Things I’m Learning From Working Alone

I used to have a corporate job.  I used to skip lunches a lot.  I used to go all day without a break for the ladies room or to get a drink of water.

I thought all that would change when I took a job working from home.  I was wrong.

All the bad habits I had when I worked in an office are still here, front and center.  Why is that?  I’ve worked in an office for most of my adult life and always thought it was either the office layout and my distance from the kitchen or bathroom that impacted whether or not I left my office much.  I thought that the workload and pace of the company or department kept me from…fill in the blank…. (eating, drinking water, taking a lunch break, etc.).

I was wrong.

It’s ME.

So for now, the biggest learning and takeaway for me is that it’s all on me.  All my bad habits.  All my work-a-holic tendencies.  I own them.  I am still finding it hard to tear myself away from my computer.  I still overload my calendar with projects and calls.  I still have to make a mental priority of getting up to take a break or get a drink.

A good friend gave me the advice to schedule breaks into my calendar.  I think I’ll adopt that today.

What have you learned from working from home?