Going back to work when you work at home

It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it

For the last couple of months, my work has taken a back seat to the joys of first-time home-buying. By “joys” I mean, of course, the sorts of tasks that inspire the pre-existing muscle knot in my neck to send nerve pain up the back of my skull. This occurred for two luxurious days before we secured our financing approval.

There’s been a lot to accomplish since we made an offer on our house early in September. Fortunately, my partner had two and a half weeks off work for the move and settling into our new home, by the good grace of the scheduling gods, but he was away for much of the pre-move paperwork and packing.

He’s since gone back to work, which was simple enough for him to do, given that his scheduling department tells him when to be there. Getting back into the swing of things has its challenges for a lot of folks, no doubt, but if there’s at least a set time and date to do so, it’s fairly intuitive. Arrive by the predetermined time, and life goes on from there.

It’s a little less clear-cut when you have nobody to answer to except for your cat and perhaps the spider stationed in the corner of the ceiling, although at that point, you may want to take a little stroll outside and say hello to a neighbour or two, because talking to spiders is a bit on the “loosely-hinged hermit” side, if you ask me.

Getting to the point now, how do we bohemian, devil-may-care arts career types “go back to work” when there’s nowhere to go, and nobody expecting us?

(Disclaimer: at no point are you to understand from this column that I consistently do all or any of the things listed below.)

Create a work schedule:

If you find yourself lacking a healthy level of initiative to just sit down (or stand up) and work, try creating a workday schedule, either handwritten or on an electronic device such as a phone or tablet, for the first day you intend to return fullforce to your career commitments. Plan all of your other activities around these preset workday hours. This is a highly constructive first step to establishing structure, and prioritizing work over other daily activities, and one which I virtually never do, so please don’t ask me for more specific advice on the topic.

Find greatness in small details: Something as simple as bringing coffee to your desk in the morning may make the difference between wandering forlornly throughout your home, and feeling like a functioning professional with clarity and purpose. It is often the little, romantic things that help me to feel as though what I’m doing is important. Clunking a steaming mug down on my antique writing desk; stopping to narrow my eyes and shake my head at my computer screen; sighing and dragging my fingers across my forehead; muttering — all of these critical work-related behaviours instil in me a motivating sense of Hemingwayesque greatness.

Write a column about how to go back to work:

Or, whatever your version of this may be. I find that when I’m struggling to reestablish a work routine after a vacation or other interruption to my everyday activities, mining the very struggle I’m in the midst of can be the golden ticket to rejuvenated productivity. Explore your existential anguish. I’m not sure how this strategy applies to work-from-home jobs outside of the arts, but let’s just leave it up to interpretation.

Well, I suppose that’s about it. I think I’ve slain this particular dragon. What’s next?