The personal perils of the work-from-home life
I know, I know. That title might seem like an oxymoron. How could working from home possibly be any kind of a struggle, right? No commute, no stuffing myself into business clothes, no packing a lunch, no annoying open floor plan office space. Okay yeah, those are definitely plusses to working from home.
My Home office - not totally decorated, but better than fluorescent lights
And some holiday decorations in my office
My only commute is taking my son to daycare on the mornings my husband doesn't and that only requires throwing on workout gear and maybe a hat. And I (mostly) don't miss having to wear work clothes and I certainly don't miss the open office floor plans at all. I have a desk that I love in an office that's (halfway) decorated to my tastes. And there are no buzzing fluorescent lights. And the biggest bonus is that I'm way more productive in general at home than I am in office.
Plus, my dogs are probably the best office mates ever.
However, there are definite downsides for me...
Sloth mode (i.e., pajamas as workwear)
Since I switched from working from home just some days to working from home every day, I've also let some other stuff slide and it's taken a toll on how I feel (and really, how I look). While not having to get up, rush around, and put on "real" clothes is nice, many days I end up in something resembling pajamas (if not actual pajamas) for way too long.
This is not okay.
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You know you've hit new lows when you deem yoga gear "too uncomfortable" for working at home.It keeps me from getting my butt in gear to get in my morning workout and it usually results in me starting my workday super early and then skipping out on workouts. Not good, people.
Looking back at my mileage for this training cycle, I realized it was the lowest average mileage I've ever run for a training cycle. Yikes. Even with all of the stress and illness in there, I thought I was doing better than that. But nope. And part of my problem was definitely work-from-home sloth mode.
Poor nutrition
The other issue with hopping right on my computer and starting my workday while still in pajamas and sipping my coffee is that I often don't eat breakfast until about 11. And at that point, I think it's probably called "lunch." I get sucked into work and just forget. When I do eat, it's generally not the healthiest of options, either. I just grab something, like crackers or cookies. Most days, I couldn't even tell you what I even ate for lunch, but it probably wasn't good.
When I worked in an office, I ate salads, hummus/lettuce wraps, or sushi for lunch (along with fruit). I also ate balanced breakfasts like protein pancakes, oatmeal, or avocado toast. And a few snacks throughout the day. Now? I mostly forget breakfast, graze a bit of not-great stuff for lunch, and then eat way more than I should at dinner. (And I wonder why I'm not at my ideal running weight right now.)
It wasn't always this way for me. When I first started working from home, I kept a better personal schedule and did things like get dressed and eat right. But I think when I combined working from home with the intense stress I experienced this year, it was a recipe for total demotivation.
And so, as 2016 draws to a close and I look forward (sort of) to 2017, I'm thinking of how I can remedy this situation.
First, I've got to get my nutrition under control. While I have other health things going on, my eating habits are so incredibly bad right now and I know it's affecting how I feel.
And next, I need to get myself on a better schedule. And maybe at least put on some actual clothes, even if they are workout or athleisure gear.
I don't think I need to dress up like I'd dress for an office because my productivity isn't affected here and that's typically when all of those so-called experts say you should dress up even if you work from home. For me, it's the rest of life that's presenting the problems - my personal schedule and being able to get moving (literally) to work out and then making sure I'm eating right.
It's hard to believe I used to blog on my old blog almost daily about my outfits. There are even posts on this blog about style (what the heck happened to me?). But maybe posting my daily outfits on my weekly recap post or Instagram is good way to stay motivated to actually get dressed. At the very least getting dressed gives me a good excuse to buy a new "work" wardrobe. And maybe it will help me start to feel at least a little bit better in general.
Anyone else work from home? What are some of your struggles?
