Like millions of other people I started working from home a year ago today. No one knew how long it would be for but I don’t think any of us could have predicted we’d still be at it.
I’d worked from home on snow days, when the kids were sick and when I needed time away from the office to concentrate on a weighty piece of project work. It was OK but there were lots of things wrong with it. I felt guilty for not being in the office. I felt guilty for putting the heating back on. Sitting at the dining table or on the sofa wasn’t that comfortable. I was easily distracted by The Real Housewives.
So when I packed up my laptop and notebooks last year I was determined to do things differently. I already had a desk in the bedroom with aspirations of it being a writing space for those books I can never find the time to write. Anyone who’s ever been in my old office will know my desk was a bombsite but with a much smaller workspace I couldn’t afford to be messy or it would stress me out. I rearranged everything and organised some storage.
Where the desk sits I can have the door open and it hides the bed from view. The desk sits round a little corner so from the bed I can’t really see the desk. The desk space feels like work and the bed feels like home.
Teams and Zoom were game changers but Teams messaging is what keeps my team sane – there’s a constant stream of conversation, just like in the office. Don’t get me wrong – I miss the face-to-face interaction, the banter and the office nights out. I miss the PostIt and chunky crayons creative sessions. And I miss the team nights out.
I don’t miss the commute, spending too much money in TK Maxx at lunchtime or wearing work clothes. In fact I’m Saint and Sofia’s favourite customer at the moment for what I’m calling work lounge wear.
I’ve heard a lot of people saying they can’t get back to the office but I can’t say I’m one of them.
Now it looks like working from home will be permanent, aside from touchdown spaces back at base and that suits me just fine. You see, for me working from home to me doesn’t just mean working in my house. Once we’re allowed back into other people’s houses I’m looking forward to creative sessions with the team round my dining table with bottomless cups of tea and coffee and home baking. And it doesn’t stop at the team – there’s nothing stopping colleagues from other councils and organisations coming over for the day for some creative exchange. It could come down to working wherever has the best cake and coffee.
So if anyone fancies working with me for the day just give me a shout – if you’re further away than just down the road I have a spare room for a sleepover. I can recommend the house coffee and after the working day the house wine and house cocktails are pretty good too.
So I declare Mondays to be open house at Chez Mitchell. The kettle will be on, the wifi fired up and home made soup prepared for lunch time. Give me a shout if you fancy it.
My home office is your home office.
Note – the radiator is never hot so don’t worry about health and safety.
I'm no expert 