Many people assume that working from home is absolute bliss. Make your own schedule. Work in your underwear. Talk to yourself without being labelled the office weirdo.
But most people who assume this have probably never actually worked from home. It can be difficult to get started. It can be difficult to stay motivated when it’s so easy to indulge in the comforts of your own house. A workplace is more stressful, yes, but stress doesn’t always have to be a bad thing.
Stress is, if you’ll come with me on a brief adventure into metaphor, a bit like wind.
Wind is caused by changes in pressure. It’s invisible, but its effects are visible. Wind is visible in the swaying branch, the rippled pond, the tears it brings out of your eyes. But wind is also an energy source. It can be harnessed to create electricity, or to propel boats. It can destroy us or uplift us.
Similarly, stress is caused by changes in pressure. It’s invisible, but its effects are visible. Stress is visible in the bitten nails, the bloodshot eyes, the food you shouldn’t have allowed yourself to eat. But stress is also an energy source. It can be harnessed to create momentum, or to propel you towards a goal. It can destroy us or help us reach our potential.
Just to clarify, I’m not saying stress is something worth seeking out. If your workplace is low-stress, that’s amazing. But whether you work in your home, an office, or in the circus, you’re going to feel buffeted by stress from time to time. Go with it. It might just be possible to adjust your sails and ride it to wherever you need to go.
Jamison Isaak’s music is virtually a guaranteed antidote to stress. For almost a decade, he has been making music that is both ambient and melodic; structured and free-flowing. His 2018 release, his first under his own name, is gorgeous, simple, and supremely relaxing. Stress doesn’t stand a chance.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. The synth that serves as a backdrop, like a steady spring breeze that you barely notice, but that makes everything feel fresh.
2. As the song approaches the end of its first minute, chords appear underneath the melody that, for me at least, changed my perception of where the melody’s downbeat was. Like the chilly gust of air that wakes you up when you open the door for the first time after a long sleep-in.
3. Isaak was working from home when he made it. He told me: “One of the few downsides to working in a home studio is that you can layer and layer sounds on top of each other into infinity, so it can be really difficult to exercise restraint. This was my attempt to try and make something a bit more restrained.”
Recommended listening activity:
Drinking tea out of a mug you “borrowed” from work.