How often do we ‘make do’ without even realising that is what we are doing?
I have had my home office space in a downstairs area for several years now. It was never ideal but was a compromise needed for the circumstances at the time. I’ve often berated myself (inner critic at work) for being disorganised with my filing, books and paperwork, when in fact having one corner of a multi purpose room is not conducive to running a small business and my consistent development needs.
In addition, I have not had a permanent internet cable so have relied on limited quality connectivity making quick and simple tasks much more difficult to achieve when the networks or Wi-Fi is busy.
The additional working from home and virtual therapy forced through COVID-19 has served as a catalyst for change. We have converted a small bedroom upstairs to my new office and I’m so excited to have a proper space all to myself.
It also makes online therapy so much more accessible, both for timings and a more guaranteed quality connection, and I will be taking advantage of this by offering people more flexibility and access options, and joining up with some innovative and exciting platforms.
But, the interesting aspect is that it is only as this has started to become a reality, that I’ve recognised the compromises I have been making and the added difficulty of working in the space I have had. To be honest, I even had some resistance to changing it (the pull of the familiar….those old behavioural patterns). Now, I cannot believe how well I have managed and can see how my ‘disorganisation’ was due to a lack of space. Though I do admit I can be cluttered, usually trying to do and read too many things at once.
Reflections…..
So, where are you ‘making do’ and are their other options reasonably easily available to you that could improve your quality of life and ease your stress levels?
Have you become too used to ‘making do’ and feeling that prioritising your own needs is not important, valid or relevant?
Is there a small thing that you could change in the near future (or even today!) which would make a big difference?
Flow Clinical Psychology 