This morning’s commute was the craziest I have had in a long time! I rolled out of bed, got ready for the day, and promptly plopped down in my office chair - exactly one-foot from my bed; crazy, right? If that isn’t enough to drive anyone mad, the commute to class was even worse! I turned off my work laptop and turned on my personal laptop – all without even switching seats! Forget about the hassle of typing in my username and waiting a second for my class to load; all that time I spend in transitions these days, I tell you!
I live in a world of moving from one thing to the next, especially in the age of staying home more often. While there is plenty to joke about and admire how much time I seem to save, there is quite a balancing act required. Many years ago when I was a community college student that dreaded online courses, I worked, went to school, and lived in different places. Each offered a chance to switch mindsets and reasons for being in that place and time. Today is different. Where brick and mortar would usually set the frame for mindset, a visual screen must try to set tones and placement.
It certainly has been a learning curve trying to do everything from home during this pandemic, and perhaps will be more challenging if I remain home on a permanent basis for work. But there are some things that I have learned along the way that I have found useful - rules that I created for myself, and of course, wiggle room when the day calls for it. These rules have helped me and I hope they will do the same for you: