Life is so different right now, and frankly, I believe it will be different from now on. Steven, my husband, is now working from home because of COVID-19. We are usually fine being together in the house, but there is a dilemma.

Our current problem is finding a new space at home for me to work. I am extremely creative, and I own and operate my own business. I have different spaces in our house that I do various aspects of my work; sewing and building in one room, office in another. Those spaces are separate from our living spaces to limit work and living from bleeding into one another.

Now that Steven is home, he has to plug directly into the internet cable to do his job, so I had to surrender my office space to him. We tried working in the same room, but that did not last because both of our jobs require that we talk on the phone. Even though we have headsets, our clients could still hear both conversations. I ended up moving my desk and computer to the living room within the first 2 hours of him working from home. It was a good solution because we believed it would only be for a few weeks.

This is now a few weeks later, and we are all still “safe at home.” Not only that, but Steven’s company is quite pleased with the results of having their employees working from home, so let’s just say I won’t be getting my office space back even after the world opens up again.

Steven and I agree it has become a bit too much having my office space in the living room, especially since I am having to record myself on video using backdrops, puppets, and props. In addition to the usual paperwork and email communication I do daily, there are books for research and other miscellaneous items I need to do my job. Therefore our living room is becoming smaller and smaller and is far from being a good space to relax. I am reassessing our home space and deciding where to relocate my office. I have a sewing and project room here in the house (necessary for my work as well); I continually look at that space, wondering how to consolidate what is in there to add a desk and backdrops into the area. Frankly, I have no idea how it will fit.

I only know that I need to make my living room a place where Steven and I can both leave work and relax. This is a considerable challenge.

What challenges are you facing with the forced changes in your life?