Failing | Working from Home

I have the tremendous luck of being able to work from home during the Coronavirus quarantine. That is a privilege that I am truly grateful for. I've worked from home here and there but never for more than a day or two. So after week one of self isolation I can officially say that I have failed!

Day one wasn't so bad. I woke up at my body clock's normal time of 6:30am and leisurely scrolled social media for a solid hour before making coffee and getting my computer set up. I worked a standard day with the tv on in the background and the occasional phone break. I wrapped up at about 4:30 in the afternoon and patted myself on the back for a good day's work.

Now day two? That's a different story. Day two started out feeling like a weekend. Meaning it started with sleeping in until 8am (yes that's late compared to 6:30!) and lazily making my coffee and sitting in bed with my computer. I dialed into my first meeting and muted myself as I scrolled my phone. By 10am I realized I needed food....and again at 11:30....and 1pm.

After all that food I had the afternoon itis and barely had the energy to keep my eyes open, let alone work. Thank God I had no meetings in the afternoon because with my luck I'd be half sleep and someone would ask "so what do you think, Paula?" and I'd have to ramble out an irrelevant response.

For the rest of the day I replied to emails and bullshitted my way through my to-do list. Admittedly, I was on FB Marketplace for most of it but only because I needed a new fridge. Oh and that reminds me! Reading a message and then marking an item sold but not responding to said message is trash behavior!!!! But that's another story for another day.

Anywho. Day three pretty much mirrored day two with the exception of having to stay logged on for work until 10pm to distribute a company message. Luckily, that just meant to have my computer near me, not actually working. And by the time the fourth day rolled around I had procrastinated my way through the little things, prioritized the big projects, decently contributed to meetings and distracted myself by playing with the dog. Shout out to Emmy, the best quarantine captain in the game!

It was on day four that I realized sitting on my laptop in bed wasn't going to be a good idea if this thing really lasted a month. My back was hurting, my ass was numb and the comfort my bed once gave me was slowly fading away. And to add insult to literal injury, as I further distracted myself with social media I saw people working out, meal prepping and setting up virtual happy hours. Meanwhile, all I could think was wtf have I done with my week? I ate half my weight in beef jerky and salt and vinegar chips, laid in bed and used way too many cups for my coffee, tea, eater and juice needs. Again. Fail! In attempt to shake the bad habits I decided to be somewhat productive. I hopped on my elliptical and watched a little Netflix to help distract me. It lasted all of 10 minutes but something is better than nothing!

The next day, with social media shame on the brain, I decided that day five would be the day to get my shit together. It was Friday, the weather was warm and I had a fully stocked fridge. I got up at 7am and made some tea and cooked a bacon and egg sandwich. I even did the dishes right away. Boom. Great start. I set up my computer at my desk (yes I had a desk this whole time) and got to work. By lunch time I felt productive af. I decided to grab the dog and head for the park. Aside from a few raindrops the walk was great and the dog got to play with her fellow canines for a bit. By the time I got back home she was exhausted and I was starving (that's a big win because she's annoying as hell when she's bored and wants my food). So I heated up some leftovers and even added a salad. Winning! (in my Charlie Sheen voice).

The rest of the day consisted of wrapping up work, cooking dinner and relaxing with the dog while catching up on my Netflix shows. All in all I'd say failing for only a week is pretty fast. So cheers to staying productive and being your best self while on lock down. Let's hope I don't re-fail this after a month. Fingers crossed.

#workfromhome #wfh #failingfast #corona #quarantine