By Aaliyah Moore
Let’s settle down…
I’ve honestly lost count of how many weeks I’ve been in the house now due to quarantine. This time in the house has done a number on me, both good and bad. From a work standpoint, I’ll admit that I haven’t enjoyed working from home. Being a student affairs professional, the majority of my role consists of engaging with students every day so that’s certainly been minimized these days.
Of course, I’m not the only one whose work has been altered due to COVID-19, and I recognize it’s a lot for all of us to manage. I saw a post a few days ago on social media that disturbed me a little. It read, “If you don’t come out of this quarantine with a new skill, your side hustle started, or more knowledge, you never lacked time, you lacked discipline.”I say, whatever you’re using this time for is certainly your prerogative because this pandemic is affecting us all in different ways. If you’re using this time to develop new habits, that’s great. But it’s also fine if you’re using this time to rest and tend to your mental health.
It has also been unsettling how productive my job has been trying to make us be during this time. These calendar invitations and email after email have gotten out of hand. I understand the importance of working ahead to prepare for the fall semester, but my goodness! We are right in the middle of a global pandemic! And while there’s been much concern about how our students are coping with and adapting to all these sudden transitions, I think it’s equally important to consider how we as professionals are doing, too.
The goal is certainly not to fall behind, but we can really chill with being overly productive. After all, it’s really difficult to put out quality work when we aren’t our best selves. We’re not working under normal conditions. Please do not forget that.
Aaliyah Moore is a contributing writer for the Pedestal Project, LLC. Aaliyah enjoys spending time with her family and is a lover of food, writing, and Quartet Gospel music. She is a higher education professional and loves the impact she gets to make in the lives of college students, every day. You can follow her on Instagram @aaliyah.m.moore.
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