Thursday Thoughts: July 24, 2025 – After Work Routine

I’m lucky that my job isn’t physically taxing.  As a receptionist, the hardest part of my job is not hanging up on angry superintendents.  Fortunately for them, my mother raised me better than that, although it is tempting at times.

However, it still can be stressful.  I work for a construction company and since it’s a family business, the office part of the company is a small affair.  There are only six of us running everything, where other similar contractors have double or triple the staff.  What this means is that a lot of ‘little things’ end up on my desk or become my responsibility.  Things that aren’t time consuming but are still one more thing for me to do.  Also, over the years, I’ve acquired more responsibilities as the dynamic in the office has changed.  In a nutshell, I’m a receptionist, an accountant, a project assistant, the entire human resources department, and sometimes, an IT specialist (which is a joke if I ever heard one, but hey, I try).  Wearing so many hats can take its toll.

Because of this, there are days when four o’clock cannot come fast enough.  But I know we’ve all been there a time or two.  This is why my after-work routine is so important to me.

The first thing I do when I get home is take off my shoes and refill my water bottle.  That is, if the cats let me.  More often than not, I’m getting screamed at by a tiny orange critter with no access to a braincell because he’s starving.  I mean, how could I possibly let him go three hours without eating?  The nerve.

Obviously, the next thing I do is feed the cats.  Since Gideon was diagnosed as chonky last year, they’re no longer allowed to free feed.  There’s always one, right, who ruins it for everyone else?  Good thing he’s legitimately the sweetest, most loving animal you’ll ever encounter.  Even if his sister-in-fur, Violet, will forever hold a grudge.

Once the cats are happily munching, I change clothes so that I can get comfortable.  Sometimes, if I’ve had a rough day, just staying in my work clothes stresses me out.  It’s almost like there’s a connection between the clothes and the experiences of the day.  Therefore, if I get into my loungewear or into my pajamas, I’m a new person.  It makes no sense, but then, neither do I a lot of the time.

Freshly changed, I grab a snack.  One of my favorites is the white cheddar corn puffs from Trader Joe’s.  Other times, it’ll be fruit or crackers.  I take my snack and my water, and I get comfy on the couch.  That hour between when I get home and when I have to start dinner is the most valuable hour of my day.  It’s when I can sit down, relax, and not think about anything if I don’t want to.

Generally speaking, I spend that hour reading.  Sometimes, I’ll put on some music, other times, I need the quiet to calm my nerves.  On the really bad days, I’ll turn on the TV and watch something low-stress and low-focus, like Chopped or Cook’s Country.  I’m soon joined by at least one cat, often several.  And having them with me, purring or chittering at the birds and lizards in the yard, is one of the best parts of my day.  Until they all start battling for the best perch and a fight breaks out.  Cats, what can you do?

Before I know it, my child appears to pick what she wants for dinner from the handful of recipes I chose the previous Saturday.  This is the deal we made – I choose the meals for the week; she gets to choose dinner that night.  It works out for us.

Sometimes, an hour isn’t enough time, but it’s what I get, so I embrace it as best I can.  It is amazing though how much good can come of that one hour.  I can read a couple of chapters of a book, or I can get hooked on a new show.  My cats will cuddle with me, walk on me, and cause chaos.  And I always get to have a chat with my kid, which is one of the biggest perks.

How do you decompress after a long day?  Especially if you work from home, I’d love to hear how you separate your work-self from your home-self when they’re both so closely intertwined.  I’m excited to hear your routines and maybe even find some new tricks for myself.