Photos by Cathryn Lavery and Lesly B. Juarez
I work from home. In lots of ways, it’s a pretty sweet deal. My commute to work is a three metre walk from my bedroom to the kitchen.
When I finish for the day, I’m already home. I don’t have to get dressed or do my hair to start work. I can squeeze in an hour of exercise before work - then after work go out to the cinema, cook dinner and meet some pals for drinks before bedtime.
"I spend 90 per cent of my time in pyjama bottoms with last night’s curry stain on them"
But working from home definitely has its downsides. I spend 90 per cent of my time in yoga leggings or pyjama bottoms with last night’s curry stain on them. I don’t see human beings all day. Unless you count Twitter and Skype Instant Messenger as human contact. As soon as my boyfriend comes home, I bombard him with questions.
“How was your day? What did you do? So I’ve been reading this article on avocados....This person said the funniest thing on Twitter. What are we having for dinner? Do you want to go for a walk before dinner? I might do some yoga before dinner and then cook... Have you spoken to so-and-so today?”
Errrrr... I have worn something other than my pyjamas for the last 72 hours. Promise. Photo: Bridget Jones' Diary
And this is all before he’s taken his coat and shoes off. The poor guy is dumbstruck while I spout word vomit because I’ve spent eight hours staring at a computer screen with no one to toss the ball of conversation with. He’s tired and ready to hit the sofa with a beer and an episode of Making A Murderer and I’m bouncing off the walls like an over-excited Jack Russell who needs entertaining.
Everyone says to me, “Oh you are so lucky to work from home”. And I know it’s true - but when I’m spending my fourth day in the same sweaty pants, it feels kinda… well, gross. Human contact is actually great. I like the office banter, the in-jokes, the small talk while making a cup of tea. Friday beers aren’t quite the same when you’re sat alone on your sofa.
So, what’s the answer? Well, I’m still trying to work it out. You get SO much more free time when you work from home. I can go snowshoeing for an hour before work with my friends, make poached eggs on toast and still be at my desk, ready to start work at 9am.
You don't get sunrise views like THAT before work when you're tied to an office in London. Photo: Amie Marsh
I wouldn’t want to give up that freedom to do more of the things I like doing - squeezing surf session in at lunchtime, a run after work before it’s dark, cooking some elaborate recipe that requires a lot of chopping. And I’m not exhausted all the time from a two hour commute.
But I miss people. So here are my top tips for surviving working from home:
PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, GIRL
While it’s tempting to just lounge around in your pyjamas (and then quickly hurry to get changed at 4.30pm so your boyfriend doesn’t think you are a lazy slob who lives in pyjamas) get dressed. Don’t wear tight skinny jeans, that’s just self-inflicted punishment. But wear proper clothes - you’ll feel all the better for it.
GET OUTSIDE BEFORE AND AFTER WORK
Again, it sounds dumb, but actually get outside. Exercise is great. Now you can stop putting it off because you’re “too tired after work” and actually force that butt out the front door. Exercise with friends is even better - you can get all that chatting done at the same time.
STICK THE RADIO ON
It’s like a faithful, intelligent friend when no one else is around.
Illustration: Gemma Correll
DO INDULGE YOUR SINGING VOICE
If you've got no one else to talk to, you might as well sing at the top of your lungs. After all, there's no one to tell you your voice sounds like a strangled cat. Everyone wins.
FIND OTHER FREELANCERS & WORK TOGETHER
Although I've found this can go one of two ways.
Either you’ll team up with a work buddy, only to find they talk to themselves and it drives you insane. This is why you decided to work from home in the first place, right?
The other scenario is working with a good friend. However, inevitably you will end up chin-wagging about the EU referendum and the benefits of coconut oil for three hours, and before you know it, it’s 4pm and you’ve got none of your shit done. If you’ve managed to strike a good balance, let me know how.
BE GRATEFUL
How many of your friends get to work from bed when they are feeling hungover? None. So suck it up, quit your whining and remember how good you’ve got it!