5 Things I Will Miss About Working From Home

Well it’s been a hot minute.  Let’s just skip over all the crap that’s going on in the ol land of the free and hop right into the super important things that make up my daily life 😉

I GOT A NEW JOB!

The reality of a Trump administration (not going all political rouge on you promise) means jobs like mine (climate science research) may not be promised funding for much longer.  I don’t think funding will get completely shut out…but I do believe funding will be harder to get.  When you’re paid by federal funds that come in 3 year packages, they eventually run out, and if you don’t win more funds…then you’re screwed.  Sooooo long story short…it’s always been the in cards that I would need to find a new job at some point.

Thankfully all the stars aligned and I feel beyond lucky to have landed a job right here in KC doing something in my field…which is NOT an easy task.  I’m still waiting to get the call that they changed their minds.  I’ve worked this same job for over 7 years so it feels weird to be starting somewhere new.  #prayforme

Anyways…my start date is Feb 21st and I’ll be trading in my daily leggings and old ratty sweatshirts for real pants.  I’m quite sad about this.  I actually need to do some shopping because I haven’t had to dress like an adult for a job since 2008.

 

And so I present…

ONE) Not having to wear real clothes.  As if this needs any explanation…I have fallen into the stereotypical ‘work from home’ person and rock leggings and sweatshirts pretty much every day…sometimes it’s the exact same outfit for 2-3 days in a row.  #noshame

I rarely put on makeup or wash my hair.  Basically I’m the opposite of the 1960’s era housewife.  I look like crap and my husband still loves me…so at least I got that going for me.  Now I just have to figure out what one wears to a job these days…are jeans ok?!  Are khaki’s still a thing?!  Can I wear slippers?!

TWO) The Freedom.  The ability to do laundry, run the vacuum around, clean up the kitchen, make my own lunches, run quick errands, sneak in a workout.  ALL OF IT…and without KIDS AROUND.  Sure working from home alone in a basement can be isolating…but who cares when you can do all this crap during the day WHILE working!  I’m not sure how I’m going to go back to not having this freedom.  Like my friend shelley used to tell me…”wait till you have a ‘real’ job”.  OH I know…the reality is about to hit me like a ton of bricks and I’m going to whine and cry all about it to her 😉

THREE) Sneaking in a workout.  For the last couple months or so I’ve been dedicated to getting back into a consistent workout routine.  The main reason I’ve had success (so far) is the ability to sneak in a workout here at home either before/after working for the day.  Thanks to #1 above, I can check morning email, blast through a T25 routine, and jump in the shower quick before getting down to business.

Now I’ll just have to beat my kids to waking up each day at 5am and squeeze it in.  I also recently signed up for a year of Beachbody on demand as an incentive to stick with it…so here’s hoping Brittany can keep me in line 😉

FOUR) The quiet.  If you have kids you know what I mean.  There is something so tranquil about absolute silence when your house is normally filled with screaming kids begging for things or crying because they can’t throw balls at their sister’s head.  No whining, no crying, no “you’re a poop” for 8 amazing hours.  Most days I listen to some spotify playlist in the background…but sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy the peace and quiet.

FIVE) Friday Beers.  Now that I think about it, I didn’t do this NEARLY as much as I should have.  Once in a while though, If I got all my work done early on Friday, Lance and I would meet up for a beer or two before getting the kids from daycare.  A couple of times I would have a beer while finishing up on a Friday afternoon.  I always said I was going to go “work from a brewery” some day…but that never happened because the thought of having to put on real clothes and the reality of me falling asleep after having a beer always kept me from busting out of my basement office.  So I’m not that cool.  Hopefully as I build up some vacation time Lance and I will still be able to meet for happy hours once in a while.  But still…the freedom of being able to take my computer and work from wherever will definitely be missed.

So Yes.  Time to strap on my big girl pants, do the commute thing, log the hours, build up the vacation time, store food in a communal fridge, and all the other weird things people do in an office.  Stay tuned to see if I survive.