10 Things About WFH* in These Foolish Things

Boring work stuff ahead. You’ve been warned. Working from home is new to me and it’s taking me a while to get used to it, but here’s what I’ve found is happening for me so far:

1. I started this remote job in mid-October. I’m a product developer - I work with tangible products such as fashion (apparel, fashion accessories, home decor, etc.), consumer goods (toys, tools, tchotchkes) so I have to have my products here at home with me so I can touch, feel, review, approve, make changes/adjustments, etc. I now have boxes and boxes of “stuff” and I can’t stand for it to clutter my apartment, so I store the stuff in my garage. I MUST have separation between work and home! I can’t bear to have boxes of stuff inside my place. It’s not easy going back and forth between my “office” and the garage, but it’s working for now.

2. The company I work for has been in business for over ten years, but has never created their own products (by themselves), so there are ZERO processes in place. The bad news is that there’s really nothing to go by; the good news is that I can create my own processes! People are looking to me for guidance, and guess what? A good part of the time I’m making it up! Of course, it’s based on my 30-years of experience, but man…so much of this is stuff I used to pass off to other people, so the learning is quite interesting!

3. Working from home is super weird - especially when the company works in so many different time zones. The company itself is based in Los Angeles, so technically, I need to be on board with those hours. And I’m always available anyway because of Asia time (I get messages from my suppliers at all hours of the day and night), but my boss and I only overlap for six hours in the day and he’s very much into keeping to “business hours”. Meaning, he expects me to work an 8-5 workday, which is 6-3 on the West Coast and has only once asked me for a meeting that ran after 5pm my time. I still check in, but I’m pretty much done at 5 my time and everyone from the “office” leaves me alone.

4. And my start times are interesting because 8am here is 6am West Coast so sometimes I get up super early before my workout and get a bunch of overnight emails done while I wake up with coffee and then I can do my workout routine and dog walk a little later because I can be checking emails on my phone while I walk (and nobody is emailing me anyway). Meaning, I can be on a good, long dog walk from 8:30 - 9:30 in the morning and nobody even knows/cares! There is ONE person who works on East Coast time and she and I sometimes interact in the morning before others log on, but again, I can do that on my phone while I walk.

5. I take advantage of this time difference stuff and feel a little guilty for fudging my work hours, but I shouldn’t because, look, I was doing emails at 6:30 this morning and I’ll still check in at the end of the day at 7 this evening, so…

6. My work hours are super blurry. I don’t know if I love that or not. I’m used to rigid office hours. But then again, being in this line of work and working with factories all over the world, the work hours have always been blurry, ya know? It just feels less pressure-y.

7. I still very much prefer the camaraderie of being in an office. I miss the separation between home and office. It’s going to sound weird, but I miss the commute. The hustle. The jokes among co-workers. I miss grabbing lunch occasionally. Dressing for success! Dare I say I miss the competition? Board rooms? Giving face-to-face presentations? I miss all of that.

8. But I haven’t taken a single Valium for any work situation at all since I started this job. THAT is huge!

9. I could likely have a side hustle if I continue with this job over the next year or so. Do I want that? Or do I relax a little? I’m afraid if I relax a little then I’ll get too used to it and not remember how to hustle.

10. I desperately miss work travel! I’m going to have to push for that. Work travel is a way of life and I used to travel at least 30% of the time. Since the pandemic it’s dwindled to zero. It feels weird and so do I.

Update: Adding to this list because a noter reminded me:

1. I am snacking way, waaaaayyyy too much. It’s so easy to run to the fridge every time I turn around. This is ridiculous and I have to build some self-control into my day. I’m making big, BIG statements for my New Year Resolutions!!

2. I also forgot to mention that my boss, Inbox Nazi (or NBN for short) while still very much a crazy stickler for certain things like Inbox Zero and naming conventions, gave me some glowing reviews before he left for his vacation (yesterday). He told me that I have already worked wonders for the product development aspect of the business (and I’m honestly doing the bare minimum right now). All I have to do is institute a few processes and I feel like it’s going to be a good win and a great year ahead! And NBN leaves me the hell alone during the day. I rarely have any contact with him. It’s almost strange!

3. We hardly ever use Slack! This is the exact opposite of The Cutie Pie Company where literally EVERYTHING was communicated on Slack…from product approvals to when someone was going to the bathroom. And OH! This also reminds me of an update I need to give you for Chief Cutie. Another entry!

I could go on and on, but you see my back and forth here. There are good things and not so good things about this situation. I’m still on the fence. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to turn on the Today Show and get my workout in while I watch.

XO,
GS

Last updated December 20, 2023