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‘Isolate and annihilate’ what causes you stress
As someone who loves working around the clock, Katerina Peiros figured out how to make Melbourne’s extended lockdown work for her.
Jerome Doraisamy
By her own admission, Hartwell Legal lawyer Ms Peiros doesn’t really have a separation between her work life and other facets of her existence, in ways that other practitioners might. But, as someone who loves working from home, and whose hobbies have largely been compatible with Melbourne’s lockdown, Ms Peiros has found that she has thrived during the age of coronavirus.
“I, also, usually work most weekends, so nothing new there. If anything, I’ve become more efficient, i.e. no need to commute, no need to be work dressed, etc. If I’ve forgotten to do something, my ‘office’ is three seconds away!”
Ms Peiros’ strategy, she explained, is to have more than one dimension to her life. This, she mused, “has happened organically rather than by design” for her.
“Dogs and dog rescue are such a huge part of my life. There is never a dull moment and there is continuous and ever renewing fulfillment and reward from every dog glance, every dog you’ve rehabilitated, every dog who got placed with a beautiful family after having a bad start in life, and so on. Every update I receive about my former foster dogs in the new life is overwhelming and makes me very happy,” she detailed.
“Even during the lockdown, I have met lots of new people both through the rescue and at the dog park, and professionally. I attend lots of professional seminars and sit on a committee, so I haven’t had a single second to feel lonely or isolated.”
She has also “really enjoyed” having lunch with her partner everyday, she continued.
“It’s just the two of us in the house, we sit down and have a conversation. I have found this to be more meaningful to me rather than lunch in the office with regular polite conversations around the coffee machine or the even more standard 10 people staring into their phones in the lunch rooms and discussing Facebook feeds,” she said.
Others can take lessons, Ms Peiros highlighted, from her experience. “Bond with your partner! Bond with your pet!”
“Work out what is really stressful in your work life and try to isolate it and annihilate it,” she proclaimed.
“Through WFH, I was able to work out what gave me the most anxiety in my work life. It wasn’t the deadlines, the volume, the colleagues, the aggressive opponents, it was a simple small thing I, myself, did every single day that caused me endless anxiety and frustration. Having identified it, I have made changes and hope to never go back to the stress I experienced for years.
“WFH has also put more hours back into my day. I can hang up the washing while talking to a client or prepare dinner while listening to a seminar. There are lots of positives which can be capitalised on during forced WFH and which can be carried through into the future.”
This is not to say, of course, that Ms Peiros has not had to endure frustrations similar to other Melburnians this year, in the form of cancelled holidays and not seeing friends and family as much as one would like.
“Having said that, there are very clear times when I do something else other than work – I walk my dogs every single day, I talk to them and hug them many times a day. This takes my mind completely off work. In fact, it is one of the best anxiety or stress reducing strategies I know!” she added.
“I also have a very active 2.5-year-old human child, who takes all the oxygen out of the atmosphere when she is nearby. That also gets my mind off work.
“Like everyone else, I tried developing new hobbies during lockdown, like doing jigsaw puzzles, gardening and cleaning! I even bought myself a paint with diamonds kit, thinking I would have all this extra time! I did a bit of that for a short time, but then went back to my old habits – work, dogs, child, etc. I think if my work wasn’t so 2.5-year-old busy during lockdown, I would have enjoyed really getting into these new hobbies (which I have been saving for my retirement!).”
Overall, however, she acknowledged that she has been “one of the very fortunate people” during the lockdown endured in Victoria, which has helped her thrive in this time.
“I don’t live alone, I live with someone I like a lot, and I haven’t lost most of my routine or any of my hobbies. I have also been extremely busy with work and haven’t had the frustration of setting up new WFH technology or processes,” Ms Peiros concluded.
“I’m very grateful for how lucky I’ve been throughout this year.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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