Two weeks ago, I started a new full-time remote job. Anytime you start a new position, there are changes to your natural rhythms. Maybe you need to wake up at a new hour, maybe your work attire has to shift, maybe your days of standing turn to hours of sitting. Long story short, there are adjustments that need to be made. And those adjustments take time to get used to.
For me, who was already used to working from home, the shift to remote work was fairly easy. The most frustrating part is having to learn how to use a Mac. When you’ve been a PC girl for as long as I have, a Mac feels like a foreign language. But, I’m getting the hang of it. Sort of.
The most challenging part of this new job is honestly the hourly structure. Having set hours is new for me. In my past job, I did the work whenever I wanted. Some days I’d start at 4 am, others at 11 am, and just keep at it until the tasks were done.
This job? I clock in at 8:30 and clock out at 5:00. Time cards are a whole new world to me. Ha. Knowing that I have set hours means I now have a much smaller window in which to write since my brain feels like toast after 4:00 on a good day.
Starting at 8:30 means that I can sync to my existing sleep and waking rhythms: This new work schedule means that:
1. I don’t have to set an alarm. I can wake naturally which has been great for my sleep patterns.
2. I can still enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee before my kids wake up.
3. I can still do my morning yoga without feeling rushed.
4. After breakfast/showering, I still have an hour to get writing or editing done. That might not seem like a lot, but if it is focused and intentional time, you’d be amazed what you can get done.
After dinner, I can tackle any writing administrative tasks that need attending or things I wasn’t able to tackle before work. The weekends have now become the time when I do the heavy lifting of my marketing and planning prep. That might include writing out blog posts or newsletters, recording videos, that I would have normally done on the day they were due, but now have to create that content in batches so that I can keep my plans on schedule. (And you know how much I love a schedule.)
My marketing meetings with my team will still happen (they were gracious enough to change their schedules to meet mine,) the Bound By Books Podcast will still go on, my TikToks will still be posted, I’ll carry on delivering a short story every month to my newsletter subscribers, and, of course, I will continue my writing. I have no plans to stop any of that momentum.
I made it a point to be strategic with my writing this year, knowing this change was coming. I wanted to make a release plan that would be realistic given a whole new work schedule. As of this moment in time, my next three releases for the year are still on track.
That said, things may shift as I settle into a new work/life balance, but that’s what life is. Changing to meet the ever-changing tide. Kind of like we’ve all done the last few years!
Until next time, friends!
Danielle Bannister, Author 
I’m exhausted reading this!
Ha. Me too!