[Wactclc-primo] tips for staying organized at home?

[Guidry, Wade]

Amy,

Yes, this COVID-19 event seems to be putting additional stress on everyone, with all of the reorienting of both the work day and the work output to online, remote modes of production.

And yes, I probably get a bit of a comparative advantage, since I haven't really had to reorient myself in the same way. I do remember when I first started telecommuting, which began with this job. That first morning at 8am, for several weeks after that, I felt like "OK, it's 8am, what the he*&%l do I do now?" :)

Honestly, for tracking, I tend to rely a lot on email and memory. That's one reason I appreciate the use of listservs rather than direct mail, because it serves as more of a permanent record.

And, like Kirsti Thomas at Seattle, I'm a *big* fan of Microsoft OneNote. I actually track a lot of stuff via OneNote. Especially things that occur over time. OneNote is probably the most concrete advice I have.

Another thing I tend to do is work on the hardest or most complex activities when I'm feeling the most engaged and mentally alert.

One nice thing about working at home, I find, is that the day is "longer", in the sense that you may experience less "sunk cost" time, since you're not having to move from one place to another, experience fewer casual or unintended interrupts, figure out lunch logistics, or even having to get cleaned up and dressed :). That's a double-edged sword, though. Since those things also provide a structure to the day. And help solidify the feeling of being in "work" mode.

But, the advantage... with that extra feeling of time, I feel like I end up with more opportunity to work on things that best suit my current mental mood. Sometimes that's less-engaged busy or rote work. Sometimes it's the deeper thinking, problem solving stuff.

Those are some thoughts I can offer.


Wade Guidry
WACTCLC
Library Consortium Services Manager
wadeg at bigbend.edu<mailto:wadeg at bigbend.edu>
http://www.wactclc.org<http://www.wactclc.org/>
509.760.4474

Pronouns: he/him/his


From: Wactclc-primo [mailto:wactclc-primo-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Herman, Amy
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 12:25 PM
To: 'WACTCLC Alma Discussion' <wactclc-alma at lists.ctc.edu>; WACTCLC Primo discussions <wactclc-primo at lists.ctc.edu>
Subject: [Wactclc-primo] tips for staying organized at home?


Wade (and others?),



Since you are a pro at working from home, can you give those of us new to it any tips for staying organized with all the influx of requests and tasks that we need to accomplish, away from our usual resources?  I'm feeling overwhelmed and my usual paper to-do list probably isn't going to cut it!


Amy Herman, Library Faculty

Olympic College

Bremerton, WA

(360) 475-7256

aherman at olympic.edu<mailto:aherman at olympic.edu>
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