As I roll into week two of working remotely, I feel like I’m falling into more of a routine. But I have to admit, the weekend had me a bit stymied. With all activities cancelled, one day looks the same as the next, so should I just go ahead and follow the same day-to-day schedule through the weekend too? Or is that just a recipe for burnout? (In fairness, I have a tendency to work on the weekends, whether I’ve been told to work remotely or not, so it’s not much of a stretch for me, but I have to say, when I woke up on Saturday, it felt like just another day of the week, not the weekend.) When you’re working from home, do you have strategies for disambiguating your work life from the rest of your life?
Our remote classes began today. I haven’t heard any horror stories yet, other than the recordings taking a bit longer than usual to render and be made available. Strange though the circumstances may be, it feels good to get back to some kind of normal, with students (virtually) back in class, programming resuming (via Zoom), and all of our eyes set on finishing out the semester. As frustrating as working remotely can be, as isolating as it is, I can’t help but feel inspired. We have all been thrust into this unprecedented situation, and rather than accept defeat, everyone’s rising to the challenge, finding new ways to stay connected, maintain community. Student groups and offices are hosting social media challenges (I love the hashtag IUZoomington!), and it makes me want to join in too. The Law Library certainly has many plans for serving our patrons remotely. Planned workshops for the spring are moving to an online format, and I’ve reached out to a number of vendors to get temporary online access to The Bluebook, West Academic Study Aids, Wolters Kluwer Study Aids, and more. But what else can we do? A library, after all, is so much more than a building. I’ve got some ideas rattling around in my over-stimulated brain, so I’ll be sure to report back as these new initiatives take full form. But for tonight, I’m glad to have the Maurer community back together, however far apart we may actually be, and I’m excited to see how we wrap up this decidedly unusual semester.
Meanwhile, my new coworker is living his best life, and loving this work-from-home thing. Stay healthy!
lawbrarianship 