DH and I both WFH. He is full time, I do 5.5 hours, 3 a week (16 hours total). He has a designated home office whilst I work in the house. It makes sense when he does more than double the number of hours, but as time goes on (we're now into the 5th year) not having a designated workspace is becoming increasingly irksome. I feel like I have considered all the options, but perhaps there's something I'm missing.
Options I've considered and the reasons they don't work:
- Work from the master bedroom - no desk, no room for a desk, and in the summer it's stiflingly hot
- Work from the kids room - has a desk, however it's increasingly untidy in there which makes it tough to focus. I'm trying to teach them to look after and clean their own spaces rather than me always doing it, which is a long and slow project. They've reached a point where they don't want me moving and messing with their things which I respect, but just kinda rules that out as a working space
- Booking into a shared working space takes a bit percentage of my minuscule wage.
- Make space in DH's office - we did try this but he often has confidential calls to make. Also he likes to chat, which when I have so few working hours I don't really have time for.
- Moving and extensions are WAY out of our budget.
The two things I mostly do are:
- Work from the kitchen table - though the chairs aren’t very comfortable. It’s a communal space, so my partner often comes in for coffee, lunch, or just to pass through en route to the bathroom etc, which, while fair, is distracting. I can’t exactly kick him out, but having him pottering around making lunch and cleaning up (better than not cleaning up!) or trying to chat about other things isn’t ideal when I’m trying to work. The kitchen is also often messy from breakfast, and even though I used to tidy it up before starting work, that’s fallen away over time with school runs and general life stuff. Five years in, we’ve lost that early motivation to keep things perfect. Have tried asking him his lunch schedule so I can also schedule mine for the same time, but it's often that he just grabs a lunch when he can. Not everything works to a schedule.
- Work from the lounge - Working here means sitting on the couch, which isn’t great. I can blow up an exercise ball and balance a bit of wood between furniture to make a makeshift desk, but it all has to be set up and packed away each day. Since I’m usually squeezing work in around childcare, the kitchen wins out just because it’s less hassle. The lounge is often full of half-finished Lego and kids’ forts, which I love for a family space but not a working one!
It's one of those things where it kinda worked in lockdown, we muddled through, but I'm steadily realising this is our life and it doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. Will be needing a workspace for 5-6 hours 2-3 x a week for the next 5 years or so. Need to sort it out!
Wondering if the internet hive mind can see a solution I've missed.