Getting Back to the Office

You’ve been hoping beyond hope that your employer will let you remain working from home full-time.

Or you’ve been hoping you can work from home a few days a week (you miss your colleagues, after all).

Or you’ve been crossing all fingers and toes that your company would say, “All hands on-site, every day.” (You REALLY miss the office!)

No matter which one you are, if your employer wants you to come back to the office full time (sorry, WFH lovers), or even just for one or two days a week, it’s time to flex those in-office muscles that have become oh-so-flabby these last 15 months.

Tips for getting back in “work-in-office” shape 

• Practice getting up on time.

 Chances are pretty good you “may have” started rolling out of bed around 7:45 a.m. (Not that anyone we know personally has….). And – if you’re also like no one close to us that we know of – you may have gone a little, shall we say, “lax” regarding your grooming routine.

Now, depending on how long it takes you to get ready to leave home to make your commute, for the few days or couple of weeks before you need to return, it’s time to turn on the alarm each morning, get up, perform that grooming routine, eat breakfast, and so on.

Your get-ready-to-leave-the-house muscles may be pretty weak, but we have no worries that their sense memory will snap back into shape in just one or two days.

Remember, it’s better to do this now than think that you can do it on your first day returning to the office without a hitch. (We’ve heard stories from “other” people….)

• Consider doing a practice commute one day.

Traffic may be more – or less – heavy since the pandemic started. You won’t know until you make the trip. It’s better to be pleasantly surprised that it’s not as awful as it used to be than to discover that it’s just as bad. Or worse.

• Lay your work clothes out the night before evening.

Yes, your mom may have made you do this as a child, and we know you’re an adult now.  But Mom was right: getting it all done the night before means you won’t have to rush, and you’ll know the items you want to wear are clean and pressed.

Plus, if you do get up late, you’ll save a few minutes during your morning routine and won’t have to rush frantically to leave on time. (You won’t need to grab a bagel and banana on the way out; you can eat a good breakfast.)

• Speaking of a good breakfast

Eating breakfast does make your day better. It boosts mood and energy and helps you avoid the donut box in the breakroom. It also can help your career. Really.

• If you live within 10-20 miles of work, consider taking your bike.

Exercise improves mood as well as your overall health. If you live close enough and are in good enough shape, consider bicycling rather than driving or taking the bus/train.

More and more people are biking to work, and they’re finding the benefits to their outlook, waistline, and pocketbook “addictive.”

• Change how you think about your commute.

Whether you drive in or take public transportation, consider listening to your favorite podcast, radio program, book on tape, etc. (Make sure you use a portable hands-free device, of course, if you’re driving yourself!) Grab some good earphones/earbuds if using public transportation and zone out happily to what you want to listen to. Look at it as your “me time.”

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