Making The Move to Working From Home

I’ve alluded to the relative insanity of our family schedule before. OK maybe not alluded. Maybe laid out in specific, chronological detail. And my post chronicling a day in my life was on a Friday – only a half day in the office – not even a dance-class Wednesday, for the love (which must be approached with almost military preparation and precision). The truth is with Scott’s schedule being at a hospital – irregular, nights, weekends, holidays – I’m responsible for a greater proportion of getting kids to and from school and pre-school, and a slightly greater percentage of childcare overall. Add on at least an hour a day in commuting, and that’s without traffic snarls – and one should really expect traffic snarls across the top of I-275 – and it became a zero sum game of minutes that I could not win. There are many times when my drive to or from work stretched into 45 minutes or an hour one way. The all-time record was 4 hours, but that was during a snowstorm.

I decided to be more aware of comings and goings in my professional network, and to think about my personal goals and interests. When I learned of an opportunity that would put me in a similar editorial position to what I’d held prior to being promoted into people management, and would permit me the flexibility of working from home – well, even after over 15 happy years with my employer, that was a no-brainer to pursue. And yet, there were certainly mixed emotions when I resigned my position; 15 years is nothing to sneeze at, and it’s a lot of time to develop relationships with some of the funniest, most creative, and dedicated people I’ve ever known. But for our family’s sake, for my sanity, it was time to move on.

I’ve been working from home for a few weeks now and I’m going to be real, so far I think it’s pretty grand. (Full disclosure: though I’ve developed social skills such that people don’t always believe me when I say this, I am by nature a solid introvert.) Of course, as with anything, there are pros and cons, and it is a lot different in some ways from being in the office. Then again, I’ve gone out of my way to ensure that it’s not so dissimilar from being in the office in other ways – particularly with my dedicated work space. In my short time so far doing the basement commute, I’ve come up with a few random observations or #workfromhomeservations if you will.

Day 1

Attire = ripped jeans + t shirt and running hoodie.

I am loving my “new” home office. I say “new” because I gave it a fresh coat of paint, reorganized, and decorated. It’s my own little Jen Cave. My hidey-hole. As you can see in the short video tour above, I’ve brought along many of the personal / professional souvenirs and sort of habits I collected in my years in a corporate office. My space is homey, but it also still feels like an office, and a place to get things done. I LOVE it.

Around lunch-time Mr. Thomas appears (he’s working 5pm-1am this particular evening) and offers unsolicited IT advice. While this advice IS useful, I confess I’m a little anxious about the precedent it sets.

Day 2

Attire = see above X2.

I now have a playlist of approximately 76 songs entitled, “Workin’ From Home Yo”

I’m kind of glad there’s no bathroom in the basement; it makes me walk up a flight of stairs now and then and emerge from below.

Day 3

Attire = different ripped jeans and a different hoodie!

Again, I sing the praises of a dedicated work-space. It really puts me in the frame of mind to work and not be constantly distracted by the ever-clamoring needs of the household, though I am getting to attend to a few more of those too. But I need to do that as part of my breaks and have time at my desk be focused and productive, and so far, I love my space so much, it is.

Day 4

Attire – a maxi dress I’ll have you know! Notwithstanding the mom secret that this is the closest thing to a nightgown you can wear and still be technically presentable in public.

I wake up for the day with a song in my heart like Snow Freaking White (see: introvert; hidey-hole). I’m loving the work I’m doing and the gift of time back in our lives with me not having to commute means mornings are . . . if not entirely relaxed, at least pretty calm and cheerful rather than marked by me barking orders and slinging frozen pancakes like a deranged drill sergeant/short-order cook. It feels like our collective family stress level has come down at least two notches.

Day 6 

I’m getting more of “You’re the best mama EVER!” Why? Because I picked E up from school (after volunteering with Summit Runs) and told her we could walk home rather than drive on a sunny spring afternoon AND that she’d have time to play outside after doing homework. Those should be rather small things to be able to give to my kids, and yet they feel huge to us right now.

Day 8

Today we were able to finish homework, have a few minutes to play outside (o, glorious SPRING away from the TV), and still get to dinner and bed on time, and I DIDN’T HAVE TO FOLD LAUNDRY AFTER THE KIDS’ BEDTIME. My house is still not spotless. Never will be but the little 5 minute cleaning breaks here, a chance to switch over a load of laundry there, it DOES help. And I dance in my office when I need to loosen up.

Day 11

I’m finding a rhythm of getting a good chunk of work done in the morning right after dropping the kids off, taking a little mid-morning walk through the house / laundry break, then back at it until a later lunch, another sweep for a 5-10 minute household chore after lunch, then back to work until wrapping for the day sometime around 5. Even for a self-professed introvert, the work-at-home (sans children in the home) life can be a bit isolating, so I’ve already planned a lunch and happy hour with two former colleagues.

I’d love to hear from other moms (and dads!) who work from home. What are your #workfromhomeservations? Do you love it or hate it or somewhere in between? What are your tips and tricks for making it work for your family?