I’ve been faced with a choice, an unexpected one, and had to take a bit of time off to mumble over it and to understand what was the best thing for me.
Unexpectedly I got offered two jobs, went by both the 2 steps interview processes in the same week, and have been offered the positions almost at the same time. I wasn’t actually looking, since I’m really well sorted with the blog and my nutrition studies, but nonetheless, I got these 2 offers, and went through the difficult decision of picking one over the other. The difficulty was in determining if after all that has happened, I’d be willing to go back to an office job, or I’d be better off with a remote position.
The new normal dilemma
The promised new normal is here, and now they offer me the possibility to go back to things as they were before. Or not. Ah, apparently i’m not the only one caught up in this dilemma. According to Bloomberg, many people are willing to resign rather than go back to their normal office-based work, and some companies are expecting a 25% resignation rate between their employees who do not want to come back to work in the office. I was really surprised at the beginning… Until I faced this choice myself.
I thought about all the things that could be like before, and despite knowing that I would enjoy it… I realised that things are not like before anymore. But let me explain myself better.
What did this last year at home teach me
Firstly, I’ve surely suffered from the excessive isolation during this pandemic, but I haven’t for a single day missed the early morning outing to go to work. I might have missed sometimes the idea of getting ready for the office, in terms of the pleasure to dress because you’ve somewhere to go. Yes, maybe that. But getting up at the time that is more suitable for me, and be able to take my time while waking up, is not something I’m ready to give up.
It’s a very important thing for me, for which I have been profoundly grateful since day one.
Morning routine addicted, anyone? Here is my article on 7 feel good tips to create your morning routine.
Better use of my time
Secondly, having time for myself taught me to listen to my body, and appreciate how important it is, and how difficult is to keep doing it according to your lifestyle. I learnt a new way of exercising that I already know wouldn’t be suitable for an office day routine, because not having to work and commute in the first place was what made me develop it.
I need to partially adjust my exercise around my mood, and have 2 or 3 different choices to ensure I maintain an effective level of exercise. If I have the possibility to maintain it, why would I renounce to it? Since it took me so long to reach this balance!
Thirdly, I have to acknowledge that my diet is incredibly more balanced and I am healthier now than when I worked in the office. There is the occasional stress eat, but there is more time to realise you need to get back on track, you are more focused on yourself, you have more time to be. I eat more fruit and vegetables than with the normal office lifestyle, and it has a good effect on my wellbeing.
Between two evils…
Then, between two evils, I always chose the one I’ve never tried before. Our job affects out life consistently, adding often stressful conditions to our life, in my view by choosing to work remotely, I’m limiting its impact. So instead of going back to what it was before, I decide to invest in what is now. Despite not knowing how is going to work out in the long term, I put away my obsession with security and stability and certainty, for something new and different but that better meets my needs.
I have considered as well my blog commitment and realised that if I had to add the commute time on top of my work hours, I would have lost precious time that I could dedicate to the blog, and I would come back home incredibly tired and incapable of focusing my attention on anything relevant. I know it, because I remember it all too well.
The final choice
Finally, I decided for the remote opportunity, even if the temptation of going back to something that you know very well is reassuring and comforting, but still, I had too much to lose. Whilst I get ready to get back to digital marketing (but really, did I ever stop? Promoting my blog has been all about it.), I’m focusing on the next articles and on finishing my nutrition studies, and I’ll try to understand if I’ll be able to keep posting 3 times per week, which I’d love to. But I’m beginning to think that it might be too optimistic. And I am very optimistic on a general basis. Let’s see what this summer will bring next!
What about you? Would you rather be working in the office again, like business as usual, or would you rather keep working from home? Let me know in the comments!