Tuesday, December 1, 2020

HOME SWEAT HOME - A POOL OF WORK - LET'S REVIVE LIFE

How about reading a book in the middle of a working day for 30 minutes? How about jamming the guitar after lunch or to begin the day with? Yes we need to make some changes in our life today while working out of home. We need to revive life.

There was something called a journey while heading for home from office. Even though we would still open our laptops and take calls after reaching home, there was a logical break from office work to take that journey. Home was still a place to be home and to get into a different mode after long hours of work.



I miss those journeys, the city, the traffic, the sounds, the different shades of the sky and the people. Yes, there were struggles in those journeys but there were sweet things too that came along in it and home was always a  very sweet place to enter after every day's journey. We had a work life, a home life and a travel life too. My commuting time every day was close to three and half hours. Travel life through my company transport had given me lots of time for myself, away from home chores and office tasks and I had put this time to good use for my several avocations. Sometimes this slot was apt for a good bout of sleep or to just meditate through a sit and gaze approach, watching the city through the windows and letting random thoughts fill our minds.

Today home is just for work, work and work and my family gets a virtual feeling that I am always around to get any home tasks done. But the reality is that I am never available for home as I am always into work.

I long for those sweet journeys and for that sweet home to return to. I consciously make time daily to pursue something other than work. Soon, I will be investing some time into travelling short distances every day, just to relish the joy of travelling.

16 comments:

ADRIANA said...

simply perfect! I get that feeling every day. there is no longer that lunch break. home has ceased to be a safe haven and has become a forcibly adapted workstation, fighting for space in the totally troubled domestic routine.

Subashini said...

Beautifully written. I miss the commute time too, which was the only time I had for myself. However, I have convinced myself with the benefits to the environment.

Anonymous said...

Too good Roy, its true for men but i think for most of the working ladies this wfh is a blessing .. sometimes I miss the office environment but with wfh am not having the pressure.
Pressure in the sense getting up early in the morning had to cook before 7 , make kids get ready for school, drive long to office ( no company bus as u guys have there) drive bak , again cook, do dishes.. 😔 again repeat ..

Anonymous said...

Very good. This is true , even I miss the travel now ..
I have the work extra hours daily..no me time..
And if I were in office, I would have met many people, had good breaks, walking.... but now my health has degraded due to night shifts.

Management taking advantage of working from home and overloading us with work :(

Anonymous said...

Yes....I hate WFH.

Ramya Devanathan said...

True..home is not home these days.in fact we made new friends during travel

Sunitha Solomon said...

Spot on !! You said it all! Life has drastically changed, and we have to live our lives this way, whether we like it or not. Man has become more Robotic than Human !!

Anonymous said...

It's a 50-50 feel. I like both and there are dislikes in both too.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Adriana: Thanks Adriana.Yes,it's the same forced routine we are all going through. Hope we get a relief out of this soon.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Subha: As you very rightly said, commute was 'OUR' time. In fact all my writing happened that time.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Anonymous: I am sorry that I missed out seeing from a working woman's perspective especially one from an Indian culture. Very valid points that you have mentioned. So this period is a boon.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Anonymous: No doubt that working hours have extended and it creeps into the late nights too. We may have to very softly draw a line and send out a message that we are closing the gates, after a span of work time.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Anonymous: Yes a lot like me hate WFH as a long stretch. We need to step out and go to office, meet our folks and taste the environment there, once a while.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Ramya: Yes, very true. I have a lot of friends whom I met first time during travel in our company transport.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Sunithachechee: Truly mechanical and robotic...because our life is now built around a few set of things...nothing to step outside and explore.

Roy Cherian Cherukarayil said...

@Ananymous: Sometimes I think of the 50-50 concept. It could be the best where we have to also go to office for a while and still can work out of home.