Working from Home…Managing Work and Life
It has been over a month of everyone working from home and our former routines being put on pause. As I think of the routines that are now part of my daily life, I realize that my work/life balance is more in balance. As a NYC professional office organizer, I have always had a home office, so working from home wasn’t an adjustment. However, there have been other changes to my daily routine…some of which are sure to continue once this crisis is past. Some of these have taken more time to become habits while others quickly became part of daily life.
Here are 4-changes to my routine during this working from home time:
- My workday ends by 5:30pm. I have streamlined my to-do list so my daily priorities are very clear. I’m only tackling tasks that are related to marketing virtual organizing services which I added to my service offerings. With this specific focus and chunks of concentrated time to get the work done, I have all the essential tasks checked off my list by 5:30.
- I’m making dinner every night. This has been the most difficult routine to embrace. Yes, I like to cook but am not used to doing so during the week. Pre-pandemic dinner would have been a quick bite out or cereal and yogurt after working out at the health club. Now, we no sooner finish dinner and I’m planning the next night’s meal. I have also been cooking in larger portions so that my freezer is stocked.
- Stocking essential supplies during the week. In the past, weekdays were reserved for work and related activities and the weekends for household/personal tasks. In addition, I only stocked what we really needed with little overstock. It has taken me a month to finally manage having sufficient essentials on hand. With the shortages and difficulty getting delivery windows, there have been days when I stopped working to stock up…like the day I dropped everything to go to the drugstore because Purell had been delivered.
- Expressing gratitude. I have always been thankful for all those in my life and the contributions they have made to it. However, I might not always have openly acknowledged this. Now, I’m standing in front of my building every night at 7pm to applaud the healthcare workers and to personally thank those who happen by just at this time. Their reaction to a simple thank you has been so rewarding and has reinforced the magnitude of those 2 words. While showing up outside at 7pm won’t be an ongoing part of my routine, the importance of expressing my thanks regularly will.
I’m assuming that you have found yourself in a similar situation of adding new behaviors to the day-to-day. Which ones will continue once the new normal is here?
If you need home office organizing suggestions to help you through this unprecedented chapter of our lives, reach out to your NYC Professional Office Organizer today.