The Monotony Can Get To You If You Let It

I’ve always worked from home, so its always been my normal. Covid hit the second semester of my second to last year in college. Any in-office internships or jobs I had prior to the pandemic were never full-time. Now, being home all the time, I really love it. But there are definitely some negatives (it can be extremely sedentary, everyday can feel the same, sometimes you don’t need to leave the house, loss of community, …etc). Here are couple things I have changed in my routine to help me through it and make wfh not so monotonous.

Change your location

My office is on the second floor of our place, and it’s great. Big windows, a standing desk, a couch I can hangout on if I get sick of my chair, lots of options. This is also our hangout after work/relax room. I started to feel insane. I would find myself waking up, working, leaving the house for a bit, and then coming right back to the room to relax for the rest of the night. Work was always still in the room when I was trying to relax. On top of that, my scenery was rarely changing, causing me to feel almost claustrophobic, or just stuck.

I started working from other areas of the house for maybe 30min-2hrs, and it was super refreshing. Sometimes I take over my partner’s desk, or the kitchen table, or just a lounge chair. I love my desk, but in the past two months I really haven’t used it. Going to co-working spots also helps, but sometimes it’s hard to get good work done if the environment is more energetic than you’d like. Squeezing every workspace opportunity out of my house has helped me a ton. Every day can be different.

Take your time

I have a bad habit of waking up and immediately reading slack. I am on the west coast, so sometimes we are the last to start our day. It’s definitely great because I can get an idea of any issues that have popped up over night, but shoving 15+ messages in your face right as you open your eyes tends to leave me no time to actually wake up.

Lately I’ve been trying to ignore my phone and take 30min to make coffee, go on a run, or just look at something stupid instagram. It helps me wakeup my head. This seems obvious, but I really had a hard time not consuming work immeditaly. I mean, I work from home, I am at work. Separating some time out for myself helped me reset before the day starts, and I think it has helped me feel less burnt out as the week progresses.

Get a cat

This is half joking. But also…a cat makes things feel more alive. Sometimes he’s in a bad mood and won’t stop bothering me. Other times we are on the couch together while I’m working and he’s busy taking a nap. I don’t feel like I’m alone all day with a cat, and it emphasizes a healthy routine.

These changes have helped me a lot in the new year. I ultimately love working from home, but the monotony can get to you if you let it.