Today marked the end of my fifth week of working exclusively from home. Here are my takeaways from week five:

• Mental wall – I hit a mental wall again at the beginning of the week (as I did in the middle of week four). I shared what was bothering me with other people and accepted that the day wouldn’t be productive. I also reviewed what I’ve accomplished since the pandemic began. Thankfully, there have been wins. My mental celebration allowed me to put my funk behind me and start fresh the next day.
• Peer experiences – I spoke with peers about what we’re feeling and experiencing working from home. They described challenges similar to mine, which gave me comfort. We discussed strategies to combat our predicament, which was energizing.
• Phone calls – I got antsy sitting all day, so in some cases I switched from Zoom meetings to phone calls so I could walk around outside. This worked out great when my conversation was with people I speak to often. It killed two birds with one stone.
• Time blocks – I played with working on things that require uninterrupted concentration in the late afternoon. This was effective because I received fewer calls and requests to meet after 3:00. I plan to continue testing this.

The fifth week was mentally bruising. I suspect that each week the pandemic continues will be much the same. My big takeaway from this week is to discuss my problems with others. Everyone is going through the same thing—we might as well discuss our experiences and support each other. I learned a lot from it.

I continue to learn from this unique situation, adjust as necessary, and share my experience.