Waking leisurely and sitting on the couch with a laptop and latte in hand seem like the ideal conditions for comfortable productivity. I mean, who wouldn’t want to work in sweatpants or a soft bathrobe all day? Let’s not forget the missing element of a stress-filled commute. Most of us would sign up in a heartbeat if given the chance to work remotely. But before you start searching the internet for companies that pay a decent wage for working in pajamas, you may want to consider some of these potential productivity roadblocks.
The Achievement of the Daily Shower
With no need to interact with people publicly, the requirement to immediately shower upon waking is eliminated. Soon, the shower you told yourself that you would take in 10 minutes (4 hours ago) has slipped from a 9 a.m. shower to an early afternoon shower. After a few weeks of working from home, you may find yourself stewing in your own funk pondering when you last took a shower. Surely it couldn’t have been 2 days ago? Yes, yes it was.
You Don’t Always Have to Wear the Pants
After you’ve stepped out of your occasional shower, the last thing on your mind is the agonizing task of stuffing your newly refreshed self into a pair of stiff pants. Luckily, sweat pants or yoga pants are perfectly acceptable alternatives. However, should this be another decision you wish to forgo, feel free to let loose and leave the pants folded neatly in the dresser drawer.
The Dreaded Unexpected Guest
Now that you’re comfortably situated with your work in your pantsless lap and a second cup of piping hot coffee in hand, the unthinkable happens - the doorbell rings. It’s the delivery person with that package you’ve been waiting 2 days for Amazon to deliver, and he needs your signature... right now. Sadly, breaking out of the no pants dance is always bound to cause a diversion from your day’s work.
Netflix for Lunch
With the endless universe of documentaries and long lost TV shows at your immediate disposal, there is simply no way you can limit yourself to just one episode. Don’t even try. If lunch extends from 1 pm - 3 pm, it was a productive break that was well deserved.
Your Spouse Comes Home - It Gets Awkward
Aside from the unwanted distraction of a delivery person, you’ve had zero contact with the outside world. Despite the fact that you have finally gotten focused around 3 p.m., after an afternoon of solidarity, you’re so overjoyed to see your spouse that you realize your work can wait... even if it can’t.
So you greet them with the ravenous exuberance of a prisoner seeing their bestie after three months in solitary confinement. However, they may not be so excited as they have had to interact with actual people all day. While they may want a little peace and quiet you completely download about your webinars, phone calls, even the lunch time Netflix binge... while their eyes slowly glaze over.
Or Your Kids Come Home
Suddenly, you transform back into mom or dad to receive snack requests and begin an array of after-school rituals that last until bedtime.
Even When Your Day is Over, The Work is Never Finished
So let’s assume you’re superhuman and despite the kids, your spouse, Netflix, and the constant need for coffee, you actually get a significant amount of work done. The emails have stopped coming in at 7:30 p.m. and there’s nothing you can do about getting your boss or client’s approval on what you’ve completed until tomorrow. All’s quiet on the western front... until your computer starts to make a noise that sounds eerily similar to a new email alert. You wait in silence for 10, maybe 20 seconds, and BING - there’s the noise again. And again.
It proves fairly difficult to turn off work when you live in the office. There are no OOO (out of office) messages for those who are never in the office.
There’s nothing left to do, but change from your work pajamas into your night pajamas, get some rest, and (if you’re lucky) do it all again tomorrow.
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