Working 9-5(ish)
Leaving my job was the hardest professional decision I have ever made. I loved my job, I loved my boss and my colleagues, I loved the organization and the mission. It was hard to walk away from, but I knew it was the right decision for US. Our family unit. And it was. I am thrilled to be able to continue to work from afar, which I am still navigating 10 months after arriving.
I envisioned an easy routine - wake up not too early, go for a walk or paddle at the beach, get the kid to school and then to work for the day. It has mostly worked out that way, but it has taken a lot more effort and schedule wrangling to get a good flow.
I don’t know why it didn’t hit me before, but Adaline feels like we work more than we did before, even though we don’t. The issue is working US hours also mean working Adaline hours - the busiest part of my day is when Adaline is home from school and that is tough.
I have the opportunity to shift things up, so I am making it work. Finding time to work with so many cool things to do and THE BEACH 800 meters away (hey, look at me measuring in meters!) can be tough, but there is still a lot of work to do and I actually really enjoy my work.
Sleep. I mentioned in another post that my dark eye circles are gone. This is amazing! I had them for more than 5 years straight. The best part about working in a different time zone is that I only get up early when I want to. I don’t have a demanding morning schedule that requires me to lose out on the most restful hours of sleep I get, and I can see the difference. School doesn’t start early and it is so close, we all get the rest we need. It is life changing!
Working from home. It is good. And hard. I don’t know if I like it or not. I make myself get up every 30 minutes and stretch, or fold laundry or something. I’ve made a few attempts to go to the local shared workspace, which is ocean front and beautiful, but I haven’t made a habit of it yet.
Is it glamourous living in Europe? Nope. It sure isn’t. It is like living anywhere else. There is still laundry and dishes and the TV still takes the attention of my daughter over most other things some days. She is finding a connection to the ocean, but it still takes effort to get her out the door like most kids these days.