. Although I prefer to work in a quiet place on my own, working from home turns out to not really be my thing. 
My home office day actually got off to a good start though. I did not set an alarm, yet I managed to wake up just a half hour later than on a normal workday. However, from there, I wasn’t really sure how to proceed. Should I go to the gym? Should I start work early? Should I eat breakfast? Outside of the comfort of my routine, these simple tasks did not come naturally to me. 
I began work this morning from bed. However, about 40mins into the task, sitting in bed became wildly uncomfortable. So I took a break, not even an hour into my workday, to make breakfast. I usually eat near the office, which meant even deciding what to make was uncharted territory for me. Also, I got carried away with the whipped cream… see above.

I returned to work after breakfast, but the internet connection was almost non-existent! Immediately, I began to miss the fast, secure connection that the office offers. The internet at home is utterly frustrating. I don’t want to call anyone out… but if COMCAST weren’t the only option in my building, I wouldn’t touch their service with a 39-AND-A-HALF FOOT POLE!!!!

Around mid-morning, the first symptoms of cabin fever were starting to show– restlessness, food cravings (more whipped cream was involved), and feelings of isolation. I started to perform some household tasks at this point. I was losing focus. It’s hard to concentrate when your environment does not suit you. I increased my caffeine intake at around noon. I started feeling physically ill at this point. It could have been a number of things, I’m very sensitive to stimuli including motion (even just tidying up around the house), temperature (the apartment is for some reason stuck at 71 degrees and stuffy), odors (cleaning supplies), and caffeine (doubled my intake today).

At around 2:30pm I ventured outside for the first time all day even though it was raining. And, my god(!), Dear Reader, fresh air is a panacea! I felt the life restored to my body. The air was so crisp, so clean, and moving unlike the stale apartment air (I should perhaps open a window actually…). Even though my intention was to just walk across the street for a beverage, I had the sudden urge to run and jump and wander for hours. I didn’t do any of that though. After all, I have work to do, so I hurried and returned back to the “office.”

I am just not a house person. I love to sleep at home, bathe at home, and sometimes eat at home, but I will not lament missing a home-office day anytime soon. For me, home is home and work is work. Weirdly, I’m actually looking forward to going to the office tomorrow! Again, I know that I’m an outlier on these things….
Whether at home or at work, Dear Reader, I wish you the best in your endeavors.

Also, wherever you work, make sure to get some fresh air every once and a while 🙂 

Love,

Raven