Anyone else want a work from home support thread?

[LimesLemonsOranges]

Anyone want to join a WFH support thread?

I WFH 98% of the time. I’ve been WFH for 6 years now. I’m bored, I’m lonely.

DH has a long commute so doesn’t get back in time for me to do anything in the evening, so joining any kind of evening activity is not really an option unfortunately. Also DH isn’t really a talker.

I force myself out every day to walk or run at lunchtimes, work permitting. I don’t have many friends but try to see the four people I know once a month each, so I have one social thing per week. It takes the edge off but it’s not enough.

In terms of why I don’t quit, firstly my job is niche, it’s well paid, (relatively) stress-free, it’s flexible around my DC (primary age), DH has no flexibility. DC doesn’t cope with after school clubs every day and I want to spend time with DC. I can do school runs and always make the nativity / sports day etc!

I’m mid-40s and if I keep working in this role I can realistically retire early 50s.

I’ve considered various other job options but they would either involve working much harder, being more stressed, loss of flexibility. Or be much lower paid local jobs which would push the retirement plan back.

So I’ve kind of decided to embrace the positives, for now at least. But I need to shake things up a bit to improve things.

Anyone in the same boat?

Any creative ideas how I can keep my social battery charged while WFh and being on young child duty evenings/weekends?
Thanks

Exactly this. Once the school run is no longer needed, there’s less need to get up and out. That’s something to think about too. I feel more ‘worky’ in the office as well, whereas at home there’s always something I could be doing if I make a cup of tea. In the office, we’d be chatting. At home I’ll end up putting a wash on, and that in itself means you’re doing more than you would normally. There’s no separation and whilst it can be useful for the children/flexibility/a delivery etc, I’ve come to the conclusion that both DH and I are happier the days we get out and about and interact with the world. Life quickly becomes very small if it’s just you and your home and immediate family.

I'm now hybrid and the days in the office vary.

To ensure I get out of the house on wfh days, I am very strict about finishing time. Sometimes a walk, sometimes shopping, it varies. I don't have small or school age children to consider though.

If you have the type of job where you could go to a co-working space maybe try that one day a week? You may have to pay a small amount but prob cheaper than a commute. A friend and I sometimes meet in a cafe for a couple of hours and bring our laptops, so if any of your friends also wfh you could try that.

@SummitWrong @TheBossOfMe
I’m not short of interests / hobbies I’m just currently at this stage of life short of time due to either working or being with DC.

A major interest is cycling especially long distance / bike packing which I used to do pre-DC but obviously that’s an extremely time consuming hobby. But I would hope to get back into it in my 50s. Ditto horse riding - I used to have a horse loan but gave her up to have DC.

@coronafiona

I wfh and absolutely LOVE it. I arrange a walk with a friend at lunchtime or 5.00 almost every day, and sort out dinner etc then fit in a workout as well. I seen more of my friends than I ever could working in an office. Could you do something similar

Do you have little kids though? I can’t go out at 5pm as making kids tea / doing homework etc

Could you adjust your day to take a longer lunch and find lunch time local activities?

@Funkylights taking a long lunch is tricky when you need to do the school run at 3pm, I’d end up not doing any work!

There must be something wrong with me as I love WFH! I love the fact that I never have to commute again. I’ve just left my last job and they started to push us to attend the office more which I did. I liked it once there but hated the hassle of it - the travelling, the small talk etc …. Now I have a fully remote role and I am so happy to not have to worry about that hassle again.

Co working centre? My dh uses one and has made some good friends.

Your DH working hours is one of your main constraints it seems. If you want more social you time it looks like your DC will need to go to breakfast / afterschool clubs more or your DH come home earlier and or do more to cover DC at weekends?
or you go and work in a shared space?

A friend of mine does 'body doubling' services, where she is present in someone's home while they work. He's had quite a bit of uptake, people say it keeps them productive and gives them someone they can do small talk with during the working day.

Quite often when I work from home I hop onto a call with a colleague for about an hour and we talk while we work (we do completely different jobs). It replicates the office in many ways for me. Do you have a colleague you could do that with?