Hey, so remember when we all went into hiding like a year ago? Yeah, we’ve been learning, hating, embracing, or loving the hermit life for a year now. It’s been really exhausting for a lot of people, isolating and painful, too. Let’s reflect on how a year of being forced to work remotely has gone for me. Then I want to hear from you. How about we do a top 10 list? Sounds fun, right?

TOP 10 THINGS I’VE LOVED ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME IN A PANDEMIC

1. I have an excuse not to leave the house that is better than “I don’t want to.”

2. I’m not spending money at coffee houses.

3. Fewer weddings in 2020 gave me a deeper love for shooting weddings. I miss it.

4. SWEATS. I usually get dressed before sitting down for work. Athleisure, kids. It’s comfort gold.

5. Making it a thing. When you have to do something you don’t want to do, couple it with something you want to do and make a little event out of it.

6. Learning to give myself grace. Pandemics are kinda hard.

7. Seeing what I get distracted by and going down those rabbit holes and finding something valuable to my creative work.

8. Not caring about perfection enough to be bothered by failure. I love my work, letting go of perfection and just going for it. Submitting bold designs to clients. Taking risks. Trying out new edits. Overhauling a website. Creativity takes guts and grit.

9. If I can just be honest here for a minute, guilt-free naps.

10. Not having the huge shift of having to learn to work at home. I’m grateful for that.

10 THINGS THAT HAVE SUCKED OR I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME IN A PANDEMIC

1. I cannot get anything done if my boyfriend is also home.

2. My cats are furry extortionists who will break all my stuff if I don’t do what they want.

3. Not being able to work remotely is a creative buzz kill. Gotta switch up the scenery a bit.

4. It makes it a thousand times harder to keep up on things like social media or blogs because pandemic life is exhausting AF.

5. Structure. Because EVERYTHING begs for your attention. I have to do laundry, do dishes, run errands, study, contact this client and that client.

6. A tidy workspace is everything. Keeping it tidy when you basically live at your desk sucks.

7. Time is meaningless. It’s so easy to lose yourself in time-wasters.

8. I’m pretty terrible at being disciplined. I’ve just been lucky to do what I want with my career.

9. I miss the library.

10. There’s a difference between choosing to stay home because you don’t want other people in your space and not being able to leave because why would you when there’s nowhere to go? Having your reasons for leaving taken from you super duper sucks. I’m introverted, but I like being reclusive to be my choice.

We’re a year deep into this pandemic and hope is growing. A few times, I’ve been able to work remotely. It’s been good. I am looking forward to getting vaccinated and returning to a semblance of normalcy. (Side note: does anyone else look at people on TV and in movies gathering maskless in large groups and cringe a little? Because I do.) I have my first shot on April 20. I will continue to wear masks at weddings at the request of my clients, my colleagues, and voluntarily as long as is necessary.

We have all had to make sacrifices this past year. It’s been really tough, but I’m here for you, and we’ll get through this.