Nobody expected a coronavirus forcing people to work from home
It’s safe to say that most of us are trying to practice as much social distancing as possible, even though sometimes we need to buy food. And while some countries like Italy and Spain are enforcing strict rules, here in Czech Republic things are relatively relaxed: We are still able to go out – wearing masks – and sit in parks. Although it’s recommended to try to keep as much distance as possible from people.
We can all agree that some people are unable to work. But I, as developer, can work from home. And it’s a privilege to have a career that allows you such flexibility. I could be stranded anywhere and still be able to work – as long as I have a computer and internet.
I am using my home office space since the return from my business trip to London, in the beginning of March. That is a bit more than a month already.
My home office space was one of the first things I had finished in the flat since I needed to be here when the furniture was being delivered. At that time, I was also working from home and it was a pretty good test-drive.
During this quarantine I used it to:
- Produce the code for Tennis TV: That’s the project I am working on. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
- Join meetings: Necessary, especially nowadays. Catch up with colleagues and coordinate actions is a must for a productive day.
- Deliver trainings: That happened recently. Some folks from a company I worked some years ago asked for a .NET Core training and I was more than happy to do it – virtually.
Important note about the meetings: Sometimes I prefer to take the notebook for a while and walk around the flat. It doesn’t matter as long as I don’t spend more than the meeting’s length out of my home office space. Balcony is good too, especially when the noise is low.
Having a separated office space helps with context: Since I don’t see things that remind me “home” and “leisure”, I am able to work more productively. That helps even on lunch time, when I go to prepare some food and watch TV. Cooking during lunch time is time consuming but pretty good. It’s a different activity in a different context. It helps me to be sane in times like these.
In the end, I am looking forward for when the pandemic stops to be a threat and we will be able to move freely again. As for going back to the real office… Hm… Maybe once a week would be good enough. 😉