Welcome to the stress zoo! (aka my home office)

If you work from home you probably juggle kids, pets, spouses, neighbours, noise, deliveries, interruptions, etc.  That’s certainly true here at The Burnout Queens’ headquarters.  We work from home which means personal and work life mix it up.  Today it collided and felt more like a zoo!

First the dogs needed a long overdue walk in the park, Then work just got going and was interrupted by a doctor’s appointment after which the grocery deliveries arrived earlier than scheduled, and then back to knock off this post.  The dogs are barking, neighbours are coming and going with the kids, work neighbours are coming and going while talking loudly on their mobile phones outside the window, another delivery arrived (wrong door…too bad it was net-a-porter), the dogs need feeding, they need to go outside and the hyper one wants his ball thrown for the umpteenth time so he can shove it under something and bark more!   Help!  I need to work, but the zoo is in full swing.

I sometimes long for a day at an office so that I’m away from it all.  It sounds stress-free from where I’m sitting.  Would I switch?!  Just for a day.  It would be nice to see different walls, speak to different people, feel like I have escaped the barker.  I fantasize that I could keep my head down and get more accomplished.

Hmm.  I hear lots of my clients moaning about all the interruptions from colleagues popping their heads in their office doors ‘just to quickly say something’  Is that like barking?  One client put police tape across her office door so she wouldn’t be disturbed (good plan).  Is that like turning off your intercom or mobile ringer to avoid another neighbour or delivery?

Maybe the zoo isn’t so bad after all.  At least this way I can

-go for a walk in the sun when I want  –  go shopping on a work day when I want (cause I live in a city that shops) –  go to an art exhibit on the day I want (cause I live in a world class art city) – stop for a tea break when I want (cause I live in the city of tea breaks) – stop working for the day when I want (cause I feel like it)

Although I get one or two of those days when I think I want to ‘go to an office’ to escape the madness of my zoo, this arrangement works fine for me.  I need to remind myself of this next time I get stressed about it.

Enjoy your day, no matter where you are sitting.

The Burnout Queens xx