#The everyday juggling act

Work. Important, right? No doubt! But are we doing it right? The answer. It depends!

One thing we all have in common is a shortage of time. This is a realization many of us have come to after having leveled up for a while. Time spent at work is considerable. If working eight hours a day, one third of the day is spent working.

Some rest is also required, and roughly accounts for the second third. That leaves eight hours to do other things where we can live out our lives, during a work-week. As such, weekends, and the occasional holiday, are very welcome, and important breaks from this rinse-repeat pattern. However, with technology quickly moving forward, a recent development is that a workday need not stop and start at set hours.

#WE WORK TO GET BY

Being employed and earning a regular income has become one of the key pillars of our society. It enables us to have a roof over our heads, put food on the table, and helps us address our most basic needs.

We work because it gives us independence and freedom.

#WHERE DO WE WORK?

Traditionally, going to work required us as employees to be physically present at the office. With an ever-changing world, much thanks to technology, this has in many cases changed, and drastically so.

Being able to select the place to work can be very beneficial. Being able to choose to work from home is something many of us have come to depend on. The time saved from commuting to the office is helpful to avoid high shoulders and maintain a tolerable stress level.

#WHEN DO WE WORK?

For those of us fortunate to be able to work remotely, it is a big advantage. But working from home brings up some new questions:

• Have I put in the required amount of hours?
• Have I been sufficiently efficient?
• When is the workday over?
• These are valid questions that we need to figure out for ourselves.

#THE FLEXIBILITY OF WORKING FROM HOME

Effectively working from home can take some time and practice. It is important to find a good working environment and a comfortable working situation. And when you lean into it and start enjoying your own company, it may be just what “the doctor ordered”.

Being able to completely focus on your tasks is often best done alone, without disruption. You can even decide when to have lunch (if I may joke about the lunch hour)!

Working from home can be great, but it’s not the answer by itself. Imagine using the flexibility of the home office to split the workday in several parts. It is hard to be effective for long stretches at a time, but we tend to try regardless. Why not take a break and instead do that task you otherwise would have had to do later? Some of us would benefit from drinking less coffee and rather do something else while having a break.

With great flexibility comes more responsibility:

• Doing non-work-related activities is fine, but they should not be for long
• If the calendar permits, it might even be possible to run an errand before traffic gets tight
• Sitting home over a long period of time can rob you of of interesting “waterhole” discussions
• If you take time away from work you will have to put in the hours later

It is an everyday puzzle, but once you fit the pieces together you should see how it can be helpful.

#MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ON WORKING FROM HOME

Working in the technology and software industry, and working from home, is a known commodity. But the bigger part of the last couple of years have taught us a lot about online collaboration. We were not ready to being glued to our home offices, but we all adapted and learned from it.

As with most things, positive or less so, we learn, and we move on. Experience and knowledge are something we will always have. So how do we apply what we have learned in our current close-to-normal lives?

#WHAT I CAN DO WHEN WORKING FROM HOME

These last couple of years have changed our work behavior. Like most others, I used to travel to the office regularly, regardless of my calendar. Being stuck at home made me miss the office and colleagues, and not having that option was tough at times. But it did make me realize the flexibility and convenience that working from the home office entails. I feel more engaged when deciding if I should work from home or not. I want to be at the office, but I also want to maximize my job effort. Leaving the house or not (is not really a question with a dog in the house) can be a question of convenience. A personal appointment perhaps, maybe go for that workout (or walk the dog an extra round). My preference would be a run on local trails, which is definitely more enjoyable before it gets dark outside. This is something I have done from time to time lately, and it has really energized me. Being able to get that workout in early gives me a noticeable boost for the rest of that day!

#WHY I RUN

The answer has become quite apparent: It fuels my motivation AND keeps my office desk, neck and shoulders in check. A surprising development, that snuck up on me, is that I now want to run, and I rarely feel obligated any longer. I go out on the nearby (or far away) trails because it makes me feel good, both while running and afterwards. I put on my shoes, dress for the current weather and then I am all by myself, just me and the surface (and the scenery).

It’s calming because it allows me to explore new places and see new sights. Running and running some more is now well within my comfort zone. This is probably why I challenge myself and sign up for longer races. Completing a race, any race, is an awesome feeling, and the sensation of completing races outside of my comfort zone is amazing.

Here is one recent example:

I am actually running the Xreid trail run this weekend. If you register through the link below, you can follow my progression in real-time! This is also an opportunity to experience login using Azure AD B2C :D

Register here: https://b2c.amestofortytwo.com/run