Work From Home Anniversary: What to Expect after Pandemic is Over

For many people, including me, this coming March will mark 1 year since we have been working from home due to the pandemic. I am very fortunate that my line of work, being a personal injury attorney, allows me to work from home. With COVID-19 vaccines being distributed, sooner than later many of us will be able to come back into the office.

Having been working from home for a year now, I learned these 3 things I hope we will still be able to do even when things are back in place:

1. 10-minute Break to Walk or Just “Breath”

One vital thing about working from home is we can eliminate the stress of commuting. Instead, we hunker down at our house (or even better a rental vacation house?) and can use that commute time for a break here and there. For me, I’d like to use my 10-minute break to walk around the block or simply breathe - sometimes doing mediation over YouTube guided meditation videos too!

I never did any of these before the pandemic, mainly because this is something we can only do when we are not surrounded by people. The outcome turned out to be phenomenal. With only a 10-minute “quality” break, I can regain my focus and produce more work.

2. More Attention to Calories Intake

I am not going to lie, commuting takes so much out of me. Pre-pandemic, oftentimes I felt exhausted when I got home and did not have anymore energy to cook for dinner. To get around that, I used to cook a big batch of meals on the weekends for the coming weekdays. Many of us can probably relate to this.

While I am not against that idea, this pandemic has taught me another thing. I have been able to put more thoughts into my calories intake as I still have energy to cook even after work (you know, the commute is about 10 feet from my office to the kitchen!).

The outcome is beyond my expectations. I have been feeling more energized and healthy compared to pre-pandemic. After all, who does not produce more and better work products when they are in better shape, physically and mentally?

3. Maintain Routine

Another thing that helps me to manage my anxiety and uncertainties during the pandemic is to maintain my normal routine. This includes maintaining my morning routine as though I still commute to work and work from the office. I wake up, shower, and put on decent clothes. I also bought some statement shirts and a mug, you know, to help me light up my mood.

Takeaway: Certain types of work, like court hearing and trial, are better done in person. That said, coming back into the office is something inevitable. However, after all, productivity is the goal for work. Where applicable, I think employees should be able to still work from home even after the pandemic is over.

Because we might never go back to normal, instead, inventing a new normal. A better normal than before the pandemic.

*****

Zaskia is a dual-licensed attorney both in Washington State and Indonesia. She is currently working for Herrmann Law Group in Seattle, Washington. With the team, she is handling international aviation cases such as Lion Air JT610 and Sriwijaya Airlines SJ182. Other than that, she also works on numerous motor vehicle accident cases. You can contact her at zaskia@hlg.lawyer.