Initially, the house was too quiet but, eventually, I not only got used to it, I came to enjoy the solitude and the silence. If I wanted to work on a writing project or plan for a class, the only indoor distractions I had were of my own making. Outside, there were street sweepers and garbage trucks and lawn services, but I could usually escape those by moving to another part of the house.
Last March, when everyone moved home to work, it was nice. We each carved out a work space and it was nice having everyone around.
But now I'm over it.
Don't get me wrong -- I love having my family home. But, as I adjust to a challenging semester requiring more planning and steeper learning curves than usual, every noise, every interruption, every departure from the routine I've crafted sets me on edge. It's official: I'm no fun.
Last weekend, it all came to a head. Guilt over the lack of enthusiasm I felt having everyone home collided with frustration over the amount of time everything was taking and the fear that all the work I was doing was still not enough to make things go right. I had a little meltdown and a good cry and gave some thought to the things I need in order to have a successful work-from-home experience.
A balance between a quiet house and a busy house. I love having my family here, but a busy house is not conducive to getting work done. I need to ditch the guilt and be up front with my family about what I need. I also need to stick to my guns (as my mom would say) and declare myself off-limits (except for emergencies) when I need to get things done.
The ability to turn a blind eye toward all the household things that capture my attention and/or need to be done. When I leave the house to go to work, I can no longer see what needs to be done here, something that's a big deal for someone with an I need to see it personal style. When I work from home, I need to decide whether to chip away at the things I can't help but see, or walk on by and deal with them later. Then, I need to stick to the plan.
A line of demarcation between work time and non-work time. I'm writing this blog post approximately 12 hours later than my preferred writing/posting time because I haven't yet gotten into a routine for the new semester. On the plus side, I've done a much better job of making sure weekends include time away from work, a habit that has taken me quite a while to develop.
Conducting business from home with a pandemic hanging over our heads has been exhausting for all of us, not just the people in my house. The rules keep changing, leaving us trying to hit a moving target, which only adds to the exhaustion. Determining what we need and communicating it to those who share our space is key to not letting the guilt and frustration win. It's taken me a while (and a meltdown and a good cry), but I think I've figured it out.
How about you? What do you need? And how can you make it happen?
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