As someone who’s only held traditional office jobs, I’ve always thought it’d be a dream come true to work from home one day. But, as I’ve done my job remotely these last few weeks while quarantined in my apartment, I’ve realized that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side—although there are definitely some perks I could get used to, like taking meetings in my sweats.
Whether you haven’t had to commute to a real office for years or the WFH life is relatively new to you, I bet you’ll relate to this list of things only people who work from home understand.
You no longer have any use for an alarm
Gone are the days when you had to set an alarm and drag yourself out of bed to just barely make it to the office on time. Now you can roll out of bed 10 minutes before you’re ready to log into your email. That means you can stay up late binge-watching Tiger King for the third time (guilty as charged) and still get eight hours of sleep.
Your bed—or couch—often doubles as your office
Sure, a designated workspace is great, but your bed and couch are just so much more inviting. You don’t always work from the bed or couch—if you have a Zoom meeting, you’ll move to a desk—but whenever you get the chance to put your feet up while you work, you take it.
You pretty much live in your PJs
One of the biggest lessons you’ve learned while working from home? Real pants are seriously overrated. While you used to think jeans were the ultimate in casual work attire, now you know elastic waistbands are where it’s at. You don’t necessarily work in the same pajamas you slept, in though: Once you wake up, you change into your “day pajamas,” aka a T-shirt and yoga pants.
You work more hours from home than you ever did at the office
You’ve quickly realized that you put in a whole lot more hours on the job when you work from home—particularly in this current situation, when all non-essential businesses are closed and physically socializing with friends is off-limits. With no places to go and no people to see, what else is there to do but work until it’s time to go to bed, right? (Here’s why you should add a morning workout to your routine.)
You can’t remember what day it is—or the last time you showered
All of your days basically blend together—and you’re not sure if it’s Monday or Friday (you hope it’s Friday). When was the last time you showered? What about the last time you got some fresh air? And did you have lunch today—or did you completely forget to eat? When you work from home, it’s hard to remember which basic tasks you did and didn’t do.
Your pet is always distracting you
Perhaps the biggest perk of working from home is that you’re able to do your job with your furry friend curled up by your side. Of course, sometimes your cat will make it hard to get anything done by plopping themselves down right on your keyboard—but they’re cute, so you’ll forgive them.
You’ve finally become a napper
When you work from home, you get to make your own schedule. That flexibility allows you to do the one thing you could never get away with in the office—take an afternoon nap. It’s kind of amazing how refreshed you feel after a siesta, isn’t it?
Science shows that as short as a 20-minute nap can have some serious health benefits. If you’re having trouble drifting off midday, here’s how to work naps into your daily schedule.
