kevinsuner

I work from home and live in a not so tiny apartment, it has sufficient space to allow me to have a dedicated office space, in which I spend roughly 8 to 10 hours working for company X, and another 2 to 3 hours working on my own projects, totaling 10 to 13 hours per day. This configuration seemed reasonable to me, I thought that after finishing my obligations, I could go for a walk, or do some other activity and comeback to work on my own ideas, and I wouldn't be affected by the fact that I've already been in that room for many hours, I was naive.

It has had notable effects on my mental health, some of which include feeling physical pain when turning on my work laptop, or my personal computer, hearing the sound of a Microsoft Teams notification when the laptop is turned off, and an obnoxious neck pain shortly after sitting in my chair.

To get out of this pit I bought a laptop, since I didn't have one, and has been my “sanctuary” since then, as it allows me to work on my ideas from anywhere, be it the couch, my kitchen table or a coffee shop that is close by, providing an almost immediate improvement to my health, which I'm grateful for.

I undervalued the importance of having a clear separation, and paid the price, lesson learnt. Now I have to change things up in my office, because at the moment I don't feel right physically and mentally while I'm there.