‘Working from home’ used to be code for watching Ellen while slothing around in our pj’s.

Today, working from home means working far harder than you ever have. Think about your average pre-COVID workday. Any one at their desk by 8.30am was considered an early-bird. Now, many of us have done an hour’s work by then.

Meetings scheduled to start at 11 kicked off at 11.20 and would end with most of us wondering WTF was that all about? Nowadays, a 40-minute ZOOM meeting scheduled for 11am starts at 11 and, amazingly, ends at 11.40. And everyone knows what’s going on.

Coffee-breaks often lasted longer than lunchbreaks because the coffee at the coffee shop three streets away was so much better than the coffee at the café directly downstairs.

Trips to the loo often required a circumnavigation of the office as you caught up with friends while planning Friday drinks and discussing what a moron your senior manager is.  Now a trip to the loo is, well, a trip to the loo and your partner is too busy (or too bored with you) to talk about anything.

In short, working from home now means working from home – and that’s hardworking. So don’t begrudge yourself an hour at lunch to enjoy the sun. Or a 30-minute call for a laugh with a mate. Or literally just working from 9 to 5. Chances are, you’ll still be working harder and more productively than you ever have before.

Don’t overdo it.