Working at Home or Living at Work?

This week, I took a couple days away from my clinical practice for a “staycation.” Since I am not currently traveling (thanks, COVID-19), I chose to book a local hotel room (taking precautions, of course). As soon as I checked in, I felt a sense of relief that I haven’t had in quite a long time.

There are so many things that I love about working from home. You can’t beat the commute, I haven’t forgotten my lunch in months, and I can involve my cats in my sessions. But the trade off is that I am quite literally living at work. I never leave the office for the day – instead, I go into the next room. On weekends, I have to go into work to get a sweatshirt. I used to joke during busy times that it felt like I lived at work, but now it’s true in a literal sense.

Part of being a psychologist means compartmentalizing my work life and my home life. This becomes much more difficult when I’m never more than ten feet from the office.

For any professionals reading this who are still doing the #WorkFromHome life, I really encourage you to find safe ways to get out of your office, overnight if possible. The last few days are the most relaxed I have felt since I left my real office on March 27, and I still don’t know when I will be back. Take care of yourself!