Your energy and working-from-home

Working-from-home can be great, but it’s also fraught with friction. For one thing I feel I need to be present all the time for colleagues so they know I’m there for them. And then there’s the house chores and fun times with family. It’s easy to push myself into the red zone. Once I learned to treat my energy like a limited resource, things got better.

Here’s how my day went week 1 into the quarantine. Wake up at 5:45 am. Shower and dress. Unload the dishwasher. Eat breakfast. Coffee. Food prep in the crock pot for dinner. Start laundry. 7:15 am. Answer emails, get ready for work. Then work through back to back meetings. Try to steal some time to check on kids. 5 pm. Clean kitchen. Finish laundry. Get dinner ready. Clean up from dinner. Then family time. Weekends were equally as packed. I was wrecked by the end of the week. Something had to change. So I changed it.

The 45 minute hour. Every hour, I set a goal to wrap up whatever I’m doing 45 minutes in so I can take a walk or whatever. I let colleagues know this is what I’m doing. It allows me quick breaks to recharge and connect to people.

Ask for help. I avoid asking for help because I prefer giving help. But, by the 2nd week I realized I need to be clear on what I need and let people be there for me. It’s really made a difference. Meals, chores, activities and project work all happen with much more ease.

Schedule some fun. I am not a big fan of talking on the phone. I’d rather be in person or alone with a book. But then I realized how happy I am to laugh and be silly—how often I did it at work and at home with family and friends—and that during the first week of quarantine I was so focused on my task list I forgot to breathe and enjoy myself. So I play video games with my son. I do crafty things with my daughter. I chat and share my day with my husband. I schedule chats with colleagues and friends. And it does help replenish me.

Be kind to yourself and find ways to renew your energy. Be kind to others and give them the space they need to recharge as well. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!