I’ve worked from home 7-8 years now. (I’ve honestly lost track!) During that time, there has only been the rare day when my husband has also worked from home. He’s one of those office people. When he’s been home, it’s been novel, cute, and a bit of a treat. But then suddenly, he began working from home daily. Every. Single. Day.
I love my hubby more than anything. We had our first date 13 years ago today. I never thought having him here all day would create an impact on our work and home lives. And yet, it has. Here are some experiences and tips to cohabitate together to keep work productive and home life sane.
Physical Separation – You must be in different spaces. Preferably different rooms. You and your significant other didn’t sit across from each other before, and there is no need to now. When you learn your spouse is a “loud talker” or “dad-joke maker” or “let’s put a pin in that” person, you can never go back. You see them differently. Let them keep their work disguise on. And same for you – you don’t want them to really know how you yell at your team do you? Not only this, but it’s likely that you talk about confidential matters, you type really loud, or your mere cuteness is a distraction.
White Noise/Noise-Canceling – Even with space, it’s possible for noise to travel. Sometimes these noises are just nuisances, and sometimes these can be private conversations that really shouldn’t be overheard. You may not realize it, but most office buildings have white noise at all times. This helps to deaden the sound and keep your noise from carrying. You can do the same at home with a white noise machine or app on your phone. My prince charming shakes his leg all day. He’s a tick he has. He doesn’t do it on purpose. He’s now sitting directly above me in his office and that shakes the floor. It’s amazing how loud it is, at least when I’m used to the only noise being me. I’ve been telling “what’s her face” over here to “Play some background music” when it gets to be too much. If adding some cover-up noise doesn’t help, you can remove the noise altogether by sporting some noise-canceling headphones. The only problem here is that when I yell to tell someone to stop shaking their leg, they literally can’t hear me!
Do Not Disturb Notice – Sometimes you need to let the other one know that you cannot be interrupted. There are multiple creative ways to achieve this. You could simply text each other. You could have a sign on your door. We’ve devised a creative way with smart devices and lightbulbs. We each have a button that controls a light in the other’s office, and turns on red if in DND mode, and then cleared when not. It’s kind of like an “on air” signal. This is the least invasive way for us. It also allows us to keep the signal up for the duration of the need.
Share Your Schedule – I don’t mean you should make your calendar public. But, we do discuss meetings we have for the following day to generally understand what we have going on. In particular, if we have meetings with senior executives, are conducting training, or otherwise have some of those “do not disturb” times, we let each other know in advance. This helps us as well with managing our dogs and other potential interruptions by planning ahead. It’s even as simple as lunch. We work at different times as we support different timezones. I want to ride the bike during lunch that is next to his office. Usually that’s ok, but if he doesn’t want the TV, 3 dogs, and me at that time, letting me know allows me to shift my schedule or plan an off day.
In general, I go about my day as if my hubby isn’t here. I’m at work. He’s at work. We have work to do. He’s adjusting to working at home in general. Meanwhile, I’m adjusting to the changes his presence brings to my operating procedures. With some open communication, creativity, patience, and lots of love, we’ll be able to keep working together for as long as necessary.
To my hubby – I love you so much! Thanks for your support now and always. There’s no one else I’d rather share an office with 💕 XOXO
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