Working from Home

I work out of my home. When I was part of “Corporate” UndercoverWear, I never understood why women who worked from home were so disorganized. I didn’t realize that there are constant interruptions during each and every day.

Take last Friday for example. I had a busy phone day planned. (Enter interruptions). First, the pool man came; then, the electric guy followed by the air conditioning fellow.

Then, I went into one of my office cabinets for something only to discover how disorganized it was! I decided to clean it out – something that was not on my “to do” list, but it annoyed me. The cabinet is home to my “Secret Stash:”         

• Several packages of seaweed (an important part of my diet – I swear it makes my hair thicker! Bottles of Skinny Girl Margarita (for my Girls Luncheons) Bags of Nibs licorice (straight from Boston because you can’t find it in Hawaii)
• Bags of mini cheddar cheese rice cakes (low cal aka great for snacks)
• Containers of K-cups (that’s coffee not something sensual). The extra bold flavor for my one cup of STRONG coffee a day
• Ricola Lemon Mint Pearls.

Based on what’s in that cabinet (now very organized), let me confirm your suspicions…Yes, I am a weird chick!

I just got sidetracked…My day of interruptions continued with a mission critical Escada fitting. My assistant brought me some new clothes that had to be put into my “collection” (see my “stuff” blog) or immediately returned.

Then, I remembered the unmade bed and dirty breakfast dishes! If you’re thinking, “Tiffany doesn’t really make beds or do dishes,” I may be compelled to slap you! I don’t have Hazel the maid and Henry the butler at my beckon call. In fact, my work from home status makes me feel more on point to do things around the house. Hmmm, now isn’t that interesting.

At about 2PM, I realized I hadn’t eaten so I made myself a quick snack. I decided I had to take something out for dinner. It’s Friday – Fish is perfect! I made Quinoa (enough to feed North America), as a side because I thought it was a healthy choice. Of course, I looked online and discovered it may be good for you, but it’s loaded with starch and carbs. Great!

After dinner prep, I made some personal calls to my 83-year-old aunt and my cousin, who recently lost her husband, to find out when she is having her knee surgery. Mixed into all of this was a plethora of business calls and emails. The day was flying by!

Then – of all things – my husband returned early from golf to find me sitting in my “It’s a Wrap” not having yet showered. What a mess I was – I truly couldn’t stand looking at me anymore. I was embarrassed.

I quickly “fluffed and buffed” and then made calls to two Top Leader groups and finally sat down for an evening martini and our backgammon games.

What’s the point? Obviously, when I worked in the office at UndercoverWear, I actually got dressed each morning. I never walked out of the house without showering, shampooing and putting on my makeup. Furthermore, I was always “dressed to the nines.”

There are many advantages to working from home – your time is your own, no one tells you when to start and stop working, you certainly are your own boss and not to mention the tax advantages. However, one can get “lazy” on the personal discipline side when it comes to time and looking polished.

That Friday, I made a pact with myself. I’m not going to have my husband – or anyone for that matter – walk in again to me looking like the Wreck of Hesperus. He’s golfing again today. It’s 2PM and here I sit in my It’s A Wrap, but I’ve got plenty of time!

OK that’s it; I’m getting up this moment to start getting dressed. Wait! The phone is ringing – it’s my sister and she really needs to talk to me. It’ll just be a few more minutes. I’ll be fine.  

No problem, 15 minutes later, I’m finished and on my way upstairs. Oops, there’s the phone again. Should I answer it? It might be important. After all, this is our home, not the office – I better answer it.

DAMN!