I don't have a spleen. I had it taken out 30 years ago when as a student i had a rare condition called ITP. For 30 years, it hasn't been a problem apart from remembering to take my penicillin tablet every morning. But with Coronavirus taking hold here in the UK, it poses a bit of a challenge for me. Whilst i am no more likely to catch it than anyone else, if I do get it and it develops into pneumonia or similar, then it could be more serious. So, the sensible thing to do is give myself the best chance of not getting it, which means self isolating from my family as well as society in general.
We have divided up our home (we are lucky to have a big enough house to do that). I have a separate bathroom and I have put a single bed in my home office. We have divided up our lounge, so I have a chair on one side of the room to use in the evenings and there is a safe distance between me and other family members if we are watching TV together. We use the kitchen at separate times and after using it, I put my things into the dishwasher and wash my hands again. My wife and eldest son both work in schools, so they are still regularly coming into contact with others. We are all fine and I have it easy compared to most. The reason for this introduction, is to give some context to the point of my post i.e. how to work at home.
It is not unusual for me to work at home. I am effectively self employed. I deliver training courses and marketing consultancy. In a normal week I would be out with clients for say 3 days and working at home for 2 days. I quite like that arrangement. But on days that I work at home, I normally try to get out for a walk or socialise more that evening. I can still go for walks, as long as i keep my social distance, like everyone else.
So, for what they are worth. Here are my tips:
1) Keep to a regular working routine. I have disciplined myself, so that I am working in my home office from 9-5 Monday to Friday.
2) When I am not working, I try to avoid going into my home office. So that going into that room feels like going to work and breaks up the day.
3) Turn your webcam on. My time is full of conference calls, Skype and Zoom meetings and training sessions. It is good to see human faces and other people's working environments. My eldest son has a Psychology degree and masters ans is now teaching psychology - he tells me that when people are isolated they need to see human faces, so I appreciate it when people turn their cameras on
4) Make your work space somewhere that works for you. I am now sleeping in mine, so after I finish work at 5, I leave the room. When I come back at night to sleep in it, I try t make it feel like a bedroom. I unplug all of the computer equipment, so there are no standby neon lights and put my bedside lamp on to read before I sleep. During the day, I use the bed as a storage space putting books and files on it. These are all put away on my desk at night.
5) Get a good headset! It makes those video calls so much easier
6) Take time to catch up with people before you start the meeting. You will miss the impromptu water cooler chats and bumping into people in corridors or reception and having a natter about stuff, so take time to do that at the start of the calls
7) Go for a walk. Take a break, get outside. I loved it yesterday when I went outside and felt the rain on my face.
In case you are interested, here is a pic of my bed from my desk....
Stay safe everyone. The world will be back to normal soon and we can enjoy those water cooler chats again.
