Lockdown 3.0 but my first lockdown working from home. Actually my first time either working from home, as I don’t count writing my dissertation or attending lectures from my bed ‘working’. Not only did January bring a new year, but with Boris announcing the country is in yet another lockdown, working from home was sprung on me on the 4th January, which also meant a new routine.
I can’t really say if I had a routine during the first lockdown last year. I did uni work in places all around the house, I wasn’t getting up at a regular time and my workouts were all over the place. The November lockdown, which wasn’t really a lockdown, was spent in the office of my first graduate job and my days were no different. This time around it is all a little different…
THE AM
One day I will have to be up at 6, ready for my train an hour later, and I didn’t really want to get out of that routine.
Waking up at 6 lasted two days.
Instead I wanted to focus my mornings on sleeping a little more, exercise and getting ready as if I was going into the office. My mornings now focus on half an hour (sometimes 40 minutes) of exercise (yoga, HIIT or pilates), followed by a shower and getting my face on. I always make sure to dress as if I was in the office as well but with the flexibility that I will probably wear the same outfit three days in a row instead of the outfit being straight in the wash. Then it’s time for breakfast and a green tea but my day starts at 8.30.
THE WORK SPACE
is currently the dining room table.
It’s not perfect and I eat my dinner 20 minutes later from the same spot I spend 8 hours in, but it works. A laptop tray, 3 note books, some pens and a highlighter and I’m good to go. A view looking out into the garden, a green tea and 2 litres of water. It isn’t instagramable, it’s not pretty but it works.
THE LUNCH
is a time when I should probably relax, or ironically do more to move my body.
I go on a few walks a couple of times a week. I read a chapter of two of my book (sometimes, rarely) and I try and think of something exciting to eat.
I used to meal prep my lunch for work, have it all done and dusted on a Sunday and just pack it in my bag during the week. Simple. Easy. Nowadays, I spend 20 minutes trying to work out what to eat – beans on toast? cheese sandwich? left overs from the night before? rice? what about poached eggs? Then my lunch is over or I have got an email and forget to take the rest of my lunch.
THE SHUTTING DOWN AT THE END OF THE DAY
is hard.
I probably work slightly more and never turn my Mac off at 5.30. One because I have no nice walk to the station, two because I’m walking about 5 steps to sit on the sofa and scroll social media which I don’t want to do, and three because I don’t really have much else to do.
I have tried to get better at switching off, but it is hard. I try and set boundaries, but sometimes client’s needs come before your own.
When I do switch off that is it. I clear my stuff away. Make some dinner, change clothes, take my make up off and try to just relax.
And then repeat till Friday…
Life of Alicia 