Work from home, they said. It’ll be fun, they said

You know, working from home isn’t turning out to be as much fun as I thought it would be.

Usually, I’m up at 6.30am, out the door two hours later to drop my wife, Kim, at work and then battle through morning rush-hour traffic to the office.

On the way, I listen to the radio to check which of our stories have been stolen – it happens a lot more than you would believe – and then grabbing breakfast at our canteen before settling at my desk.

Now, I wake up in a cold sweat after a recurring nightmare in which there is no more news. We’ve covered the damn virus from every angle and covered some old angles twice with fresh comment – and there’s nothing new to report on.

I then take 12 steps to the kitchen for coffee – with a quick glance at my fish tank to see if my three fish are still the right way up – and another 10 steps to my desk before I start hunting for stories.

The result of the rest of my day, and the team’s, is currently in your hands as we finally signing off the final edition at about 9pm – as well as in the sink because the deal is Kim cooks and I do the dishes.

Paper plates are an underrated luxury in this regard.

Fortunately, both my wife and I work in essential services, so I still take her to work, which helps to prevent me going completely insane.

The downside is the trip reminds me there is a world outside of my bubble and I caught myself sitting in my car at our flat last weekend really, really not wanting to go back inside our home.

Common sense prevailed after an hour or so and I spent the rest of the day in my office again, rearranging it, painting the homemade desk I built from an old door, and deep-cleaning it.

Of course, now it feels wrong and the lighting is wrong and my back is to the door, which has left me with a crick in my neck from glancing over my shoulder.

So guess what I will be doing today … I’m lucky my job allows me to completely immerse myself in something I enjoy immensely, which swallows up my day.

I also would never have thought making sure the lighting was correct so I could take part in video meetings without looking like I had a bad spray tan would ever be part of my CV.

Right now, however, the paper is demanding my attention again because, despite my nightmares, one thing is guaranteed – it’s going to be a few months before this news cycle stops.

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