We’ve all dreamt about the ideal job. Part of that dream may have included working from home and having the opportunity to spend more time with family. With COVID-19 forcing everyone to hunker down, our work-from-home dreams are now reality, and for many of us this new situation may be proving to be a nightmare of conflicts.
Up until the outbreak, my spouse and I had been living in separate states in small metropolitan apartments – an arrangement that had allowed us to work at our respective office jobs during the week and enjoy time together on weekends. That’s all changed. We are now both working from home in one small NYC apartment.
For us, the shift is particularly extreme, but I know that other people are facing similar challenges working alongside their partners or roommates.
So, how do we adjust? How do we maintain our sanity during these next several weeks?
Here are my tips:
- Maintain as normal a schedule as possible. In other words, get up and prep like a normal workday. Turn the coffee on, shower, get dressed, and head to work.
- Agree to a designated workspace in your home. If you can, work in separate rooms. Everyone has a different environment that works for them.
- Set your typical 9-5 hours, or whatever a normal schedule is for you. End your workday like you normally would. During the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown, it’s more important than ever to set limits on our work time so that we can spend time with loved ones and help them through some of the anxiety.
- Clean your work clutter every day when you’re done. It’s not your work office, it’s your home. Your family needs to feel safe. We are all making sacrifices during this time. Try to help your loved ones feel like this will be over soon enough. Clean up!
- Vent. Talk about what’s working and what isn’t. Have honest conversations and have them often. Talk about what’s stressing you out in your co-working environment.
