The Timeline
At the start of the pandemic I was already home. LB was sick, and so much so that Mr. LL even took off work with me. She had really high fevers, was vomiting, and just very week overall. Being two (at the time), getting her to explain what was hurting her was not working. We had to teledoc for the first two visits, but when things weren’t getting better and no medicine was being prescribed, I finally took her in to see her pediatrician. Turns out she had a urinary tract infection which was a bit of a relief and we were able to get her on medicine.
By the time she was better, her daycare had shut down, my work had gone to working remotely and Mr. LL’s job had cut back on all but two employees (Mr. LL being one of the ones that was still working). I had to seek help from family to watch LB so I could work because she wasn’t letting me focus as toddlers need a lot of attention and stimulation.
Then LB’s daycare reopened with a ton of new rules and regulations for staff and families to adhere to and I started sending her back there. Around this time, Mr. LL’s job laid him off and he went on unemployment. That actually was a bit of a blessing because he was starting to experience some pretty bad back pain and could use the time to rest and heal. Plus he got his plumbing license during that time as well. That was a weird time for me as I didn’t know what to do with Mr. LL in the house all day with me while I worked. I found it to be a bit distracting and was ready to get back to my routine working from home, alone.
The Routine
I’ve slowly developed a routine, working from home, that I’m pretty comfortable with and I’m even starting to really find enjoyable and productive. I take LB to daycare then come home and have my breakfast and coffee and plan out my day. Then I head back to our home office and start my work day.
I knock out as many tasks as I can and then when there is a lull - waiting for responses or just needing to give my eyes a break from some of the more tedious tasks - I get up and do little things around the house. I’ll go make our bed, or pick up the living room real quick, etc. Tasks that take about 5 minutes to complete. I’ll kind of flux between these things, work and quick tasks, all morning then it’s time for lunch.
When I was working at the office, I rarely took my lunch break. I didn’t want to go sit somewhere by myself to eat so I ate at my desk. I’d be done in about 15 minutes and then I’d just go back to working on whatever I was working on. Now I actually take my hour and I’ll eat my lunch, maybe get something started for dinner that night, and do the dishes.
The afternoons are much like the mornings, fluctuating between being productive at work and being productive around the house. Mr. LL’s new job has him coming home usually about an hour before my workday is through so he showers and then goes to pick-up LB. I’m wrapped up with my job and working on dinner when they get home and then we get to have a relaxing evening together.
Note: There are definitely weeks that this back-and-forth routine does not work. If I’m on deadline, I’m glued to my laptop for 8+ hours a day to get the work done. I also go in to the office about once a month (which is open but optional) and that usually throws off my entire week because I have certain things I do on certain days (on Mondays, I’ll do quick tasks that concern the bathrooms, like I’ll wipe out the sinks and the counter tops during one of my quick breaks). So it’s not rigid but it is helpful, especially on days that filled with more mundane work tasks.
The Result?
It’s been doing wonders for my mental health, honestly. To not have the house in constant chaos as it was pre-pandemic and to feel like I’m not wasting a single minute of my day.
Pre-pandemic, Mr. LL and I worked out of the house full time and so the evenings and weekends were our only time to do housework. The evenings were hard because we were both drained and LB needed our attention. We’d manage a few things but a lot of stuff slid by the wayside. Then comes the weekend and we would usually end up cramming as much house work into one day (Sundays) because we’d take a day to just recharge.
Also, pre-pandemic, I’d long felt frustrated by working in the office on the slower weeks when I would have lulls in my day that were too short for me to work on some general-upkeep tasks, but long enough for me to feel frustrated by my lack of productivity during my prime part of the day when I had energy and mental stamina to get things done.
Working from home, so long as LB and Mr. LL are out of the house, has been the answer to both of these issues.
Am I deep cleaning the house during the day? No, of course not. But just being able to walk around the house and pick up dishes, clothes, etc. and put them in places that they can be better dealt with later (the sink, a laundry basket) and not have the general clutter of a working family with a little one constantly surrounding me has been wonderful.
The Future
I know this is not going to last forever. I’ll be glad when the world is able to go back to “normal” because I do live in fear of my more vulnerable loved ones getting sick and it will be nice to be able to see friends and family in person again. Or even just go out to eat at a restaurant again.
However, I feel pretty sure that this is the world we are going to have to live in for the rest of 2020 (because the U.S. can’t figure out this whole pandemic thing) and I’m looking at the brightside that I will get to have this nice, productive routine, a little longer. LB2 is due in December and then I will have a whole new world of things to adjust to and work into my life so if I have to give up this routine after my maternity leave, so be it. I’ll be grateful for the time I had.
