The Bad Habits I’ve Picked Up while Working From Home
Last March, my office sent me home with a box of equipment and packet of instructions that was so thick that they could hardly get a staple to go through it. They told us to unpack everything and plug it in and try to set up our workstations. If we had any problems, we had to wait until Monday to call and harass the IT department.
The goal? Set up a home workspace until the coronavirus hysteria calmed down and we could all come back to the office. My office was going to take it on a month by month basis. At first they told us we would be back by June.
Scratch that. We would be back in the office by Labor Day.
The reality?
Well, this is the reality. It’s been ten months and I’ve managed to keep my computer, two monitors, and headset running.
And that is no small feat for this technological try hard.
But I’ve also picked up some bad habits along the way. I was always someone who thought they would enjoy working from home. But now that working from home is a reality, I’m not sure that I’m cut out for it.
Here’s where I’m struggling:
I work in my pajamas
I’ve become way too comfortable with working in my pajamas. Well, not my actual pajamas. But leggings and sweatshirts and whatnot. These have become my daily uniform.
I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable in my dress slacks, which I put on twice a week to go into the office and sort the mail.
I talk to my dog way too much
I can’t say for sure whether she likes it or not, but I talk to my dog during the day. Are you hungry? Do you want to go out? Is it time for a belly rub? These are all questions that leave my mouth way too frequently.
When I go back to the office full time (which will probably be in the middle of the year, right?) she is going to be in for a rude awakening. And so will I! How am I supposed to do work without my buddy nearby, sleeping soundly and occasionally checking up on me?
I‘ve become accustomed to quiet lunch hours
There’s just something so awesome about being able to take your lunch hour in your own personal space. At the office you’re either stuck in the lunch room (I try to avoid this at all costs) or trying to eat quietly in your cubicle so no one notices.
But at home I can sit on the couch and eat my lunch in peace. It’s very nice to have that time to decompress.
I know that these are small issues in the grand scheme of things. I guess what I’m saying is that while it was tough to transition to working at home, it might be even more difficult to transition back.
