random thoughts – Day 1,826 – (Monday) – five years

This date, five yeas ago, was my first day of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. There had been a brief stretch of part-time remote work in 2011 when I lived in Tennessee and was recuperating from the broken leg. Working half-days on a laptop from my couch, leg propped up with pillows, was a short-time situation with clear start and finish dates, and helped preserve my income and my sanity. The house was abuzz with visits from the home physical therapist and roller derby teammates who brought prepared meals and helped with laundry. I was tired from exercises and medication and working. It didn't prepare me for 2020.

The first work from home space.

The 2020 work-from-home situation was initially thought to be short-term, maybe “a couple weeks.” I left the office at the end of the workday on March 16 armed with a notepad, some printer proof sheets for the annual report, a couple highlighters, my favorite blue Bic stick pen, and the snacks from my desk. That evening, there was some clearing and rearranging to accommodate working from the dining room table.

The fully remote pandemic scenario lasted for 18 months, and mostly, I liked it. It felt like an adventure, at least initially. 

The pandemic legitimized my hermit-like tendencies. The plentiful solitude of my youth and the many long stretches between partners as an adult prepared me well for the big shutdown that my more sociable friends and family members found excruciating. The years spent with partners who failed to pull their own weight had taught me self-sufficiency. I was pretty sure I’d be okay. Not having to deal with society for a while was the icing on the already potentially glorious cake.

Five years later, life is different than it used to be. Not necessarily worse, and some things are better. There have been valuable lessons and surprises. For one thing, I never thought I wanted to work from home, but once I was doing it, I loved it. I learned how much better I function in a quiet environment, which was a huge revelation.

Dedicated office space.

Working from the dining room table was physically uncomfortable, and having work be the first thing I saw in the morning and the last thing each night became psychologically painful. The purchase of a desk and chair let the weird space off the kitchen that never quite caught on as a coffee nook be reborn as a cozy and functional office space. At the end of the day, I can step away from the office and be done with it, a big improvement. 

When the work schedule shifted to hybrid in September 2021, I got the best of both worlds – time to work in blessed peace and quiet and time to be downtown in a noisy office with colleagues.

For five years I have written every day, which has kept me disciplined and sane. I dance more, sleep more, enjoy cooking more, and drink less alcohol. It’s been interesting.