If your experience is anything like mine, your professional and personal lives have little separation. What routines, arrangements, or rules have you developed to help maintain some balance?
I'll go first: Recently I have started keeping a log of when I check email and social media. In the past I have tried to create limits but I often went over the allotted time. Now instead of fighting it, I am monitoring my online interactions to first understand when I engage with this communication tools. Maybe it will lead to routines that work better with my natural habits and create some separation.
A combination of living alone and not being on the road for a prolonged period with deadlines looming large has come with its own challenges. My computer is always open and I tend to be sitting in front of it much of the time if I'm not doing a digital session. Worried at the number of hours I'm spending at the keyboard (and thus social media and email), I started going for a long drive every morning before the sun comes up. It's my way of getting out of my house to enjoy the beauty of the world that's still out there, just waiting for us to notice it again. I love the quiet with at this time of day, driving along to my favorites like Steve Wonder, Marvin Gaye and smooth jazz to keep me company. It's a small thing but I've really come to look forward to it! I also set times in the day for professional reading and always away from the computer!
Smart idea, Mary - finding refuge in a long drive to start the day. I read that Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, drives to a local cemetery to write and draw. He appreciates the silence. That would be a bit unsettling for me, though; I prefer your approach.
I am homeschooling my two kids and trying to do distance learning for my 26 students. At first, I found it was absolutely overwhelming because I never turned off. I was teaching 24/7, which wasn't good for me or my kids. So, I started turning off my computer and spending a little time with each of my kids each week. It's usually just 2-3 hours with each one, once a week, but it is really helping. They are more steady through this difficult time and I am actually more productive because I connect with them, and that frees my creativity.
I'll go first: Recently I have started keeping a log of when I check email and social media. In the past I have tried to create limits but I often went over the allotted time. Now instead of fighting it, I am monitoring my online interactions to first understand when I engage with this communication tools. Maybe it will lead to routines that work better with my natural habits and create some separation.
Great idea Matt. I really need to work on that!
A combination of living alone and not being on the road for a prolonged period with deadlines looming large has come with its own challenges. My computer is always open and I tend to be sitting in front of it much of the time if I'm not doing a digital session. Worried at the number of hours I'm spending at the keyboard (and thus social media and email), I started going for a long drive every morning before the sun comes up. It's my way of getting out of my house to enjoy the beauty of the world that's still out there, just waiting for us to notice it again. I love the quiet with at this time of day, driving along to my favorites like Steve Wonder, Marvin Gaye and smooth jazz to keep me company. It's a small thing but I've really come to look forward to it! I also set times in the day for professional reading and always away from the computer!
Smart idea, Mary - finding refuge in a long drive to start the day. I read that Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, drives to a local cemetery to write and draw. He appreciates the silence. That would be a bit unsettling for me, though; I prefer your approach.
Me too!
I am homeschooling my two kids and trying to do distance learning for my 26 students. At first, I found it was absolutely overwhelming because I never turned off. I was teaching 24/7, which wasn't good for me or my kids. So, I started turning off my computer and spending a little time with each of my kids each week. It's usually just 2-3 hours with each one, once a week, but it is really helping. They are more steady through this difficult time and I am actually more productive because I connect with them, and that frees my creativity.