Home Life

 

I hate working from home.  I said it.  I hate it.

I'm a compartmentalizer.  Teaching is the sort of profession that can reach into all aspects of your life.  There is always something that can be improved, another paper to grade, another student that could use some quick encouragement.

Pre-pandemic, I did my work at work.  My kids had daycare from 7:45-5:30.  I came with my packed lunch, sat and my desk and had all my meetings during those times.  When I got home, I bathed kids, put them to bed, watched some Netflix and went to sleep.  Weekends were family time.  I limited my email checking for work to one time a day. 

I still use the office now, and luckily, my kids still have daycare.  They didn't for the first five months from home, and the advice from most WFH experts was comical.  My days had no structure.  I graded essays in three minute increments.

Now, I work from a desk at home, looking at the kids' toys that need sorting, the dishes that need washing and the laundry piling up.

And here is my advice that I maybe should take myself:

1. Time block.  Commit to working for a certain amount of time and then taking a break to do whatever (usually laundry).  

2.  Pick a time to end the workday and then be done.  My kids get picked up from school at 3:00 and that is when my day ends.  Sometimes that means picking up again after bedtime.

3.  Don't let home become work.  Try to take work calls, check work email, grade, etc at my desk.  That way, the desk is work, and the rest is home.

4.  Go outside sometimes.

Other compartmentalizers out there, I feel for you.  Working from home isn't always a paradise.  Good luck in there.