Working from Home is Not My Superpower

Only months after I started writing beauty business news for CosmeticsDesign.com, the company that publishes the site closed its New York City offices on Madison Avenue and relocated US headquarters to Chicago, Illinois.

And just like that, I began working from home. To this day, many of my readers are taken aback to learn that the news they rely on to stay informed about the cosmetics and personal care industry is written at the dining table in my Manhattan apartment (and at various hotels and restaurants around the world, of course).

While I have been diligently working remotely for over 5 years now, I am not the WFH role model you are looking for.

There is no dedicated office space here

 Every day I take my work laptop out of the file box that sits alongside the living room couch and set up to work from the table in the kitchen. I do keep my day planner and a few accessories (scissors, ruler, stapler) there to remind me that it’s a desk of sorts, but mine is a very temporary arrangement Monday through Friday (and nights and weekends too, if you count the freelance work).

 I woke up like this; and no, I am not ready to FaceTime

 My workday is fairly standard. I am ‘on the clock’ from 9am – 6pm, with a break for lunch, which means that I get up anywhere between 7:30am and 8:55am. And as you’ve guessed already, many of these are no-makeup mornings.

Right now, I am wearing fluffy house slippers

 If you’ve ever met me, seen me in person speaking at an event, or watched my video content, you’ve likely noticed that I wear essentially the same thing all the time—some variation of slightly elegant black loungewear from Eileen Fisher—a pretty standard dress and pants combo. To be on-camera or attend an event, I add a necklace, shoes, and call it an outfit.

My actual loungewear is nearly identical to my professional wardrobe. In fact, many a friend and family member have confused the two, as in, “When are you going to change into your pajamas?” when in actuality, I have already changed out of my work clothes and put on said pajamas.

And I really am wearing fluffy house slippers right now! They are like big black kittens and nice and squishy. They make me feel calm and safe and cozy; and they have never once gotten in the way of my being productive or professional during business hours. 

Even before the pandemic, I would stay in all day

I may have grown up on the sunny prairie of Eastern Montana, but no one has ever accused me of being an outdoor gal. 

As much as I enjoy traveling around the world to be a part of lively beauty industry tradeshows and networking events, I absolutely love solitude. And left to my own, I’ll gladly stay in for days on end, writing and resting and ruminating. Of course now that it’s best to shelter in place, I am feeling a bit claustrophobic but I remain hopeful that the rare walk around my neighborhood (maintaining a healthy 6-foot distance from whoever else happens to be out at the time) will be sufficient.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive

When it’s all said and done, my superpower is just to trust my process. I am a good writer; and delivering beauty business news that helps indie brands and industry leaders alike is one of the things I do best. And I think that the best thing any of us can do right now is give ourselves and our colleagues the latitude we need to succeed.