The New Normal

Until the end of 2015, I worked in an office. I worked in the arts, so it was a very informal office, filled with camaraderie, swearing, jeans and trainers, and cake, but an office nonetheless. I went there every morning, sat at my desk, went to meetings, drank tea, and then went home. Now I’m a work-at-home mum, and it’s fair to say there have been some pretty big changes…

Working hours

Then: five hours per day, five days a week. Sounds like a working mum’s dream, but in reality it’s just rushing around doing everything badly until evening comes and it’s time to sit on the sofa, staring blankly into space.

Now: ALL the hours one week, none the next. Works for me, as long as I ignore the size of the ironing pile.

Business attire

Then: skinny jeans, boots or shoes, a nice top. Even a dress every now and then.

Now: jogging bottoms, the trainers I bought that one time I went hiking, and un-brushed hair, which is now streaked with purple and blue because why not?

 Interactions with colleagues

Then: chat with teammates as we make tea, chat before and after meetings, go and see a colleague to ask a question and have a quick chat, chat to someone else who sits nearby, after-work drinks.

Now: make silly jokes and talk about commas on Facebook with people who live thousands of miles away. I can still talk bollocks for hours, but nowadays it’s more likely to be a conversation about whether it’s still too much of a Britishism for a US audience to understand.

 Distractions

Then: Facebook, Twitter, cups of tea, cake for someone’s birthday, office gossip.

Now: housework. Which means I actually get a lot more work done. And Facebook and Twitter are LEGITIMATELY PART OF MY MARKETING STRATEGY, OK?

Exercise

Then: stairs, stairs and more stairs. Especially after our boss decided to move my team into an office a floor away from all the people we needed to talk to on a regular basis. Bad for internal communication, good for my thighs.

Now: erm… sometimes I go down to the kitchen for biscuits?

It’s a whole new world. I think I love it. But I never thought I’d miss those stairs.