Working from Home – The Pros and Cons I’ve Noticed So Far

What happened to my commute?!

Being in my late 50’s and having started work at 17, I have to confess to finding this whole “Working from Home” thing difficult. My entire working life has been spent commuting to work.

In the early days of the IT industry there was no “connect to this PC remotely”. If a client had an issue, however small, it was necessary to visit them. Sometimes it was possible (and more cost effective) to talk them through troubleshooting the problem on the phone. But if I didn’t have a client to visit, I would drive an hour to get to the office.

Forced to work from home

So, with the Covid-19 virus forcing us all to work from home, where we can, there is no commute, no time to listen to the radio before work or time to relax after a busy day before you get home. Things I have taken for granted for years.

I am also finding that the work feels far more intense when doing it from home and that I am more tired at the end of the day than usual.

This is probably down to the lack of distractions. I am sat in a small office tucked away from the rest of the family, we have lots of video conference calls within the company and with clients, lots of paperwork to spread around, so the time seems to disappear. Then when I do realise I haven’t moved from the desk for a few hours I don’t know what to do. I feel guilty going for a walk, sitting in the garden (although a tad cold). The problem is that in a busy office there are lots of short chats that break up the day. These can be work related or just a general chat, but they break the focus of what you are doing so things don’t seem so intense.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate we are all very lucky to be able to continue to work from home at this time and I am sure once all this is over, we will change the way we work.

How am I going to survive the lockdown?

But for now, it’s how to get through the next 3 months or so without going mad!

Before the virus hit, I will admit that I used to go to the gym regularly before work. This is not because I am a gym fanatic but after having cancer 10 years ago and now, I am older being told my blood pressure and cholesterol are high I have turned to exercise, in moderation, to help myself. But as with the commute this was all part of my daily routine. Now the gyms are closed, and it is near the office anyway I am struggling to get motivated.

In an attempt to remedy that, I have bought myself an exercise band and am trying to do some stretching exercises first thing and then during the day. So far, I have managed the morning but completely forgot to do them any other time. Maybe an Outlook Calendar reminder is in order!

I am also trying to run at lunchtime, which I haven’t done in 25 years! Even after just half an hour It nearly kills me. But I have persevered! It’s still awful, hurts like mad and makes me out of breath almost immediately, but I am sure it is good for me.

The issue I have is that I am not sure how long this lockdown is going on for. If it is a few weeks I am wasting my time but if, as they are alluding to, it will be a minimum of 3 months then I must try something.

It's worth a try

So, my tip is to stretch and move about as often as possible. Of course, make sure you disconnected from the last video call and that the webcam is off! Go outside for a brisk walk which over time may turn in to a jog.

Whatever you do don’t be tempted to eat loads of chocolate, drink loads of coffee during the day and then have to down a bottle of wine to enable you to sleep. Okay, I admit that was my first week.

Here’s looking forward to the next however long in lockdown and hoping I don’t need a gastric band rather than an exercise one by the time it's over.

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