Working from home has been the best of times, really. The worst of times part of it is that it comes at the price of a great deal of suffering throughout the world.

As a working mom, I’ve always been able to push into the background the kids and really focus while at work because my husband is the primary caregiver. We are extremely fortunate in this regard – we have a division of responsibilities that works really well for us. Generally speaking I get to come home (exhausted, granted), take some down time and then re-engage with the family. Super awesome, right?

Now, working from home there’s the pleasure of being around the family more with the distraction of being around the family more. Luckily, we’re all in this together and many of the parents on the team also need that additional flexibility, so we’re focusing on what truly needs to be synchronous, and what needs to be asynchronous. It’s been lovely to not put on makeup for weeks. It’s been lovely not to lose time in driving in the commute, or frankly getting on my suit. Some clear advantages are:

1. More time to work because I don’t really put on makeup anymore (have discovered that with glasses, all you really need is lipstick and folks thing you’re ready to go)
2. A simple strand of pearls makes every shirt look like a work shirt (except for graphic tees, I haven’t figured that out yet)
3. Making lunch for the kids means I get an extra hug in
4. When I have a frustrating meeting I can walk right over to my husband, hug him and vent
5. I’m less frustrated at work because I place it in a bigger context
6. I feel closer to our students, because they’re online
7. I feel closer to our team, because we’re doing stand ups every day to ensure that we stay connected

And finally, I actually have more energy and focus so that I an be more productive and do more work because…. I’m an introvert, and being around humans physically every day is very draining for me.

I love people, but a little bit of distance is good for my soul.

My little coworker: