My last day in the office was 3 months and 8 days ago. On March 12th, everyone at my employer was told that we’d be working from home indefinitely. Right now it’s looking like mid-July (though potentially a bit longer, I’ve heard) when we’ll go back to working in the office at least part-time.
I’ve only been in the post-college workforce for 5 years, but I can confidently say that this period of working from home has by far been the best work-life balance of my career to date. In some ways I feel like it’s given me a small taste of early retirement. Sure, I’m still working for 40 hours per week but that’s it. 40 hours and done. No time has to be spent getting to and from work, or those multiple small tasks we do in order to get ready for the next work day that add up. There’s so many upsides, like…
A break from commuting!
My normal commute is usually exactly an hour per day — 25 minutes in the morning, and 35 minutes in the afternoon. That’s a huge increase in personal time. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t spent some of it relaxing, but I’ve taken the initiative to use it productively by taking an introductory programming course among other things. Financially speaking I’m not saving a ton on gas (maybe $50 per month) but for those with longer commutes or less fuel-efficient vehicles, the savings could be a substantial bonus.
No more alarms!
I’ve kind of just been waking up naturally most days, usually around 6:30 or 7:00, but some days as late as 8:00. I used to wake up at 5:00 to get into the office for 6:00. Nobody has really been keeping tabs on my login times, but I’m honest in that I always put in my 9 hours regardless of what time I start at. I noticed that after a few days of waking up naturally, I felt more refreshed and rested than I remembered feeling in a while. Brain fog has become a thing of the past. I imagine that early retirees experience something quite similar!
Working out before lunch!
I must admit that I was always a home workout aficionado, long before the pandemic shut down public gyms. I just get in the zone at home, and removing that extra step of getting myself to the gym helps me stay disciplined. Usually I worked out after getting home from work around 4:00 PM. Some days it was a struggle to initiate, especially if I was feeling tired by that point in the day. These days, I’m working out before eating lunch when I still have plenty of energy. And since it’s now part of my lunch hour (when I’d usually just be “stuck” in the office), I’m actually saving time compared to my normal schedule.
Not doing all those small tasks to get ready for work!
Getting dressed to whatever standard your office requires. Caring what your hair looks like. Making sure lunches are packed for tomorrow. Eating breakfast before work, instead of during work. These are just a few of the random small tasks we do to ensure we’re ready for another day at the office. I’m sure there’s many I’ve forgotten, and one thing is for sure: they can add up!
Final thoughts…
Work from home has been a nice increase in personal time, and also a small increase in autonomy throughout the day. I imagine this is only a hint of what awaits in early retirement, when one has the ability to dictate the structure and flow of their entire day. This feels like a mental break to recharge from the working grind routine, but to a more relaxed and balanced state than you can ever reach on those one week vacations here and there.
I could certainly get used to this, but alas the days of full-time work from home are certainly limited, so I’ll just have to enjoy it while I’ve got it. I do hope that leadership across corporate America sees that most white collar workers can accomplish the same quality of work regardless of whether we’re in the office or at home. Even one or two days per week of this would be a huge increase in work-life balance for so many people.
And now that it’s nearly July, I think I sense a budget review for the first half of 2020 coming up soon! Stay tuned.