We’ve hit the five-month mark of working from home. No one said this was going to be easy. In fact, it seems like all the people in school who took on the work for your group projects are the ones now doing it again for the pandemic, and we are tired. This is not over because you’re over it. And please arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor.
It was a rough start as our home became a battleground for our work and personal lives. Thankfully, our jobs do not mind the occasional pop-ins from our son. As we adjusted to the temporary new-normal, I needed to flex my work space to our bedroom.
Things to help make working from home easier
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- Cold Brew Maker: with most of our coffee shops closed, I needed to figure out my iced coffee situation. Luckily, we bought this cold brew maker a while back. Now, I switch between this and Starbucks store-bought iced coffee.
- Hand lotion: much needed in a time when you’re washing your hands every 5 minutes.
- Mouse: as a Mac user, I love my Magic Mouse. However, when I used to use a Dell laptop at my former employer, I invested in this wireless mouse. It’s sleek, modern, and the buttons are as quiet as a…mouse.
- Fast charger: true story, I won this portable fast charger from Anker. I never win anything (oh wait, I won Fat’s heart). I loved it so much, I bought two fast charger plug-ins for my wife and me. With an iPad, Pencil, mouse, phone, and AirPods to charge, I needed something that could charge them all quickly!
- Mountie+: my most recent purchase (and probably favorite work-purchase). I had an opportunity to get a second monitor. I turned it down. As much as I would have loved one, I think a large screen would ruin the aesthetic in our bedroom. This clips onto my computer and an iPad, iPhone, or another device can be secured on the other side. I currently use my iPad Air as a second screen via Sidecar. Game. Changing.
- Headset: TBH, this is not a pandemic purchase, but a favorite purchase from my last job. While our floor was being renovated, the building relocated my team to another. For me, it was an upgrade. I had large windows and a desk double the size of the last. My phone was a tad bit too far from me, so I invested in a Bluetooth headset. When I had a Blackberry, I had my fair share of headsets, this is by far my favorite.
- Lume Cube: before we reconfigured our bedroom to accommodate two work from home setups, my desk was in a corner. Although I was next to a window, the light did not reflect well. I bought this Lume Cube and everything was brighter. Now, I’m directly in front of a window, and no longer need it. However, come the winter, I may have to fire it back up.
- Plants: My wife bought me this plant for Father’s Day to place on my new desk. I bought the planter.
- Desk: I love my new, simple, modern desk. So many drawers!
The pandemic, as told by my credit card
When stay-at-home orders first started, we didn’t exactly know how long we were going to be in this. Then, thinking we were in this for a few weeks, stocked up on games and bubbles to keep us and our son occupied in our downtime. I pulled out a Lego set I bought years ago, started to do some organizing and purging. Then, at the end of March, we realized we were going to be in this for months. Organizing and cleaning projects popped up, then it was June, and suddenly it’s August. These are some of the things that brought us a little joy, freedom, and peace of mind.
We also donated $600 to organizations that are able to do the work we cannot do to support and protect black lives. In addition, Lilies and Loafers is pledging all affiliate revenue from July-end of the year to be donated. Stay tuned.
