Kelly and I have been working from home for over nine weeks now. The IHS office has been closed for eight, which is roughly how long most statewide shelter-in-place / stay-at-home orders have been in effect.
Here’s what a typical day looks like for me:
- Wake up and spend time with Henry
- Drop Henry off at daycare
- Go for a run
- Work
- Do yoga & eat lunch or eat lunch & read
- Work
- Pick up Henry
- Spend time with Henry
- Henry’s bed time
- Dinner and a TV show with Kelly
- Read / play a videogame / write some code
- Bed
In the beginning I was largely goofing off. There was a lot more videogaming and a lot less reading or running. After about two weeks I tried to mentally shift from a short-term vacation from reality to a longer-term attempt at normality.
For me, this is more or less working fine. I don’t mean to brag. Kelly & I are lucky to not only be gainfully employed but have a childcare provider still able to operate. I understand there are people whose lives are being absolutely destroyed under lockdown. I want us to return to normal as soon as possible. But given the situation we are in, I’m glad to have built a routine that works for me.
Even if Virginia lifted all restrictions tomorrow, I anticipate following this schedule for months voluntarily. I would not be surprised if I’m not in the IHS office again until 2021.
I’ve been meaning to write more during this period, both to document what it’s like for posterity and because I (in theory) have the time. I plan to write about:
- My thoughts on the lockdown policies
- Running
- What I’ve been reading