Back to Work

I have been quiet in the last couple of weeks due to being unwell. My health has been very good since I stopped work nearly a year ago, however this past few weeks I have been under the influence of some kind of virus that has given me low grade fevers and general lethargy. I suspect food intolerance was involved too, but you don’t get a fever from food intolerance, so there must be more to it than that. I can’t say it was too unpleasant, as the symptoms have been fairly mild, but its been enough to need frequent rests and not too much challenge.

Its strange being sick when you work from home, because its less of a dramatic change. I didn’t have to check in and explain my absence, or go to the doctor for certificates to authorise sick leave. I didn’t miss the constant need to assess whether I was “well enough to go to work” and estimating (wrongly) when I would be going back.

Being sick was a more subtle experience as it meant I spent even more time at home that I normally would, as I wasn’t able to do the many of the things that would take me out of the house. I tried to keep my hand in with a few projects, and was able to progress a few things, although I tired very quickly, and didn’t have very good stress tolerance when I encountered obstacles and difficulties. I still went through the “am I well enough” conversation with myself on a micro level, about particular projects I wanted to work on. Am I well enough to make some cards? Am I well enough to write my blog? Am I well enough to list this for sale online? I did struggle a little bit with wanting to push myself to do things when I really needed to rest and relax.

The weirdest part is now, when I am almost normal again. I feel ready to “go back to work” but there is no workplace to go back to. I am missing that part where you walk in the door and everyone says “hello stranger”. I am missing having a tangible list of jobs to get on with and projects to pickup. I am missing the people.

The work that I have been doing from home is really exploratory projects that have the potential to lead to an income, but are not yet producing enough to live on. This kind of work relies on momentum, enthusiasm, creativity, following your intuition. Getting back into that flow is very different to checking your email inbox and sifting through in your in tray. The momentum is building, but not yet flowing. I have been frustrated by the desire to do things, without the energy or concentration to see them through.

I continue to recall the advice in The Luck Factor regarding the habits of lucky people. I feel like I have a good grasp of one of the four behaviours, following your intuition. I understand being open to opportunity and turning a negative into a positive, and try to keep those in mind. The area where I am weakest is “expecting to succeed“.

One characteristic of lucky people is that they expect to be lucky. On closer examination how this works is that they behave in ways that maximise their chances of success. They put in a lot of effort and persevere to make sure they get the outcome they want. I am keeping this in mind as I am recovering my health. I am inclined to try things out without any certainty of success and there is a risk that I will underestimate the difficulty and give up too easily. Getting back out there to sell greeting cards and promote my professional organising business feels daunting as I regather my strength and focus. But I remember how much I was enjoying it before I got so rudely interrupted.

Barefoot and Happy

While I was digging around the shoes this morning looking for a missing thong (flipflop/rubber sandal) it occurred to me that this had become my idea of formal wear. It seemed like a big decision to be voluntarily putting on footwear to walk around the house in summer, but I was feeling like I needed some cushioning for my feet. Now that I am working from home, and particularly since it has been the summer break, I haven’t needed to be wearing shoes or dressy clothes nearly as often. I couldn’t find the thong so I took it up another notch and I am now wearing my running shoes and feeling very energetic and efficient as a consequence.

Its a different experience working from home because unless you have and outside job or meeting, it doesn’t really matter what you are wearing. Nevertheless, I do feel the need to cultivate a different mindset on what I deem to be “work days”. These are days were I am working actively on my various creative projects, doing tasks associated with setting up my business, or looking for part-time or freelance work. Often I work barefoot, but I sometimes find it helpful to dress up a little bit more than I would for a relaxation day, which might just mean joggers and a better class of T-shirt.

On work days I aim to build up some momentum by moving purposely between tasks. I have a diary where I make a list of projects and tasks for the week, then pick out various aspects each day. What I choose to do is to some extent influenced by the weather because some days its too hot to be working at the computer for long due to the heat it gives off into the room. I was very productive yesterday to make up for the lost day the day due to heatwave conditions. Today I will do as much as possible as we have another couple of hot days coming up. My other option in hot weather is to get up early or work later in the evening when it is cooler.

I am still getting used to the idea that a work day can be on the weekend, or at least part of the weekend, and a relaxation day can be during the week. I have some residual guilt on weekdays that I should be “at work” but I really enjoy the flexibility I have at the moment. I like working when I feel inspired and being able to do social things on weekdays. As the normal pace of life picks up after the Christmas/New Year lull I will have more work and social activities outside the house and more occasions to get dressed up.

I wonder what my podiatrist will think about my new lifestyle given that the lack of structure in my worklife has translated into a lack of foot support. You see I am supposed to be wearing orthotics to hold up my floppy arches, which does presuppose that one is wearing shoes. Hopefully he will understand that I am not doing serious mileage in my bare feet; and I will endeavour to meet him halfway, by occasionally throwing on some shoes.