Is It Habit or Desire That Makes Your Decisions For You?

For over a year we have worked and zoomed from home, taken care of our kids from home, worked out from home and ate and slept from home. We found relief from travel bottlenecks, and office distractions. However, we were restless and fearful about catching the new virus, as well as the long terms effects of social distancing, mask wearing and other public health measures. No matter what we felt in our situations we were all developing the habit of working remotely from home. (And it only takes 90 (3 months) repetitions to make something a full fledged habit!)

Many of us are vaccinated now and don’t have to stay sequestered at home. How much of a push do we feel to go out to restaurants, the movies, concerts, museums, just as in the “good old days?“ And how about our workplace? Do you want to go back to your office or stay working at home?

Early in the pandemic most people were yearning to get back to work in their office. But as time dragged on most of us began to accommodate to being at home despite the discomforts to our focus on work.
As much as parents may love their kids and family, being with them 24/7 may not always create perfect harmony and good will.

And then being mandated to stay home, discoveries unfolded: no more traffic jams, no more “in your face” office politics, no more casual flirtations, no more professional chats around the coffee pot. What at home had felt noisy, distracting and at times very frustrating (especially if you don’t have a big house) now began to feel more like a safe haven.

Unless your work dictates that you have to be in the office, how do you decide whether you want to work remotely, go into the office or do a mixture of both?
Will you decide to work from home because it is now an ingrained habit or because it will truly bring you more satisfaction?

It’s always easier to keep doing what you are used to doing than change. Many of us are feeling emotionally challenged after a long and uncertain siege on our lives. We dream of being out in the world. However, with the digital capacity to work remotely, do we really want or have the energy to move back to the office? And traffic bottlenecks? Office gossip? Loss of time?

Is it your habit or your desire that will make this decision? Will it be you, empowered to choose well despite your year’s en-grained habit of working remotely?

Speaking as a Psychologist and Financial Therapist, below find and utilize 5 easy questions to help you understand and decide how and where you want to work as we all get back to “normality?” Question #5 is probably the most important question of all!

Below please find some questions that may help you decide whether to work at home, move back to the office or do some of each:

• Keeping focused attention on your work is key to doing it well. Which environment will help you maintain work focus?
• How good are you at structuring your time?
• If you stay at home who will also be there?
• How will you dress for home office vs. away office?
• Where’s the best coffee!

Please enjoy this latest addition to my PANDEMIC BLOG SERIES and SHARE with your network.

Bonus Share: Tags:  (anyone in your network who used to go into an office… use the “@” and start typing their name and it will come up.  Click on them and then do it again.  Tag about 5 or 6 people.

Maggie Baker, Ph. D.
Psychologist – Financial Therapist
Author of Crazy About Money: “How Emotions Confuse Our Money Choices And What To Do About It”.