Working From Home: Gaining Traction

 

I took a walk one day last summer and stumbled upon a house sale where I found and purchased this desk. A lucky find, it turns out. (My motto: You can never have too many desks.)

I’ve been home from work since February 26th, when I had my shoulder surgery. At the time, I expected to be out on medical leave for about six weeks, then head back to campus. Then things went kablooey. The college sent students home before Spring Break in March, then went to essential staffing only. And that’s where we sit two months later.

As of April 22nd, I was released from medical leave and headed “back to work.” Well, back to work at home. I know I’m lucky. The husband is at work, the dogs sleep like cats, and the cats are…well…cats. I have a good computer and multiple desks. And, you know, a few pens, and enough notebooks to scrape by (hahahaha!). Working from home is kind of nice (very few distractions…ah, peace) but also weird (very few distractions…maybe it’s a little TOO quiet).

No wait. I’m wrong. There are distractions at home. They’re just different. Because of the medical leave, I got used to having very unstructured time at home. I fell back into the “stay up late/take my time getting up” habits of old. Gone was my well-honed early morning routine—coffee, journal, stretch, shower, dress, breakfast, drink 20 ounces of water, drive to work. I did most of those things but in a very loose lackadaisical way. When the mood hit, and my shoulder cooperated, I tackled some much-needed decluttering and dusting—chores that are never really done. The “craft room”—which honestly could use a match tossed into it—is still a disaster that needs fixing. I took Flapjack, our youngest dog, for long walks in the afternoon. The pantry and refrigerator became a perpetual draw for both procrastination and reward.

So I must admit that when the back-to-work switch flipped on, I floundered. I was still at home, but now I needed to get back on track. I needed to shift into work mode without leaving the house and all of those ever-present personal projects and snack options. I needed to—well, wanted to—regain the ground I’d lost with my morning routine and well-structured work habits. There is no shortage of work. Our department brainstormed a laundry list of back-burnered projects that we could finally tackle remotely. But it’s so strange to not do what you’ve done for 40+ years—drive to work, do your work, drive home from work. Suddenly work and home are in the same place, the lines are all blurred, and I’m having trouble remembering what day it is. Time is both long and short. Plus there’s that Covid-19 anxiety always lurking in the background—mostly for my dad, who’s in a nursing home.

What’s a formerly well-organized and diligent worker to do? How do I regain my footing?

One answer came from a recent William Hannah Instagram post that I blatantly stole. (Pretty sure that I admitted this to them when I commented on their post.)

I took their lead and charted out a very basic blueprint for my work days. Have I followed it to the letter? Well…no. But I like that I have this as a “north star”—something to glance at when I start drifting off course. The colors make me go “ahhhhhh” and the basic outline helps me regain my focus at a glance. (And isn’t that Levenger Vivacious Cross Dot paper the best? I’ll never understand why they discontinued it but I’m happy I had the foresight to load up on Circa refills and freeleaf notepads when they were on clearance.)

A tabbed junior Circa notebook (Levenger) continues to serve as the place where I collect my action, waiting, and maybe/someday lists for the main categories of my life—work, personal, parents, pens, Newsline (a professional publication that I edit). This notebook sits at hand as I process email and is a faithful companion for capturing anything that pops into my head. Sometimes I get lax about WRITING THINGS DOWN and this is always a mistake. This notebook continues to help me parse out the tasks and ideas that constantly run through my head.

Write Notepad’s Weekly Planner has been a lifesaver again. I was using it at work, then fell out of the habit. Who knows why. Working from home made me revive and appreciate this notebook all the more. The wide format gives me a great overview of the whole week. I use it this way:

• Work tasks at the top
• Personal tasks in the middle
• Appointments at the bottom (in a section that I created with a pencil and a ruler)
• In the official “Actions” section, I list my responsibilities and priorities, then make a check mark when I do something/anything related to that category. It’s a quick way to check in with myself to make sure that I’m spending time on the things that are important to me.

The tasks for the week are chosen from the master lists in the Circa notebook and scheduled in the Weekly Planner. I also pencil in my own checkboxes as that’s my MO. Nothing more satisfying then coloring in that tiny box. (I even write out my grocery lists this way.)

I do wish that the subtle dot grid in the “Actions” section extended throughout the whole spread, but that’s not a big deal. I’m managing fine as is.

My Hobonichi Techo has been a steady companion for the past four years and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I list my appointments here. Redundant, I know, but the Techo is the book I carry with me to appointments. The Weekly Planner isn’t handy in that way.

I also record quotes that resonant with me in my Hobonichi, and make a habit of recording a few good things from the day. These are little gems to reread and cherish when I need a mood-lifter. (I have to smile at that third bulleted item on this page from early February where I was so happy about “An actual whole evening at home.” Now we have nothing but.) Capturing things to be grateful for has always been important to me, but now these super short reflections save me. Even in this time of heightened anxiety and uncertainty there are blessings and joys. Jotting them down both for now and for later helps me to remember that—helps to calm the mental turbulence when my mind starts to flail.

Our long-neglected TV trays have become the perfect surface to stack work files, reference material, and notebooks. I work throughout the house, but make a concerted effort to clear counters and desks and tables at the end of the work day so that I can start fresh the next day. Clearing a space clears my mind.

I’m getting some good and focused work done here at home, thanks to my lists and notebooks and workday blueprint. Zoom meetings keep us connected, but boy, could I use some casual conversation, lunch with a friend, and some non-virtual hugs.

We will get there. Until then, stay healthy and at least somewhat productive. And have a little fun, too.

Note: There are no affiliate links in this post, and all items were purchased with my own funds.

Confessions Of a Hoarder: Levenger’s Circa Vivacious Refill

I had a great aunt who lived in a historic looking brownstone in the heart of Albany, NY. She was eccentric and confused— both a hermit and a hoarder. There was a narrow goat path through the middle of her living space. Well, through the middle of EVERY space. Drop an earring and it was gone forever. (My mother found this out the hard way.) The table where she sat to eat her spare meals was covered with a huge pile of papers, photographs, and letters, some dating back to the 1930’s. After she died, we carefully sorted though her papers and belongings. The process took weeks and countless trips to the dumpster.

These are not images and experiences that you can easily shake. And part of your brain wonders, “Could this happen to me?!”

While our home is generally tidy, some “collections” (pens, pencils, notebooks) continue to grow. They are collections. They are not hoarding. Or are they?!

Case in point— Levenger’s Circa Vivacious Refill, in the cross-dot pattern. I absolutely LOVE THIS PAPER, and find myself ordering, and squirreling away, a few packs every time Levenger puts them on sale or offers free shipping.

I think I’m up to eight packs, neatly stored in a desk drawer. No goat path. Yet.

A few months ago, I was having a horrible time keeping up with life— work life, home life, life life. Even though I consider myself organized, and am a pretty close follower of Dave Allen’s Getting Things Done, everything felt like it was a mess. I needed a fresh start.

I took an old Circa Junior notebook (constructed from the Circa Sampling Kit), labeled some dividers, loaded the notebook with Circa grid paper, and immediately felt better. With Circa paper, moving pages within the book is a snap. Just pull the sheet from the Circa discs and reposition it in its new location. It’s a great system.

This book is my main “capture” tool— everything goes into this book. From meeting notes, to weekly priority lists, to Action, Waiting, and Someday/Maybe lists. The system works like a dream. (From this book, I parse things out into master lists in Evernote for weekly review and updating.) I thank the Circa system for giving me back my sanity.

So things were going along fine. I was happy using the Circa grid paper I had stashed away. THEN I saw the Vivacious Cross-Dot refill. GONER!

I think I first saw the Vivacious paper in a Levenger catalog, and then had a tricky time finding it online. (The easiest way is to search for “Vivacious.”) I ordered a couple of packs. Then a couple more. Then more. And a few MORE, egged on by the fact that the paper is found in Levenger’s “outlet,” which makes me think that it’s on its way to being discontinued. Shudder.

[Field Notes Night Sky reticle vs. Levenger Vivacious cross-dot]

I fell hard for the lime-green cross-dot pattern that’s a dead-ringer for the reticle grid found in the Field Notes Night Sky edition. That edition is a favorite, particularly due to that grid, so seeing the same thing on this fantastic Levenger Circa paper was a total no-brainer.

The Vivacious Circa refill paper is 100-gsm, very substantial, and gorgeously smooth. The cross-dot pattern is found on both sides of the page, and there are spaces at the top of each page for subject and date. The fresh looking grass-green cross-dots are the icing on the paper cake.

This is superb paper— able to handle ballpoint, pencil, rollerball, and fountain pen equally well. That’s what I like— I don’t have to do a mental check about my pen/paper pairing, because everything works. Everything looks great. Everything FEELS great when you’re writing on this stuff.

I’ve since picked up a couple of Circa Vivacious Notebooks. I’ll put one to use as a journal because having the ability to easily move and re-arrange pages is so appealing.

So, though I sometimes feel like I’m channeling my inner Aunt Matilda, I think I’m completely justified in hoarding this Vivacious paper.

I’m not worrying until there’s a goat path.