What I Miss By Working From Home
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It’s been over a year since I stopped working a full-time job. After 10 years of working in various workplaces, in March 2019 I took the plunge and set up ATRIUM Consultancy, my own consulting practice that focuses on the Hospitality sector. I have expanded my reach by creating a fashion design house and a web design agency, more on that in another article.
I operate my businesses out of my bedroom. Built by my parents when I was nine years old, I have a corner of it that was dedicated to education and later work. To work from home all one needs is a good internet connection (I have two), a comfortable chair (which I have), and basic necessities such as coffee and tea which are readily available. The rest of it is your discipline and drive. I have spruced up my workstation by adding a few more things such as a new large monitor to connect my Macbook Pro and a new keyboard and mouse. Material things I know but it makes me feel better about working from home.
The remote work lifestyle tends to be cost-effective unless there is a power cut which is why I signed up as a virtual member at Likuid Spaces or stop by my favourite cafes such as Black Cat Cafe or Cafe Kumbuk. This allows me to work in the centre of the city when the random power cut occurs or to find refuge between meetings in the city.
ROUTINE
Working for ten years at various workplaces across numerous timezones one tends to create a daily routine. For the past four years when I was Head of Business Development for the Ceilao Group, I had set myself up a very standard routine.
The night before I plan what I want to wear and keep it out so I can iron it fresh in the morning. Upon waking up in the morning I have my tea and light breakfast before heading out to work in the intense traffic of Colombo. Post work I would head to the gym since it was on the way home OR set up to meet a friend for a coffee to avoid the traffic home. On the days I didn’t drive I would actually walk the 5kms home since it took me the same amount of time if I drove.
The demand for me to be at work at a certain time, to leave at a certain time, go to the gym at a certain time and then be home at a certain time created my daily routine.
