Many of my coworkers have already written eloquently about their experiences with remote work and how to be an effective remote worker. I’m not going to do that, because despite working from home for the last eight years, I’m not qualified to talk about it. I do everything you’re not supposed to do.
I’m terrible about separating my workspace from the rest of the house. I have a desk, but it’s usually a mess and I’m usually too tired to clean it. I find my dining room chairs more comfortable than my fancy ergonomic one.
I rarely stick to anything more than a very rough sketch of a routine. I sleep in. I leave at 3 pm and return at 8 pm, or I work straight from 9 am to 4:30 pm. I forget to eat lunch, I eat dinner at 4.
Sometimes I don’t bother to put on a bra (that’s what sweatshirts are for), sometimes I curl my hair and wear my Nice Clothes, sometimes I don’t shower until I can smell myself.
I always wear pants. Ahem.
I work when I feel like it. I stop when I’m tired/hungry/a kid bops me on the head with a stuffed animal and asks me to play Monopoly on the iPad for the nth time.
I position myself strategically in front of my camera so my colleagues won’t have to look upon the pile of dirty dishes in the sink behind me. (This is a good thing. You’re welcome, Automatticians!)
I’m a hot mess remote worker, but I do my job and I do it well.
Right now, the fact that any of us are working at all is a testament to the human spirit. It’s hard to feel like moving pixels around on a screen and sitting in a video chat with your team is helping anything when it feels like the world is crumbling around you–but we persist!
If you’re juggling kids and a job and all the regular household stuff and not just staying under your comforter all day, you’re basically a superhero.
And y’know what, even if you’re stuck under that comforter, even if you’re only responsible for you, yourself, and your cat, you’re still a superhero because you’re surviving.
Good job, you!