The Ultimate Work / Life Integration Experiment

PRE-COVID

I have been working from home since the start of 2009.

2008 was quite an eventful year. I was married in March, we closed on our first dream home in October, and then 3 short days later I was let go from my job (a direct casualty of the real estate market crash). I was a real estate attorney at the time and closed on our home through the very same law firm that let me go. If that wasn’t bad enough, after having many conversations with law firm partners about the giant life step of purchasing a home, no one had the decency of providing a warning prior to the closing.

It took years to fully recover professionally, emotionally and financially from that, but my husband and I managed a remarkable comeback together. A story for another time perhaps…

And while I have been experiencing a minor case of P.T.S.D. due to the COVID-induced shutdown, this too shall pass. Regardless, the struggle is real!

I am self-motivated and excel in having the freedom to do what I want when I want to do it. So, working from home, on my own, and in my own space is my happy place. Well, it was, before having our two sons (6 and 8) at home literally around the clock.

TODAY

Simply stated, the challenges of working from home have been elevated. Pre-COVID, days off from school were a tornado of activity and logistical challenges. For some reason, every time there was a professional planning day (at least one Friday per month), there was no school on the following Monday. But, after a while we got into a day-off groove. Though, if I'm being completely honest, I didn’t look forward to those days off.

Now I run two businesses, teach college courses online, provide legal advisement and run a full time school from my home. I am also IT, Operations, Management, Administration, the building Superintendent and Cleaning Crew. The best part? Time spent dealing with the regular failure of technology. Have you ever been woken up by being tapped and told the internet is not working? If you haven’t, you are missing out.  

GETTING SH*T DONE 

So, it's literally taken me several days to write this. Our children interrupt me non-stop to assist them with their schoolwork until about lunch time when it is time for them to eat. Fortunately, I am able to complete an incredible amount of work in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, I have an insane amount of work to complete on a daily basis.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS (and maintaining your sanity):

Do what you can when you can. While it doesn't always seem like it, there are a lot of hours in the day. Use them wisely and make the day work for you. This may require some trial and error.

Sometimes good enough is perfect. Lunch for my kids today is raw carrots, green beans, almonds and hummus which took about 5 minutes to prepare.

Everything doesn't need to be accomplished today. Organize your To-Do list. What is a priority? What takes focus and time? I love crossing things off of my list and find tackling the easy and quick items first helps with my sense of accomplishment.

Set calendar reminders. You cannot remember everything and why should you? A reminder provides motivation and a sense of control. You can set the reminder for when something is due or well in advance, giving you the option to tend to the matter early or when you have more time.

Implement self-care. Self-care is extremely important and something I admittedly neglect. While it would be completely detrimental for my health and state of mind to deteriorate, I am the last person I think about. My self-care (and seemingly monumental) goals are to begin and end the day doing something for myself + daily exercise. Challenge accepted! 

Accept the cycle. Everything is cyclical, including emotions and moods. Each day, I do my best and experience highs, lows, guilt and stress. However, the rise of the sun provides the opportunity to do better (just like in the movie Groundhog's Day).

Stop working. No matter what your specific needs are, there should be a time when you stop working. If you have kids and desire some time when you are not scolding or instructing them, this is your chance. This is by far my favorite time of the day.

From speaking with friends and colleagues, everyone is under an incredible amount of stress. Some more than others. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I don't know about you, but if that statement is true, I'll be able to bench press our home by the end of this!

I wish you all the best and hope everyone is making good decisions and staying safe. If you have any tips or experiences you would like to share, I would love to read them in the comments section.