What work-from-home actually looks like

How to gauge if WFH is actually for you, or not.

Raw and Real Conversation

I have been completely zoned out in the last one week.

Especially today, as I write this.

The only focus has been to deliver a manuscript of a client.

I didn’t clean my desk this morning. The barbell laden with weights is still lurking behind the study desk, as I worked on submitting the final manuscript of a client’s book I had bene ghostwriting. I need to trim my nails.

It is unusual, but we are all getting raw and real here, aren’t we?

We were initially supposed to close this on 30th June, but because I needed more time, I requested my client for a 10-day extension to 10th July, which he nicely gave.

I am so glad I stretched every ounce of dedication I had and delivered a masterpiece I am proud of. It is very hard to convince one’s own self, but seldom when one does it, it is time to pause.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the other side of the glamorous life of a work-from-home life.

I have been working from home ever since the Covid of 2020, but till mid 2023 I was in a job. So we won’t consider that because you are still accountable to a team.

But, what does the life of a work-from-home freelancer look like?

Is it even for you?

Allow me to try to walk you through it in the minutest details.

Some self-created principles:

1. Always have separate clothing. I may work in casuals, but never have I ever wore night suits during the day. Not even once. Not even when I have been sick. The home clothes are purposefully very nice, because how you feel is what gets reflected in the work you do.

2. If you love routine (I absolutely love love it. My sisters when they have to critique me they call me “time table”).

3. If it is a video meeting, I try to wear a shirt, even if it is slightly casual. (and certainly not an Athleisure) or a plain v-neck tee. The child inside wants Tom-n-Jerry, but the adult outside wants credibility.

Pros of WFH life as a freelancer:

1. You do not have to prove to anyone you are working. If work gets done on time and is done well, everyone is happy.

2. A lot of the times in your job, your ratings are a product of your manager’s mood, especially if they are not rational. Sometimes I wonder how men are so much a prisoner of their mood, even though it is us women who go through their monthly cycles :)

3. I do not have to appear happy in meetings I do not want to be in, in the first place.

4. I love the solitude, the maker’s schedule. So we willingly optimise for it.

Cons:

1. People think you are free. Historically our culture has treated the busiest housewives as free, just because they were at home. That false mentality still lingers. For me, instead of getting triggered, I have learnt to draw boundaries. It clearly conveys your message. And it is no point being irked anyway.

2. Sometimes, like once every 6 months, I would feel the need for an accountability buddy, like an assistant or an intern who would keep me accountable on my to-do’s. But then I think of the dread of talking to another human being AND explaining them my work AND how it would take me away from the love of my life, which is staying quiet all day — and I buckle up my systems.

That’s pretty much it. I do not miss the working from office system much.

How to decide if working from home is for you:

1. If you can manage your time well, go for it. Otherwise, it is bold to be working from office.

2. You know when to stop.

3. You know when to start.

It is a journey. I was waiting for the train at the Dubai airport and sitting on a bench outside and working on my laptop. I was waiting in the line at Warner Bros Abu Dhabi and was on my laptop. Last week I had the best drive and I wrote for myself again, even though I was on a tiny break.

I do not mean to scare you, but just a wisdom.

And yes I may go to a salon on a Tuesday, there have been way more incidents that I have worked on Saturdays (rarely Sundays too).

Do I endorse it? Nope.

Am I working on it to have more of a work-life balance? Oh yes.

How much percentage of times is work-from-home life on track? 60%.

But the biggest thing is awareness.

When you know what you want and what you absolutely don’t want, you have won half the battle.

2 Raw One-Liners:

• Girl to girl: He is not going to change by you suppressing yourself.

• If you want to see who does the best work in a team, look at who speaks the least.

3 (for) Real meaningful and fun blogs that I wish to share with you:

1. Good boys that (forever) damage good girls

2. “Do you mind if I smoke?”

3. Some pictures of the 5 days of meditation retreat

Alright then folks, have a nice, monsoon-filled, relaxed weekend.

Don’t be on screen too much :)

Nishtha Gehija

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1. 20s versus 30s: The strange and unique differences between the two most important decades of your life

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3. The Career Changing Guide: Practical and Real

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