Working from Home and Maintaining a Good Work/Life Balance
It seems a long time now since the pandemic of 2020. In those halcyon days of Spring 2020, when we were all confined to being indoors and going out for safe-distance walks, we experienced glorious weather. I was living in Edinburgh at the time and even with the easterly winds, it was warm. Typical days spent online in a Teams or Zoom meeting and then an afternoon stroll through the city; the gyms were still shut so the only form of exercise was walking or cycling. I wasn’t for braving the North Sea, like the Portobello Lady Swimmers of Edinburgh! We kind of got used to working from home (WFH) and conducting meetings on Teams. Roll forward nearly five years and the use of Teams/Zoom has really taken hold in the workplace. For example, some organisations I work with in the public sector, only require their staff to come in the office for one day a week; the rest of the week, they work from home. This is commonplace, despite organisations like Google now requiring attendance in the workplace for at least three days a week. WFH has become the norm, whether this is for most of the week or part of the week. Thursday nights are the new Friday night, as most office workers choose to WFH on a Friday, probably using the Friday WFH day, recovering from the Thursday (new Friday) night out and planning the long weekend away! Cynical? Maybe.
As a sole consultant, my workplace is my home. I have created a lovely home office on the first-floor landing. It is warm and toasty in the winter and light and airy in the summer, when I have the rooflights open. But, and here’s the “but” – “I don’t much like it!” You see, by my very nature, I’m a sociable being. I like meeting with folk and I like talking, some say, too much so! But hey, that’s me. Now, I don’t spend all my time WFH. I’m fortunate in that I get out and about a fair bit, heading to meet my clients in their offices and conducting meetings, workshops or training wherever the work takes me. However, I still spend on average, 60-70% of my time WFH. My partner thinks she has a live-in housekeeper, “when the washing finishes, can you hang it up”; “what are you cooking for dinner tonight”; “I’ve got a delivery coming today, you will be in won’t you?” Do I mind? Yes and No. I will explain.
Given that most of us who work in the service sector and are primarily office-based and WFH, then this little blog from me will apply not just to the many sole, self-employed workers out there but also to those working for a company, who permit WFH. The issues are the same. Primarily, how does one maintain their health and wellbeing by being couped up at home all day? This is something that challenges me daily. There are days that I simply don’t speak or interact with anyone at all. My partner who works with children all day would find this peaceful and it would be her nirvana! I, on the other hand, hate it. So, what do I do? I thought I would share with you a typical day WFH and tell you about some of the things that I do to maintain good wellbeing. This is not one day, but an example of a day.
6.15
Alarm goes off. I’m usually awake anyway, so I don’t need the snooze function. In fact, I’ve probably already been awake since 5.30, scrolling through news and social media.
6.45
I’m on the Peloton and starting a 30 min class. Today, it’s an 80s themed ride of high intensity and interval training, in and out of the saddle, shaking my thing to Madonna and Duran Duran! I finish it off with 10 mins of upper body strength training. I gave up the gym a long time ago. Partly cost and partly time. The home gym serves me just fine.
7.30
I make a smoothie for later in the morning. I’m trying to do intermittent fasting and not eat for 14 hours of the day. I start eating around 10.30am. Much easier to do this when you WFH. Imagine being in a meeting in the office, “sorry folks, I’ve just got to have my smoothie, you don’t mind, do you?”
7.45
Today, I have decided to make my version of a Lancashire Hot Pot, but I’ve crossed it with Irish Stew and I’m using beef instead of lamb, from our local farm shop and of course, Guinness. Long and slow cooking is ideal for those WFH. Takes about half an hour to prep and then you put it on low and slow, then get on with the day job. Today’s dinner is basically an Irish stew but with the sliced potato topping you get on a hot pot. The stew is prepped and in the oven by 8.30!
8.00
I shower and get ready and make a cup of herbal tea (no coffee until 10.30 when you are intermittent fasting; it’s a killer!) Oh, and I feed the dogs!
8.30
I’m sat at my desk working. Today, I have been reviewing clauses in a contract for a client, so I prepare a schedule of comments and get those across to them to review.
10.30
I take a break to have my smoothie and to take the washing out and put in the tumble dryer. Like I said earlier, I have my chores to do for the day! I give the Irish stew a good stir. Needs longer but smelling amazing.
11.00
Back to my desk. I’m working on demobilising a contract on behalf of one of my public sector clients, so I start preparing a document to do with this.
12.30
I head downstairs and check the stew. It’s done. The chuck steak meat that was all hard and chewy a few hours ago is now melt in your mouth – of course I tried it! It will need to cool down a bit, so I pop into a dish and put in the fridge, ready for the potatoes later.
I have leftover chicken from yesterday’s Roast, so I knock up a Nigella Lawson cream of chicken soup and decide to have this for my lunch.
13.30
I need to get a birthday card for my sister-in-law, so I walk to the shops and take my dog for a walk. It’s about the only interaction I get today with the public. I make my excuse to the shop owner who had ordered in a Jellycat mistletoe for me, but in the time I was waiting for it to come in, I bought online – I’ve been trying to avoid him since!
14.00
I have a Teams meeting with an associate about some new work which was promising. This lasts about an hour.
15.00
I struggle with the mid-afternoon slump. One of the benefits of WFH is the ability to just disappear for a short while and grab 40 winks. I can see my bed from my desk, and it is calling me! I pull the blinds down, turn off the radio and set my alarm for 30 mins. I drift off very quickly and half an hour later, I am awake again. It’s all I need, but a really important part of my day and my wellbeing. Waking up at 5am doesn’t help of course!
15.45
This period now feels like I did at 8.30 in the morning. I’m alert and productive. I crash through a heap of work including an Expert Determination report which takes me to around 18.00.
18.00
I head downstairs and grab the mandoline and start slicing the potatoes (and avoiding taking the tips of my fingers off!) for the topping. It will take around 1hr 15 mins to cook.
19.30
Dinner is served. As I prepared dinner, the rule in the house is that I don’t have to clear it up! My partner and the kids get to do that. I settle in for the evening, find the sofa and the TV remote. I may start planning the rest of the week!
I mix things up in the week, dependent on whether I am WFH all day or out and about and I’ve just taken up Padel and try to fit in at least one session a week. The great thing about WFH is that my working day can start and end when I want it to. I can take as many or as few breaks as I want/need. A couple of weeks ago, I played Padel at 4pm and those I played with comprised one retiree and two home-workers, one working in the NHS. They basically, flex their day around things they enjoy doing. I’ve done a whole host of jobs whilst WFH, including leaf blowing, hanging up pictures and painting a wall, none of which has taken a particularly long time, or distracted me from working. By weaving in those little things I probably didn’t get done at the weekend, keeps me on top of things and it helps me massively in terms of my mental health.
Although I WFH, it’s not an easy ride. I will quite often not move from my desk for hours, if I am into something and there is a deadline to meet. The most important thing when WFH is discipline. A good friend of mine recently remarked “you’ve too much time on your hands” when I sent him a picture of a pie I had made for dinner. The thing is, I have different time. I’m not commuting, so I have at least a couple of hours on most people, so I choose this time to do things I genuinely like doing, like cooking. I could quite easily do a 12-hour day if I wanted to, but I don’t. I probably do more than 8 hours a day, but I’ve also achieved a whole host of other things in that time.
As for my partner asking me to do things because I am at home, I don’t mind. She is a teacher, and she doesn’t have the luxury for a mid-afternoon nap or late afternoon game of Padel. Her day is full-on. So I simply don’t mind. I am more than happy doing the odd chore. It gives me a break from the screen, adds to my daily step count and means I have clean underwear to put on in the morning!
In summary then, my tips for those WFH if you want to achieve a good work/life balance:-
Physical exercise. Try to weave in 30-60 mins of exercise every day. If you don’t have the money or space for a Peloton, then go for a good walk or run.
Do a chore. Think of those jobs you want to do but never got round to doing because it was the weekend, and everyone wants a piece of you. When the house is empty, it’s a great time to get a chore done – in peace!
Be creative. One of the things that got me through lockdown, was writing. There’s nothing wrong with breaking away from the day job, even if it’s just for fifteen minutes, to jot down your thoughts. I’m continuing this with my blogs, but I have plans for other projects too. The easiest way to start, is to journal. Just write down your thoughts on any particular day. There are of course other creative things you can do; I recently met a chap who spent his spare time painting and I enjoyed how he told me how it made him feel;
Cook. Ok, not for everyone but for me this is something I really enjoy. It allows me to be creative with purpose;
Walk a dog. Not everyone has a dog, but you can borrow one and there are reputable websites you can sign up to in order to borrow somebody else’s dog and take it for walkies. Dog walking is great. It gives you exercise. Gets you out in the open air and more often than not, you get to meet other dog owners and chat. A great way to socialise if you are stuck indoors all day.
And finally….
It’s particularly hard at this time of the year for those who plough a lonely furrow. Many companies are holding their Christmas parties and yet for those who work independently, this doesn’t exist. For sure, I get invited to lots of client gatherings but it’s not quite the same. I’ve often thought of setting up a kind of members club for independents in my sector, a chance to socialise, share best practice and to collaborate. If this is something you might be interested in, then please get in touch. In the meantime, for those WFH, try and do something different this week, whether this is baking a cake or walking a dog. It really will do you the power of good.
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Neil Thody is a Fellow of the RICS, leading procurement specialist, CEDR/RICS Mediator, RICS Adjudicator and Independent Adviser, working with clients across multiple sectors.