As I write this sentence my cat fairy is in my lap and fighting with my hands for attention! “Pet Me! Don’t Type!” she says, “Lie down” I say to her. “Pet me” she says again while purring loudly! So I must wait patiently for her to settle down so I can get to work. There is not much I can do but wait it out. Her demands are beyond my control.
So many of us are currently working at home due to the Corona Virus. And some cats are thrilled, while other cats are like “why are you here all the time now?” It sounds glamorous to work from home but it is not as easy as it sounds especially when sharing your workspace with felines.
These past few months I have learned a lot about what my cats do all day long. I discovered they have a routine. The weather plays a part in how that routine goes. Everyone starts in the bedroom with morning meowditation around 7am. After breakfast it’s nap time. By mid morning they want to go out to the Catio. If it’s sunny they will stay out there all day. If there is no sun they may go back to bed. Mid day they demand snacks and “Guilty” I have given in to this bad habit much to their delight! Then time to lie in the sun in the front room til dinner time. We often will play before dinner. I might take out some boxes or the laser toy. After dinner it’s hard to say where they will go. Here they are spontaneous. Maybe the living room? Maybe the bedroom for massages!
I have been lucky enough to have some remote work that I can do for clients during Covid-19. I have had to learn the best way to come up with my own routine to get work done instead of playing with cute cats or distracting myself in a zillion ways that can happen at home. It has been a few months of trial and error but I am finally getting the hang of it.
I started using my iPad so I can be portable and move around the house. When the furballs see me sitting in the living room we end up having “Lap Wars”. With each cat demanding time in my one lap! Fairy wins and Elfin is coming in a close 2nd!
My main computer is now in my bedroom on a table with wheels. I know, it sounds weird but I can get so much done in the evenings plus I can change out of my day pj’s into my night pj’s. (Yes I do get dressed in the morning.) That’s the best time for me to edit and work on Furball Fables videos. All the cats can be on the bed so it’s a win win for everyone!
I have learned when I really need to do some super concentrating I turn off all my notifications. I can be so easily distracted. Just one email or instagram comment floating by my screen and boom, I have lost my train of thought. If I can stay in super concentration mode I can get lots more done in a shorter amount of time.
Time is your choice! I learned that from a Ted Talk on Time Management. I do the important must do stuff first. It is so easy to avoid what you don’t want to do at home. If I do the hard stuff first, I find I am ahead of the game. I make a daily to do list and check off items on my list. If I have a productive day, I reward myself with an hour break to read a book on my bed, often with several cats joining me!
I have had to make spaces for the cats in any room I am working in. I also have toys on hand to distract them. I have had to set boundaries with Fairy and she is getting on board as long as I let her lie on some paperwork nearby!
Mostly the cats are good while I am on calls. I say mostly because if it’s near feeding time that can go very wrong. I have had to deal with barfing, fighting, meowing, household items being knocked over or broken, running across my computer keyboard, well you get it, right? The list goes on and on!
Luckily I don’t have too many zoom calls or meetings but I have had to lock myself in the office on more than one occasion. Wait you say? You have an office? I do! But I find having a workspace that includes my entire home is awesome! If I am stuck inside then I want to make the most of my environment. I keep the house tidy and depending on my mood and what i have to do, I can pick and choose where I want to work. I am writing this blog from my living room where I can watch the neighbors go by. It’s the next best thing to working at a Starbucks which I do love but it is not something I am doing right meow!
All in all I have found that working from home is great and I love it more each day. I am doing what I can do to get more work that I can do from home before the winter hits. I am also developing products. And my t-shirt shop is up and running! https://teespring.com/stores/furball-fables Hey did you wonder what I did pre Covid? I am the Cat Nanny in my hood with almost a 100 clients. But as soon as Covid hit my business tanked. I miss all my cat friends who are now home with their own humans. I do some personal assistant work remotely with several YouTube channels so that has been fun!
It’s hard to say what the future will hold for all of us in these uncertain times. I am going to do my very best to stay pawsitive and put some joy into the world, all from the comfort of my bed in my cat pj’s! My cat Merlin is here and in my face right meow. It’s snack time he is reminding me, get off the iPad and feed us snacks now! Yours Truly! Chase the Human!
