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Staying Sane While Working from Home

 I started working in 2012 and was office based till 2019. After my son was born in 2019, I took a break from work and then joined back while covid was on peak and the world was forced to function from home. I started my work from home journey in November 2020. Earlier days were tough. Although I had support, it was too much to work and take care of a baby concomitantly. I remember breastfeeding while working or taking calls as in when required. Over all that, 1 month into the job and I had to search for other work opportunities. Now, within a month of my exclusive WFH journey, i was working, tackling a baby, and preparing plus facing interviews. Some days were tougher than others but we sailed through it and emerged only stronger. 

I did end up getting another job which was exclusively home based. I was happy about it because I wanted to be there for my son and I wanted to work so it was a win win situation but I was least aware of the challenges that continuous WFH can bring in. Within a few days of joining, I started missing the office atmosphere, the chit chats, the morning routine, the travel, and everything else. I remember getting up at 9 and to start working at 9:30 from the comfort of my bed and blanket. In no time, I was bored and lethargic. The job was fulfilling but everything other than that was boring. I also lost my father during that time and hence everything was double troublesome. After juggling and struggling for 9 months, I decided to take charge of my life and flip my work from home life/schedule.

The first thing I embraced was working out. I started going to the gym in the morning after sending my son to school. I started getting ready for the day before sitting down for work. I started effectively talking to my team mates on teams. I started taking defined breaks (including walk breaks after meals). In the evening after work, I started going to the park with my son and after dinner, I started going for a walk with my husband. Moving more literally kicked away my WFH blues. I also started blogging more and getting out for drives after work. I made sure to get out of home to chill or to socialise on weekends. 

Balancing social interaction basically helped me keeping the monotonus-ness of wfh at bay. I stayed in that job for 2.5 years and now I have switched again to another home based job. I am still in the transition phase and not sure what all challenges I might face personally and professionally here but today someone asked me how can I be exclusively working from home since so long and hence, this blog.

We all know the cons of being home based so I will tell you my favourite things about working from home: I love being there for my son all the time, I love having my me time in the morning while working out, getting ready etc, I love the fact that I don’t need to get involved in any office gossip or politics, I love how I can balance my work and life this way. The balance which WFH brings between work and life is unparalleled. I might get bored and get an office based job after 3 years or so (because my son won’t need me the same then) but for now, I have decided to look at the brighter side and to embrace my WFH life.

Comments

Tina Pareek said…
How I loved every single word of it! For someone like me who just started working from home recently and misses being at office, this gives a positive note of a good beginning:)
17 October 2023 at 02:58
Aparajita Sharma said…
Thanks Himani. So sweet of you! All the very best, I am sure you will enjoy working from home.
17 October 2023 at 03:00
Karthika Nair said…
Ohhh! I can so very well relate to this. And yes the best part of wfh is having more time with my lil one! Very well penned!!!!! Loved it!!!
17 October 2023 at 05:35
Aparajita Sharma said…
Thanks Karthika :) Glad that you (and I am sure all moms) could relate.
17 October 2023 at 05:53
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