Adjusting to New Working from Home Life

Wow wow wow helloooo! Man, I have just not felt like I have anything blog worthy going on in my life lately! There obviously isn’t a whoooole lot to do in quarantine, so I just haven’t really felt like I have anything cool enough going on in my life to blog about! After the first month or so of quarantine, the gorgeous Spring weather came. I started to get reaaaaally itchy because all I wanted to do was sit on the patio of a restaurant, enjoy the sun and drink an Aperol Spritz. I was absolutely craving it. Now that restaurants are starting to open back up, we have been carefully visiting our favorite restaurants and eating on the patio while social distancing. It has been so incredibly nice to just sit and order a cocktail again, but we definitely still want to be safe as COVID has not gone anywhere.

I don’t know about you guys… but I am D.Y.I.N.G for Fall. I don’t know if it’s because I will actually have a real Fall this year or what, but man. I am itching for Fall. If you follow me on Instagram, I post a lot of moody music haha. I love Fall, I love the cozy feeling. Taylor Swift came out with a new album and it is filled with the most cozy vibes. One song is literally called “Cardigan,” so I have been loving it! This weekend, I have been lighting cozy candles (currently smelling a honeycrisp apple candle and it is CHEFS. KISS) and watching movies with the most “fall” feels. Yes, Twilight was included on that list and I don’t want to hear your judgement! I can’t help it, I wish it was fall for half of the year and spring for the second half. Sorry, getting off topic here lol. See?? I can talk about Fall all day!

If you don’t know already, Justin and I work for the same amazing company! We work in different departments, so we don’t do the same job. On March 13th, we got word that we were going to be working from home indefinitely. My whole team and I figured it would be 2-3 weeks and then we would be back as if nothing happened. Now, 4 months later, we are still working from home. We were told that we would be working from home until next year. A lot of mixed emotions came with this. Happy because I genuinely love working from home and being in my own little space, but also a little down because I absolutely adore my coworkers, the culture of our company and our entire office. We work in the heart of downtown Kansas City, so I just love going into our office. I have never had a job where I could work from home, so this was a totally new territory for me. Justin and I were adjusting to our new WFH lifestyle, but we adjusted pretty quickly I think!

We live in a 3 story townhouse, so Justin set up his office on the bottom floor and I set up my office on the top floor. I think it was really great to have a little separation so we weren’t just on top of each other all day. It felt like we were still in an office setting and it worked for us! We have lunch together and then go back to work!

I have had an absolute blast setting up my little office. It is now my little oasis and my “studio.” I have lots of different work from home playlists, so it’s nice to just feel relaxed while I am working. Now that I am a little more used to working from home, I thought I would share my personal routine! It’s really nothing special lol, just what I find works for me.

Getting Ready Everyday

I, of course, have my days that I don’t want to do my makeup or get ready at all, but I try my hardest to wake up early and get ready every day. 1 - it makes me feel better. When I feel better, I do better! 2 - it makes me feel more normal. Even if I stay in a cozy sweatshirt and leggings, I at least like to have my hair and makeup done.

Music

Like I mentioned earlier, I have several playlists for working from home depending on what mood i’m in. One day I will want just instrumental piano music, one day i’ll want soft R&B, one day i’ll want to pretend i’m in a Twilight movie! It changes every single day. I am someone who always needs have some kind of sound going on. Whether that is the tv in the background, music, tiktok, etc… I need to have some kind of noise in the background to focus or else I won’t get anything done. Our office always played killer playlists, so I like to create a similar atmosphere. Here are some of my WFH playlists:

Like I’m in a Twilight Movie lol
Soft soul & R&B
Instrumental Piano
More Upbeat WFH
Coffeehouse

Take Lunch out of Your Office!

This one took me a while to start doing. I would take my lunch in my office in case any calls or emails came in. It made my day feel sooo much longer and I found myself so exhausted by the end of the day. I started actually getting up, going to make lunch and maybe watch an episode of Criminal Minds or SVU (the most uplifting things to watch during a work day, right??). It helps me disconnect for a little bit and give my mind a break.

Breaks!

I need to remind myself frequently that when I was in the office, I would get up once every hour or every other hour to either fill up my water, get coffee, get a snack, catch up with a co worker, etc… It makes me get in some extra steps and it gives my mind a little break. Now, I try to get up to play with my cats for a few minutes, fill up my water bottle, etc… It really does help me focus more!

Create an Office Space You Love

When we first started working from home, we thought it would be MAYBE a month, so I didn’t bother sprucing up my entire office because I wasn’t going to be in it for very long. Once I heard it would be until next year, I knew I needed to create a space that I felt happy and motivated in. I bought some new furniture, a new desk chair and some faux flowers to make it bright and happy. I absolutely love coming into my office every day now. It’s my own oasis! Justin calls it my studio because it truly is where I do everything. I shoot photos in there for any products i’m loving, I do my makeup, I have all my beautiful dresses hung up… I still work on it every day, so it is by no means done! (A little side note… the chair in the photos is not my desk chair! My desk chair isn’t the prettiest so I didn’t use it for aesthetic purposes haha) Also, i’m not sure where I got my desk! My mom found it and I just love it.

There is still a lot I want to do with my office, so it isn’t quite finished! I just wanted to share what has been working for me :)