How not to hate egg

[lippyberd]

I've wfh for four years and now I hate the sight of my house. Can't get another job due to school runs, flexible working and the wages locally are about £10k less min for similar role.
I can get out for a walk at lunchtime if it's not raining..but it usually fucking is.
By the time DS and DH come home it's tea, dog walk and bedtime with little time to go out (then more rain and it's dark so can't go out for a walk again).
It's really impacting my mental health.
Can't do shared office due to confidentiality and no local office ( nearest two hours).
Any suggestions? It's a rock and a hard place.

If that was the ops dream she wouldn't have made this thread.

Some great suggestions here. What really helps me is the lunchtime walk, plus I've joined an evening exercise class at 8pm and a first thing int he morning one, so twice a week I'm out seeing some other faces.

Fellow work from homer here. (Well, up until February I was anyway). I did the lunchtime walk every single day, come rain or shine, because it wasn't about enjoying the walk as such. More getting out of the house and spending time around other humans. Didn't need to talk to them, just wanted to be able to see signs of humanity!

However, as the walk's not an option, can you have the radio on. Something with a live DJ, so you're hearing a human voice during the day?

I was literally coming on to offer some nice egg recipes but never mind 😂😂😂

Do you know anyone else locally who works from home? If so could you swap offices? At least you wouldn't be in your house all the time.
I do think you need to add some more structure to your day, you say you have flexible hours so could you use this to your advantage?

EG exercise with a friend before work or at lunchtime (go for a bike ride or a walk or swimming or to the gym etc)

Go out for lunch a couple of days a week with someone (eg dh and I wfh a lot and always go out to a cafe for lunch on Fridays)
Go out in the evenings sometimes - join a local club or class and meet new people.

I love WFH but still find it a bit isolating in winter and I'm generally out less.

I do recommend a daily walk even in rain, health benefits of exercise but also just a change of view/environment in the daytime when it's light out.

Is it being in one environment all the time or lack of interaction with people that bothers you most?

What’s this got to do with eggs?

Absolutely nothing! Blame autocarrot.

I walk in the morning and after work, listen to an audiobook, it makes a difference, just a bit of fresh air. In the rain, I just stick my huge raincoat and welly ankle boots on. My dog isn't crazy about rain but it's fine if you're wrapped up.

I make a point of creating delicious lunch that I couldn't get at an office and play podcasts all day, the background chatter is like an office but I can choose the subject (not stories about Sharons shitty teenage son or Linda's 4th cruise this year. etc..). I'm not the most sociable so wfh does suit me.

I have a laptop so move around the house if I'm fed up of my home office, I'll go in the conservatory if the suns out or on the sofa with a blanket.

Oh OK, I was SO confused 😂😂

I'm sorry you feel this way.

I'm not sure how much I can help though as I'd love to WFH & have a dog, maybe a DH, depending on the DH.

Would you maybe enjoy hoping a couple of groups a couple of evenings , surely DH can put DC to bed??

There isn't time before work with the school runs to do anything.
Everyone I know and I do mean everyone either works in an office or has younger kids so they aren't free on my lunch breaks and my breaks are hit and miss with timings as I make a lot of calls/meetings that can run on.
I am trying to get out in the evenings but again is the young kids thing

Our dog is lead reactive and barks all the time. You can have him if you want.
We have spent a fortune on trainers to no avail.
He's not a lock down dog either, he's nearly ten.

Have a nap. Sometimes I just go for a lie down at lunch.

@lippyberd

can you post a photo of your dog?

I don't know the solution but know exactly how you feel, it's like I'm in solitary confinement sometimes.
With school runs however and the hassle of getting into the office I'm a bit stuck wfh.. Usually unload on dh during the day desperate for some social interaction then he gets annoyed I'm bombarding him when he's just getting through the door.
Just taking it a day at a time now..

OP you sound quite down about life in general to be honest. Are things tough at the moment? Can you talk to friends or GP? Do you take Vitamin D?

I WFH and usually have a light hearted podcast on, and I do watch This Morning (not sure how much you’d like that lol). It’s nice to feel like someone else is around.

Can you join a hobby or class one evening a week? Aerobics or Pilates or whatever you’re into?

🥚 🍳 🪺

Yep that's how I feel and the school runs are stressful and rushed too.
It's a bit like being in a prison. It with endless washing housework and cooking thrown in

Yep more than a little down. It just feels a treadmill of wfh, school runs, housework and drudgery tbh. I've got a phone call with a gp tomorrow

@lippyberd sorry to hear OP. It’s that awful time of year as well when the short evenings start coming in. Definitely be very honest with GP, don’t be scared to get signed off for a couple of days either. Spend the days out of the house and alone, go to the cinema or shopping or out for lunch. X

A couple of suggestions:
can you write down what you hate about it - then try to solve specifics?
can you concentrate on what the benefits are (probably more time to get chores done, spend time with the DC) so it's a means to an end.
give you something else more exciting - online/youtube yoga in your lunch break for example,
if all else fails look for another role which is more interesting.

I get the struggle OP as I wfh and juggle school run etc.

Can you take your laptop to a local cafe in the morning to work for a few hours? Lots of cafes have password-protected wifi (this is the security requirement for my work).

Or if not, can you take an hour for yourself to read a book/chill in a cafe in the morning, and work that extra hour in the evening (if needed) when kids in bed?

Unfortunately no to both as core hours 8-6 and due to having to make endless confidential phone calls I can't office share/work from a public space.

I wfh mostly and don't like it either. It's really convenient but I miss the banter of office life. I go out quite a bit in the evenings to counter act it - meet up with friends, go to yoga with a friend, regular weekly hobby meet, etc.
That's helpful but not a complete replacement and when my DD16 has left home for Uni, I'm jacking the job for one that involves getting out the house.
WFH is no good for me - it's making me overweight, lazy and lethargic