MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT OF: WORKING FROM HOME TO BEING AT HOME TRYING TO WORK
I have worked from home for over 14 years … I knew that when I wanted to start trying for a baby, I also wanted a flexible career that allowed me to be at home with my child(ren) … fast forward to today, I have two kids: ages 9 and 7 … I’ve done the summers when they are home from school, challenging, but doable … I’ve done the winter breaks, more down time and cuddling … I’ve done the sick days … but let me tell you this:
NONE OF THAT COMPARES TO BEING AT HOME DURING A CRISIS AND TRYING TO WORK.
There is a huge difference in the ‘mental ness’ when you are at home with kids during a crisis situation like COVID-19 has created. The transition of:
WORKING FROM HOME
TO
BEING AT HOME TRYING TO WORK
is vastly different from ‘kids being home for 2 months in the summer’ … here are a few things I have noticed, and if you are a business owner, maybe you’ve felt it too …
I HAVE TO WORK TWICE AS HARD RIGHT NOW
I want to be one of the businesses that survives this sh*t … I want to be left standing at the end … I also need to bring in an income during all this, which isn’t easy since my target market is mostly made up of small business owners in the wedding and event industry! To do that, I have to work TWICE as hard as I would have before … I have to be TWICE as scrappy … TWICE as savvy … and all that during a crisis situation when my kids are home and around me 24/7.
Now, all this work is just an investment to whatever the future ends up being … I’m making way less than I did before COVID-19 struck … my inquiries have almost stopped completely … it’s scary AF … so making the mental adjustment of: WORK MORE, MAKE LESS is a really weird feeling!
2. MY ANXIETY IS THROUGH THE ROOF
Being someone that already struggles with anxiety and benefits from ALONE TIME … this current crisis hasn’t exactly been supportive of that ;) I’m never alone … like, ever … and I have to focus and be creative during the many many many MANY questions my kids have for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love them … I love them beyond love … but I also love missing them! lol … I love sending them to school and knowing we can all be expressive and learn and play on our own … and then recreate our family dynamic when they get out of school.
To cope with ‘never being alone’ there is a lot more ‘screen time’ …. that dreaded activity that makes us, as working parents, feel like a sack of sh*t …. but I’ve accepted it and am trying to remind myself that THIS WILL NOT BREAK THEM … I’ve almost convinced myself to not feel bad ;) haha
3. I HAVE TO REMIND CLIENTS THAT I’M IN THIS TOO
When you have been working from home for years and people know you work from home, sometimes they just assume that things are the same for you … you were working before, you are continuing to work, you were home before and you’re home now … but:
THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS BEFORE
This is a new beast … a new normal … and I’ve found that it helps to remind my clients of that … in a nice way, of course … but to be upfront about the ‘new expectations’ they should be aware of … new schedules … the fact that every day is different and my plans are being changed on the fly when a kid has needs that I have to focus on.
Luckily, for me, all of my clients have been INCREDIBLE … the reason I’m including this here is because I don’t want small business owners to be afraid to voice this to their clients … to communicate that: yes, you were working from home before, but it’s DIFFERENT now … and that there are adjustments for all of us during COVID-19.
Working from home before all this was the same as going to an office for me … I have my ‘work space’ … when I sit in my chair, I put on my ‘work face’ … I have my ‘work time’ where I know I am most productive (which for me is starting early in the morning and working until about 3:00 or so) … these were all things that made me successful as an entrepreneur … this is how my business was made … and now there is an adjustment period of:
STILL KICK ASS … IN A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT THAT HAS A DIFFERENT VIBE
Whatever your ‘things’ are that you are having to adapt to, don’t ignore them. Acknowledge them, feel them, face them … be sad, be angry, be open … it’s helped me to not just shade my eyes from how f*cking terrible this feels sometimes and then take a deep breath and do whatever I can that day, or hour, or minute to feel that I have been successful during all this.
XO~ Heather
