Years before she moved into her Victorian home in Peckham, BBC Radio producer Smita Patel had stood staring outside the house in admiration and considered putting a note through the door, asking if the owners would sell it to her. When it appeared on to the market in 2012, she made an offer without seeing inside – a gamble that has landed her the house of her dreams. Here, she reflects on what home means to her, from a place to slow down and switch off, to a way to connect to food, friends and her passion for flea market finds.“I’ve worked at BBC Radio for nearly 30 years, making documentaries for Radio 4 and the World Service. It can be an intense, stressful job with normally a lot of travel. I also work in a very big, open-plan office, so, wherever I’ve lived, home for me has always been a place to shut the door to the outside world. “I need it to be very calm, serene and clutter-free, the latter being the most important, perhaps. I work in a very messy office (nothing like The Modern House’s office!) so home is a way of de-stressing and relaxing after being in that environment all day. “My work involves being on the phone all day, trying to persuade people to give me interviews. At home, I don’t ever call people. If I want to talk to somebody, I invite them over or I meet them somewhere. Home is a place which I need to be quiet.
“It’s just how I like it – it means there’s a cut off to the day. During the lockdown, I found it quite hard working at home, not only because it can be difficult to switch off, but also because I’m a sociable person and missed the interactions at the office and having friends over. “I think we’ve probably all ended up working longer hours because there isn’t a cut off anymore, but it’s less stressful because we don’t have to commute and you can pop into the garden for 10 minutes, or take a walk if you need to. “I was talking to a psychologist recently about how to work from home and she said the key thing is to shut off all your devices and put them away in a cupboard when you’re done for the day so you don’t see them. So, now when I finish at 7pm I put my computer away in a box because, that way, I can try to forget about work. “She also said it’s key to pick one place to work from, and don’t move around. Because we all have laptops now, it’s tempting to move around the house, but it’s better for you mentally if you don’t let your work spill over into all areas of your home. I work at my dining room table and keep it to that. “I grew up in a very cluttered house in which my mum used every surface for knickknacks; there were swirly-patterned carpets and Artex on the walls. All the original features were taken out, and plastic was put in.
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发表于 2020-10-14 22:08:34
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