The global pandemic has thrust everyone into some pretty bizarre and unexpected life situations. Whilst working remotely from home has become the new norm, not everyone’s home workstation is ideal. 

I won’t bore you with the backstory, but my current work from home setup is in a tipi with my black Labrador, Inca. I’ll be honest… It’s not quite as idyllic as it sounds. Of course, it could be a LOT worse, but I often just sit and laugh at myself as I try to develop my freelance writing career from a tent.

First of all, I should clarify that it isn’t the strongest of tipis. Gale force winds have made things interesting. I’ve had to take it down, fix rips and reposition it THREE times so far. Just slightly time consuming... I finally discovered that heavy bricks are the solution for keeping pegs in the ground. It took the tipi almost blowing away with me in it for me to action on this. The wind also freaks Inca out so much that she refuses to be anywhere but on my lap (she’s very heavy)

On sunnier days, the heat wakes me up in a dazed sweat at 6:30am. I’m not a morning person, so I guess it’s doing me a favour…

As you can probably imagine, it’s not exactly easy to focus under these conditions.

But this isn’t at all intended as a sob story.

I’m extremely fortunate to be surrounded by birdsong as I work, for example. Although the Wi-Fi connection is temperamental, I’ve taken to hand writing ideas, which I find actually reduces distraction and boosts creativity. When I really need Wi-Fi, I march around the garden, waving my laptop in the air - which I’m sure the neighbours find amusing!

I never expected my home workstation to be…well, basically outdoors. But I know that other freelancers are faced with completely different unforeseen and challenging circumstances. 

Everyone is having to adapt. Work and home life have become more tangled than ever, and juggling the two isn’t easy in any case. In this very peculiar time, the best advice I can offer is to seek out gratitude, humour and inspiration from the quirks of everyday life.