Whilst I think most people are on the cusp of starting their 3rd week in lockdown, my company, being forward thinking and very responsible, enabled much of the workforce to work from home almost a week earlier than Boris’ stay at home announcements. That was pretty impressive I thought, I thank my lucky stars that I’ve been able to do my job from home. I know not everyone has been so fortunate. That said, as week 4 of lockdown starts, I can’t deny that it’s sometimes difficult. Given I work from home one day a week already, and manage perfectly well thank you very much, that’s very different to working every day from home, and moreover, working every day from home whilst not really being able to leave the house at the weekend or in the evening other than for a short walk. I’m not moaning, I know how lucky I am to be safe at home in the midst of all this. What I’m even luckier for is the time I’m getting to spend with my little girl, that is truly fantastic.

Being at home so much though teaches you a lot about yourself, and the things you value, or the things you should value. For a start off, I’m not missing the things I thought I would miss. The weekend wanderings around shops, I don’t think I’ve missed them once, but meeting up with a friend for a coffee, or going for dinner in a local pub, yep, those are the things I am really finding amiss. Not to mention how nice it would be to take my dog for a walk on the beach, but do you know what, the beach has been there for millenia, and it will still be there when all this is over. Hopefully, if I’m sensible, I will be too.

I’ve also realised the value of your surroundings. It’s funny isn’t it, for most of us, the mortgage is the single most expensive outlay of money we will ever make in our entire life. Yet, we leave the house early in the morning, returning in the evening, eat, sleep and repeat with little reference to what our home needs, or what we need from our home. The first week at home saw me make some tweaks to my home working space, and investing in a much more back friendly chair, as well as buying a coffee machine because, well, a coffee machine needs no justification does it?

My weekends have seen me spring cleaning the bathroom, tidying up the garden and trying to scrub down the horrible patio slabs, ready for some grass seed that I have on order to try to make a nice usable space for me and the little lady. Clearing out the under stairs cupboard and finding space that I could potentially fit a wine rack in, and Marie Kondo’ing little Misses clothing drawers.

I find all of the effort that I’m putting into my home very rewarding, and whilst this is a space I’ve always been happy to reside in, I’m enjoying all of these little enhancements, and making a good list of the bigger projects I would like to undertake when normality returns. Hopefully, by the time I do return to work, my home will be more of the sanctuary I need it to be after a hard day in the office.

It will be nice when we do all get back to the office, whenever that might be. To see my colleagues, but it’s also nice to have this time, to enjoy my home, and, most importantly, to enjoy my time with baba.

Stay safe everyone.