scijessreads

Over the years, I’ve found that I am not one that can get a lot of work done at home. The pandemic years solidified that aspect of my personality. I need separation between work and home. I spent years of grad school, my post-doc, and my first teaching job letting them get intertwined, and it only led me to burnout and resenting my job. I finally learned that I need work space, home space, and time to not feel like I had to always be doing something work-related. This actually ties in to my “boundaries” post from the other week.

These days, when I do need to get “work” done when I’m not in the office, I’ve learned to go to a coffee shop. Or the library. This is a habit that I actually started in college and grad school. I would get so much more done in a neutral space than I would at home. Less distractions. The white noise of music and people chatting in the background became something that helped me focus on the work, and I would always be more productive than if I had tried to tough it out at home. Because at home there were always chores to do and pets to give scritches to and a TV and pretty much everything but work. My apartment was never so clean as when I was avoiding working on my thesis in grad school.

These days, I seek out local places when I do have to work or write that are not my home. It helps me focus and keep those elusive boundaries in place. At least somewhat. It’s a work in progress.

Most of them are coffee shops and cafes. Merit, Flower in Flour, Bakery Lorraine, Coffee + Culture, Bird Bakery, and Laika Cheescakes are some of my favorites. I’ve also used Local Coffee and Nowhere Bookshop and my local branch of the library as other places to hang out with the laptop. When I spend money of food or coffee to support my local places, I feel like I have to be productive and get stuff done. I can get more done in 3 hours at a cafe than I can all day in the office. No one is walking by my door and asking questions, and I don’t get distracted by random things that come across my desk.

It may not be the cheapest way to deal with it, but it works for me.