We’re still in a lockdown, here in the Greater Toronto Area, and working from home. I’ve been doing that for years, but it feels different now. How are you holding up?
Stay Home
I’ve been happily working from home for years, but now we’re supposed to stay home as much as possible. In the good old days, I could dash to the store if I needed a work break. Now, we’re only going out for essential items.
We keep in touch with family and friends through phone calls, Zoom and FaceTime, but it’s not quite the same as getting together in person.
Reading Books
Fortunately, our city has an online library collection, so we’ve been making good use of that over the past year. When work is finished for the day, I can grab my iPad, and read something entertaining.
Last week, I finished this book, You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey (Amazon link).
It’s by comedian, Amber Ruffin, about the racism that her sister, Lacey, experiences every day, while living in Omaha, Nebraska.
It was well written, and easy to read, but also hard to read, if you know what I mean!
Story Telling
I also enjoyed Storyworthy, by Matthew Dicks (Amazon link). He explains how to tell interesting stories, at home and at work (even if they’re the same place!)
To help you think of story topics from your life, he suggests a game called First, Last, Best, Worst. We’ve been using that at the supper table too, on the nights we run out of things to talk about. (It’s been a long time stuck at home together!)
To play the game, pick a topic, then describe your first, last, best or worst experience related to that topic.
- For example, what was your best or worst job?
- What do you remember about your first car?
- What was the last trouble you got into?
Screen Time
We’ve spent time watching things too, like TV game shows (missing Alex Trebek), old movies, reruns of old shows (Monk, Mentalist), and an occasional new show (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist).
For something different, our daughter, Sarah, recommended a Netflix show, In and Of Itself (IMDb link), so I watched that last week. It’s a recording from a one-man stage show, by Derek Delgaudio, a “storyteller and conceptual magician”.
It was strange, and fascinating, and a little creepy in spots, and thoroughly entertaining. I’ve never seen anything like it, and am still puzzling over most of what he did.
Sarah told me to avoid reading any reviews of the show before I watched it, so it was all a surprise – as it should be, I guess.
Other Fun After Work From Home
What are you doing to have fun after a day of working from home?
I’m also doing arts and crafts, walking (inside the house), sending real mail to people, and watching the birds at our new feeder.
You don’t have to be good at any of those things, to enjoy doing them! For proof, here are a couple of my little watercolour paintings.
It’s relaxing, and a nice break from writing about Excel all day!
______________________
After Work From Home
______________________