I will never complain about not having time to write ever again.
See, it never was about that, though I do admit I tend to overschedule myself professionally. This Distance Learning thing--I don't know if it's more work, or less, or the same amount, but I do know that the nine-to-five (or in the case of most teachers, something closer to eight-to-four) work schedule has been completely obliterated. Not only that, but even the concept of "weekdays" and "weekends" is beginning to dissolve. I am still prepping for a Monday lesson and have been so doing for four hours now on a Sunday. The lesson will take ninety minutes. From an efficiency standpoint, that's pretty bad--something like three times as much prep work as actual execution. But it's what's required if I want to do a good job.
Still, I'm working from home, so I don't lose any time in transit to and from school. I can take a break pretty much any time I want for as long as I want. I can do my planning while watching TV (I'm watching St. Elsewhere, of all things, nowadays). And I can pet my dogs whenever they look at me with that longing only a dog can muster.
All of that, I submit, is a nightmare. We need the mild tyranny of the workspace, I contend. My poor students, most of whom are highly disciplined and skilled youngsters, are struggling with the idea of stay-at-home school. All of the convenience of distance learning is conspiring to make the experience far less convenient.
And that's where my personal writing comes in.
My usual routine, before the Coronavirus changed all of our routines, was to finish school and school-related work and then to go to the gym for a bit, then retreat to the local coffee shop to write for an hour. I'd usually be able to make it home at or around 6:00, in time to make dinner for the family (sometimes my daughter will have made dinner already. My wife, blessed though she is in many ways including a goddess-like body that refuses to age, has not found the culinary endeavors to her liking nor has she developed particularly strong skills in food preparation). Yes, it's true that on many days, I had a school meeting of one form or another, necessitating a change in my routine, but by and large, that's what I did.
One would think, therefore, being released from the inflexibility of a strict schedule, I would have increased my writing output. But I find myself lacking in the self-discipline to maintain a writing routine in the absence of outside factors.
In short, I'm lazy.
So I am going to finish this blog, take my laptop outside where I will not be distracted (though Rocky and Eddie often believe it is Play Ball! time when I go outside) and continue to write.
I hope if you are yourself quarantined by the Coronavirus pandemic, you can find your own way to fulfillment despite the lure of laziness.
Be seeing you!
See, it never was about that, though I do admit I tend to overschedule myself professionally. This Distance Learning thing--I don't know if it's more work, or less, or the same amount, but I do know that the nine-to-five (or in the case of most teachers, something closer to eight-to-four) work schedule has been completely obliterated. Not only that, but even the concept of "weekdays" and "weekends" is beginning to dissolve. I am still prepping for a Monday lesson and have been so doing for four hours now on a Sunday. The lesson will take ninety minutes. From an efficiency standpoint, that's pretty bad--something like three times as much prep work as actual execution. But it's what's required if I want to do a good job.
Still, I'm working from home, so I don't lose any time in transit to and from school. I can take a break pretty much any time I want for as long as I want. I can do my planning while watching TV (I'm watching St. Elsewhere, of all things, nowadays). And I can pet my dogs whenever they look at me with that longing only a dog can muster.
All of that, I submit, is a nightmare. We need the mild tyranny of the workspace, I contend. My poor students, most of whom are highly disciplined and skilled youngsters, are struggling with the idea of stay-at-home school. All of the convenience of distance learning is conspiring to make the experience far less convenient.
And that's where my personal writing comes in.
My usual routine, before the Coronavirus changed all of our routines, was to finish school and school-related work and then to go to the gym for a bit, then retreat to the local coffee shop to write for an hour. I'd usually be able to make it home at or around 6:00, in time to make dinner for the family (sometimes my daughter will have made dinner already. My wife, blessed though she is in many ways including a goddess-like body that refuses to age, has not found the culinary endeavors to her liking nor has she developed particularly strong skills in food preparation). Yes, it's true that on many days, I had a school meeting of one form or another, necessitating a change in my routine, but by and large, that's what I did.
One would think, therefore, being released from the inflexibility of a strict schedule, I would have increased my writing output. But I find myself lacking in the self-discipline to maintain a writing routine in the absence of outside factors.
In short, I'm lazy.
So I am going to finish this blog, take my laptop outside where I will not be distracted (though Rocky and Eddie often believe it is Play Ball! time when I go outside) and continue to write.
I hope if you are yourself quarantined by the Coronavirus pandemic, you can find your own way to fulfillment despite the lure of laziness.
Be seeing you!
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