If you asked me what I thought about working from home three weeks ago, I would have told you that I expected to be super productive, work through my massive backlog and catch up on a lot of reading and other important non-urgent matters.
Today, I can tell you this is definitely not the case. It’s 6pm, I’m only halfway through my inbox and I have another 4 tasks on my todo list before I can call it a day. It’s super busy, and this is how all days are.
In most ways this is positive, as it is mostly caused by the fact that it’s business as usual just from a different location. Things have not slowed down, companies need funding, introductions and sparring, and projects go along (maybe even better than before because of forced adoption to better tools).
At the same time, I find that working from home can be more exhausting in many ways. Just about every work related matter happens in front of a screen. I’m trying to go for a walk during some calls, but this is more of an exception. Writing, thinking and most meetings are in front of a screen. Additionally, there are no natural breaks because you have to travel to in between meetings, find time for lunch before the canteen closes (the fridge is always open) or be at any event. It’s more non-stop than ever - a continuous stream of things to do. I’m currently thinking about ways to manage this better.
I realize I’m not the only one realizing this (see twitter), and there are plenty of strategies out there. To begin with, I’ll start by introducing firmer routines for lunch and exercise, block time in between meetings to decompress, and have a scheduled end-of-day time. Let’s see how it goes.