GUEST CREATOR: Andra-Elena Pop
2020 - The Start Of A New Beginning. Home Sweet Home
Cheer and waves of laughter. Hugs, kisses, and hopes for new beginnings. A lot of to-do’s, tons of new projects are starting on Monday. That’s what I call “New Year, New Me”. Every damn year. The energy I feel right from the start of the New Year it’s magic. It makes you do new things, it pushes you to try new ways to become a better version of yourself.
January passed, February too, and then… BOOM. Month by month, information after information, nothing was the same. We lost our ordinary, our daily basis, our peace, or at least, what we thought was our inner peace.
We became scared of the unknown, worried about our health, about our loved ones, anxious about what other days reserved us, locked in houses, some of us, maybe desperate to find a way to get back on track while companies closed their doors, worried about the well-being of our families. And rightly! We never experienced living something like that. We had all the right to feel so!
The light at the end of the tunnel came en fin: remote work.
Of course, this was not easy, and it didn’t erase all the anxiety and panic we’d been through. It didn’t flow as quickly as it sounds. But, we, as humans, can adapt to all kinds of different situations. So, we started to figure out how we could make it work. We adapted shifts, schedules, and meetings, we moved everything that we could; where? ONLINE. Fortunately, we live in an era where everything is away from us at a distance of a click! And almost everything can be delivered to our doors. So, we did the best we could do and adapted everything. And, what do we discover? We are not chained to a desk or an office. We can figure out to make things happen from our secured spaces, right from our HOMES. We can make our schedule in a way that we can give 100% and extra because we work in a space where we feel safe, unbothered by others’ jokes or questions while we work, our creativity is free to flow, and so our efficiency.
So, if we make a list and split it in two, we have good things and…a little less good things. Pros and cons, no? Let’s skip to the good part, wouldn’t you?
Personally, for me, 6 (yes, 6, because why so serious about choosing 5) of the best things I consider from working from home are the following:
Flowers all over? Sticky notes everywhere? That Radio or a song you want to listen to on repeat? All the space just for you? Photos with all your family hanging on the wall? GO ahead, make the “office” of your dreams!
If you work in an office with a dress code or have co-workers with an exquisite style, wearing heels all the time or elegant and very uncomfortable shoes makes you go insane sometimes. And sometimes, a comfy bottom is more than needed than a fancy dress.
Yes, extra time. A good breath of air. Because you work from home, you can put the dinner in the oven while you still work on a presentation, or you can fold your laundry while you answer a call. You can mop and start the washing machine while on a break. And trust me, when you have kids or your office is far away from home, this is a blast!
For this point, it is assumed that you love the people you share your house with and you like their presence. If you took the short straw, I am sorry. But look at the bright side; it’s time to improve your connections with them. You have to be a team to survive when you are stuck with them under the same roof. And if you love spending time with them, the joy will be much more because you can free your imagination and be more connected with them in your free time.
Yes, yes, your read that well. The moment I started working from home, I started “nesting” and taking care of myself. Starting with me. I felt that it was my time to make a change and improve my life. Online courses, coaches, trainers, forums, podcasts, books, everything it’s so close to me and ready to help me improve my mental health, my health, my life, in a word, ME.
Someone once said, “A house is made of bricks & beams. A home is made of hopes and dreams”. I could not agree more. If your home isn’t your safest place, where else could it be? To change it to a more funny note, please think about a very hot day, you had to do a lot of things outside, you are tired, you are sweaty, and all your clothes feel like they are shrinking on you. You arrive home, leave your keys, get rid of your shoes and your clothes, and lay down on your bed, super tired. You are finally home. Marked safe. You can take your “daemons” out, and be yourself. With a sparkly prosecco or a cold beer on your most comfortable jammies.
What can be done more nicely to wake up, get ready for a new day, take your coffee and remain in your home to work? And another thing that I noticed was after I started to work from home, I wanted to make changes in my home. Starting from curtains, a new shoe rack, to even changing my kitchen and a looooot of decorations. Finally, I’ve had time to enjoy my house and make it all the way I wanted.
That being said, I want to say that I feel very blessed that I had the chance to work from home, and that my job was suitable for this. Because I discovered that I really like it and it suits me very well, it’s not everything unicorns and rainbows all the time, we all have good days and fewer good days, but I think working from home was the light at the end of the tunnel. Hope for better days. And I feel grateful and happy for all the experience.
Hope to “write” to you soon. Until next time,
be a spark in other’s dark!
Hugs,
A.
guest creator
JOCstudio’s note. With the guest creators’ series on our website, we hope to build a safe space for creatives to share their very personal experiences in the professional environment. Let’s talk about mental health, inclusivity, diversity, and equity. How’s your workplace culture doing?
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