Things I Learned During Telework

 

I started this post ages ago, just as a catch-all for stray thoughts that I had about our Pandemic Existence.  Notionally, I was going to post it in March at the 1yr mark but - as these things go - I got distracted.   It's now early May, or month 17 of 2020.  

So, let me wrap up these thoughts and hit post just to draw a line in the sand.

• You won't watch The Price as Right as often as you thought you might.  Working from home offers many people the opportunity for more flexibility; TV or streaming on during the day. When things first started, I tried to manage my lunch breaks to coincide with either the first half or the 2nd half of TPIR (a guilty pleasure!) but with time the reality has been that my day is full of meetings and most days I'm on the phone solidly from 7:30 until 5 or 6.  Lunch becomes a challenge; assuming a get a break I'm more inclined to go walk around outside rather than move from my work desk to the living room.  
• Your extended family will think you're screwing off and will mentally put "working from home" in air quotes.  This was the source of a fairly significant meltdown with my parents at one point.  Telework made my job harder, not easier.  I'm sure there's a fair amount of screwing around in the telework workplace; to be honest there's a fair amount of screwing around when people report in person.  But, I put in a fair day's effort (and then some) when in the building, and have only taken on more responsibility as the pandemic has progressed. Implications that I'd milk the situation, and comments made at my expense for a cheap joke, really piss me off.
• Your days will blur together and your starts and stops will be less distinct.  The Groundhog Day jokes aren't a joke.  While I don't miss the commute, I do miss the mental separation between the office and home.  The mind-numbing slog through traffic each evening serves as an important break buffer between the two; walking straight from my desk to the kitchen to start dinner isn't nearly the same.
• You won't take as many calls from a deck chair as you could have (or should have).  Early on, I really thought I'd sit outside more and enjoy some fresh air while taking calls.  While I've done this a handful of times, without a doubt I'll get the "ok, I just sent you the file" or "did you see that email" and I'll have to bluff until I can make my way back to the laptop.
• You'll miss a lot of people, but won't miss a lot of people too.  Just being honest, there is a segment of any office that due to proximity that you just can't avoid and a perk of being out of the office never seeing their faces again.  I don't miss the Monday morning sports talk (yay... sportsball *yawn*).  The guy who picks his nose and eats it when he thinks nobody's looking.  The overly perfumed lady two cubes down.  I could go on; interacting with these folks via Skype and email is just fine.
• You won't gain weight, or lose weight.  I haven't gained much COVID weight. But the thought that I'd drop pounds by eating better (less cafeteria/delivery at lunch) just never materialized despite eating "better" in general.  The reality is that in my case, it was 7,000 steps a day from the car to my desk and back.  Add in some walking to and from meetings, arguably more standing (at a whiteboard) and the incidental calories are much different.
• Never underestimate the power of a hot lunch.  Early in COVID, I started grabbing protein bars or other mobile foods for lunch and eating while walking.  While the nutritional advantage of these meal replacements are dubious, I also found that when I switched to a hot lunch (can of soup, or a Lean Cuisine) my mood improved.  In the office, I was far more inclined to get away from my desk for at least a few minutes (break room or cafeteria) and staring at a different wall while eating something warm.  That same mental break is something I should pursue more frequently at home, and the benefits of hot chow in the belly is bigger than I first thought.