Working from home – yes or no? We wanted to find out from SPECTRUM members. Meet Marie from Collyer Law, who shared her experience and some tips on WFH with us.
1. What are the biggest challenges of working from home and how do you deal with them?
For me, the biggest challenges are trying to balance my work with my kids’ home-schooling. First, we all need to carve out space to work but also not let the workspace take over the whole house. So we clear away all of the work/school stations once the official time is over to make it “home” again.
Second, I have to deal with all of the interruptions from my children during their school time. They have constant access and they use it! Though, this is also in the “benefits” column, because now I can be more involved in their work and learning in terms of knowing what they are working on, teacher instructions, timelines, etc. It’s a double-edged sword. I am truly trying to enjoy this time, however.
Multi-tasking my home management with my office work is much easier and more convenient because I can cook/clean/shop/organize etc and work in the same daytime hours. Before, all of that had to wait until I got home from the office. My evenings are a little freer but I am getting way more done in the day!
I also do not miss the morning/evening commute!
2. What advice/tips can you give to other members?
Don’t throw away your routines and don’t be afraid to set boundaries. Get up. Get dressed. Replace your usual morning commute with a walk or other solo time (coffee on the balcony with the paper?) to keep some sort of normal routine going. Designate work hours and stick with them as best you can. Enjoy the flexibility but don’t slide into a 24-hour work schedule or the opposite, a slacker schedule!
3. If you were to describe how you feel about working from home with a song or a movie title what would it be?
Oh, this is tough since it varies day-to-day. Musically, I would have to say it is a mashup of “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. Though admittedly, on a day my boys are really testing me, it leans more towards “Bodies” by Drowning Pool. ( Just Kidding! ) For Movie titles, it’s a little bit “It’s a Wonderful Life” and a little bit “War of the Worlds”.
Hang in there everyone!
Marie
Check out more interesting WFH tips from our members here!