Submitted on Mon 02 May 2022
In this instalment of our Tales of Untethered series, Anna Maria, the second best thing to come out of Wigan (the first being The Verve – in case you didn’t get the reference in the title), talks about some of the highs and lows of being untethered.
"You might say I’m a chatterbox. Most people do. I was worried that working from home would inhibit my need to chatter. But #untetheredlife has massively improved my work, my home life and my health. Its been a godsend now I have two awesome daughters and it hasn’t really hurt the chatterbox part of me either.
I’ve always been a morning person (my nickname is Sprite) and I feel my most energized, alert and full of ideas when I first wake Up! Being untethered is fantastic as it allows me to start my day as soon as I am ready instead of waiting for the rest of the world to catch up!
On my tethered days, when I need to go to the office but still get to start whenever I like, I saunter to my local Pilates class just as the sun rises. After the class I have time to stay for a chat with the instructor and the other mums and don't have to worry about frantically rushing back home to get the train or choose an outfit for work (I love clothes and have a lot so sometimes this can take up time!!)
And the best bit? Even with all of this, untethered allows me to take my oldest daughter to school every morning (she started back in Feb) and to pick her up. I also get to go to her swimming lessons after school. This has really helped with any school anxiety (from her and from me) and has allowed me to be present through these beautiful early days of school, all without impacting my working day.
Working in recruitment most of my day means interviewing candidates, so it is helpful to be able to chat to candidates before they actually get into the office too - (it can be very hard and annoying for people trying to have secret conversations when they are in work). The feedback I’ve had from candidates is that they like this too.
On my untethered days, when I work from home, my typical day looks like this
- 5:30 get up
- Meditate
- 6:00am Pilates’s
- 7 – 9 – start my working day, get a few interviews done.
- 9 – take my oldest daughter to school and youngest to daycare
- 9-2pm - crank out the interviews! (A few healthy snack breaks in between! - I do find that an unexpected downside to being untethered is that I eat lots more as my home office is a lot closer to the fridge!
- 2-3 take a break, step away from the screen - get some fresh air
- 3 – 4 school pick up and swimming classes on some days
- 3-5 catch up with clients
- 5pm walk down the road to pick up my other daughter from day care – have time to chill out and relax en route instead of battling it out on the train for a seat! Arriving happy and ready for toddler and teacher chat
As I am a parent of 2, it is super helpful to be untethered for all the kids activities and events too. I find that working at my own pace in my own space reduces my stress levels which is obviously a bonus for parenthood.
The main upside to working untethered is that I find that I am super productive, I don’t get distracted by my inherent chatterbox tendencies to chat and gossip or distract others!
I’m a people person. I love being in an office and absolutely love nothing more than chatting and cackling with my colleagues! (Especially now as a Mum of 2 I get out less, so like to maximise and live vicariously through the gossip of others!) When TRC first rolled out the concept of untethered I was vocally sceptical. I thought I would miss the social aspects of recruitment. However its been handled well so I now get all the benefits of flexibility without losing the social aspects I love about recruitment.
In conclusion, untethered is great as it allows me to work to maximise my own natural energy and rhythm and to do the most work when my energy is high and I am feeling the most productive!
And best of all? I might be a million different people, one day to the next, but I still get to be a chatterbox 3 days a week."
Check out the rest of this series here
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