Hey Corporate Black Girls ✨ How are you holding up? Yeah it's an adjustment but let's face it, it's not always what it's cracked up to be....
I've been pushing to "WFH" for over a year now and here it is, being forced upon us and this can really suck sometimes. Yeah I said it, but don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to have the capability to work from home. But honestly I miss my morning routine, the water cooler talk, the "I'm ready to go home" spill after one cup of coffee. But since I'm pushing 6 months of this, here's some tips of how not to go rouge.
1. DO NOT work from bed!
Although it is very tempting to just roll over 5 minutes before you need to log in, this could be bad on down the road. You should keep that space sacred. Once you get comfortable combining the two you will make it okay to work around the clock. Next thing you know you're checking emails at 9pm.
Working from your bed can also cause you to be less productive. You look up and it's 3:30pm, you've had 2 naps and 10 emails are waiting for a response. Now you only have an hour and a half to make it look like you've done 8 hours of work. Just don't do it sis. (My only exception is if I only have conference calls all day. 🗣 but dassit!)
2. Keep your workspace separate.
Alright, so we've established that working in bed is a no. So now we have to talk about where our workspace should be. We want to keep work separate from our personal lives and with WFH this can be difficult. In order to do that, you have to create a dedicated workstation for work and work only.
Before Rona, my desk was in my room but now I've moved it to prevent the temptation to be lazy and stay in bed all day. I knew that if I kept it there I'd just do some work then go lay down and repeat this cycle. So I decided to move my desk to my living room, I enjoyed rearranging my furniture but more importantly it gives me a reason to leave my room every morning. I know that sounds minor but believe me, I would stay in my room alllll day. I'm not trying to eat, sleep and work in the same place.
By keeping my work area in my living room, I stay out of my bedroom until it's time for me to go to sleep. I know some people are struggling with sleeping all day or going to bed early, but if you make it a point for your bedroom to be separate from your workspace you will only spend a little time in there. This way you're avoiding being sucked into that comfy bed with Netflix on standby.
3. Keep your same work schedule!
Yeah, they don't deserve the voluntary/involuntary overtime. When I first started working from home I worked the entire 8/9 hours straight...girl I know. 😒 What lunch? What 15 minute break? If I was in the office I'd never skip a break! (except hectic days, y'all understand) So the nerve of me to sit here and work non-stop with absolutely no breaks. By the time Wednesday rolled around, I was looking forward to the weekend just to have relief. Taking my proper breaks has helped me tremendously.
You've been skipping breaks too huh? No sis, take your 1 hour lunch! Take your 2 paid 15 minute breaks! You deserve! I'm not saying go out and run errands for 3 hours, but just keep the same schedule from when you were in the office. Like Big Red said, "My office hours are from 9-5." Not before and definitely not after.
Just because you have more time in the morning without commuting DOES NOT mean you have to log in early. Now of course we support an overachieving Corporate Black Girl, but do not work everyday for 10 hours simply because you have more time. Make breakfast, take a jog, use that time for whatever your heart desires but try your best to use it on you!
Until next time CBG, keep spreading that Black Girl Magic through your virtual meetings. ✨
