Since March 2020, I have had to work from my home. And I am not going to lie, it has been one hell of a ride so far – with several highs and lows.

I still have a full-time career at the moment, so I freelance to make some extra cash to make ends meet – due to Dublin’s disgraceful high accommodation costs. The idea is to stay consistent, and in the long term, I can hopefully write copy on a full-time basis.

Anyway, working from home has opened up many possibilities I never thought imaginable. The biggest one being the ability to multitask and ‘kill the proverbial 2 birds with 1 stone’. I have also been able to plan and stay consistent with my goals as a result, while getting ever closer to my idea of a work-life balance.

Quite frankly, I do not think this change in perspective would have been possible, if it wasn’t for the space and autonomy my current full-time job provides. And for that, I consider myself very lucky. And I am grateful.

In this post, I simply want to highlight my personal positives and negatives working from home so far – as a single, young man.

Work From Home Positives – Dublin.

1. In winter months, I simply get out of bed 5 minutes before work. And just sit at my laptop with my bathrobe, heater and warm socks. In summer months, I wake up possibly an hour before, hit the gym next door for 30 minutes and then come back.
2. I can listen to music on my loud-speakers all day, everyday!
3. I can also go to my local gym during my work break if it’s not too busy.
4. I can cook, clean, study or freelance during active work hours – thereby saving precious time for evening leisure .
5. I can actually commit to having social weekends, which I can either use to hang out or rest at my own desire.
6. I save a lot of time in commuting time. And even when I do commute, it’s only a 30 minute commute. Imagine those who come in to work and back from way out of town!
7. Increased focus during the cold, winter months. Not sure why, it just happens with me.

Work from Home Negatives – Dublin.

1. Working during warm months at home is quite painful. Feeling the fresh wind from the open windows always makes me feel like I’m missing out on everything outside that is fun.
2. Possible burnout – very rare. This only happened during the start of the pandemic, when I tried adjusting emotionally with the pandemic restrictions. And this is quite interesting, now that I realize Ireland has had some of the mildest restrictions in Europe since COVID-19 said watsup.
3. Less productivity during the summer months. I’m always looking for a reason to remain distracted.
4. It can get lonely. Again, this is something I really feel only during summer months.

…Okay, you can see a pattern here. Cold months working from home are great for me. Summer months, not so much. Especially since I do not have access to a garden I can work from without losing power or internet connection.

Epilogue.

So far, I would not change my current work from home situation. I love it more than I hate it. In my case, I think it helps that I do not have housemates or a wife & kids (that I know of😶). Who knows? Such a situation might have a different effect on my current view of working from home.

Right now, I do not know. But when that day hopefully arrives, I guess I’ll find out :).

What about you? Do you work remotely? If so, what do you enjoy most about it? And what do you dislike most about it? Let us know below.