Working from Home - which days do you struggle most?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

I've been wfh now since mid March and am increasingly finding Mondays a real challenge. It's absoloutley the day I struggle most with motivation and focus.

I've tried swapping the days I do things around, so rather than plan the weeks work on a Friday afternoon, I do that Monday morning and I definitely make up for it Tues-Thurs so I'm not behind on my work.

Friday's are generally a chilled day across the team - we usually Teams call for an hour with the weeks updates, have a catch up with a coffee etc so I never feel guilt if those days are slower paced.

But I feel bad that I'm not at my most productive on the very first day of the week.

I too find Mondays a challenge, but isnt that because you have 4 more days to go rather than anything to do with homeworking? I've worked from home for over 20 years so dont really know any different.

Break you day up into jobs and little treats. So once i have done that job i can have a biscuit/walk round the garden. etc

Definitely Monday’s.

Hmm...I suppose when I was office based it didn't feel so bad as everyone was just wandering round complaining together

Now I'm solo the guilt creeps in.

In between tasks today I have done a batch of laundry, put a Bolognese in the slow cooker and started a jigsaw

Tuesday's for me, don't like them at all, feels like a long way towards the end of the week.

So with a chilled Friday and an unproductive Monday (based on the number of non work related tasks youve squeezed in) you'd have to be pretty busy Tues to Thurs!
Do you like WFH and would like it to continue in the future or are you just stringing your employer along while you can?
Where's your integrity??!!

@lionsleeptonight Oh chill out. Believe it or not, lots of people can do a week's worth of work in 3 days if they're focused. I get way less done in an office environment than I do when I WFH.

OP, go with what works for you. And that includes the household jobs.

Wednesday onwards ! Monday & Tuesday seems to go ok - but the 2nd part of the week is a disaster!!

Monday's for me but we are always a team member down (she doesn't work Monday's)

Add to the mix the three kids and I dread Monday's

I also struggle with Mondays so I've done the same as you OP, and now use it mainly as a day to plan the rest of the week and get organised. (Both home and work wise.) It works much better for me.

Lionsleepstonight

I have a set amount of work to complete over the week. Deducting time spent in the office waiting for the printer/ doing the tea round / answering random questions from the team / attending meetings etc - I am working more hours at home.

My productivity overall is higher as I am without the distractions typical of a busy office environment.

I w just realised my pattern. Monday mornings are an absolute nightmare for me. I do work weekends but less so. Self employed. Trying to get back into some kind of focus on Monday and always have long lists of things to do. Bombarded by emails from colleagues - everyone trying likewise. No one at their best. I have variously had quite a heated phone discussion, copied someone into an email by mistake etc. Always Monday mornings. I actually said out loud this morning ‘right no emails or calls before lunch on Monday from now on’ !

Lion jigsaw bit aside, how much do you think is actually involved in shoving clothes in a machine and putting bolognese in the slow cooker (the point of which is literally to do the work for you? Pretty certain she’s using a newfangled electric washing machine and not out there butchering an actual cow

And when I say "started a Jigsaw" I mean exactly that. Started. There a about 3 peices connected and the rest are scattered across the kitchen table - where they will stay for at least the next week.

Just Monday to Friday really....

I'm amazed it would even cross your mind to start a jigsaw during the working day!

I've struggled today, but I was crazy busy all of last week up until late on Thursday evening.

Mondays and Fridays are generally quieter anyway, so the fact I wasn't in full swing until lunchtime isn't a problem in the scheme of things.

I am far more productive at home, there's no office chatter and no meetings that would have been better as an email.

I work three days Mon-Weds and Monday is deffo a struggle. I get so anxious about what fresh level of hell we've descended to to that I struggle to sleep Sunday night. Sunday anxiety is nothing new and I always tried to do a something nice on Sundays to compensate, but can't do that now.

Lion have you not heard of a lunch break? Coffee break? You can still have them if you wfh unless you have young dc but that's a different issue .

I usually find a day when I have a morning meeting the least productive because I am waiting for the meeting to start, even if it isn't until 11. Obviously not actually sitting and waiting, but psychologically find it hard to get stuck in. In normally work from home 95% of the time. Things I find help are to set myself timers - I will give myself 30 minutes to do x task, obviously it doesn't matter if I don't finish in 30 mins but it helps with the focus. Apps like Forrest can help with that too. I also give myself chocolate small rewards for finishing work.

Things like putting washing machine on, putting slow cooker are done in breaks. If like me and the OP you have a task to achieve rather than having to work 9-5 it makes sense. You cut the commute so save time there. It makes sense to say work first thing while a load is in the washing machine, have a break, put the clothes out. Work some more, have a coffee and do a jigsaw in coffee break, etc.

The way I read it, the OP was doing those things in her work time, not breaks. If it's done within breaks then whats the problem, why the guilt and the face?

You lot sound amazingly productive. I have small children and am working any hours I can, whilst they are quiet. It works out as three hours a day (including weekends) as I'm on a 21 hour contract. But these hours are split up in the day, with catch up in the evening.