Working from home
When I began teaching remotely, it was to accomodate my children's schedules and to spend more time with them. I often find that the contrary is true. Rather than spending quality time with my youngest son (pre-K), I find that he is often frustrated because "Mommy has to work." We've tried schedule variations, but he feels left out because his brother and all the other kids go to school on the bus and he stays home alone with me, and my time has to include my teaching load and my housework. Challenging!
Finishing all the work I have to do on campus makes me feel more productive, but this strategy is terrible when combined with evening classes. I have left campus at 11:30P.M. and later when I needed to finish clerical tasks and grading. My evening classes end at 9:30P.M. Fortunately, I have tried to not schedule anything that demands too much of my attention the next morning.
I try to do all my work at work as well. But there always seems that there is more to do. To do list have really helped me out.
I refused to install my teaching/work software on my home computer. That way i HAVE to get everything done on campus. It makes me more productive at work when I know I can't put it off to do at home. And it has allowed me to have less stressful time at home.
I have found that work can completely consume my life. There is always planning, grading, communicating that must be done. I have learned that people will take as much as you allow them to; setting boundaries is the key to a balanced life.
I CAN HONESTLY SAY, i DO MAJORITY OF MY WORK AT WORK SO WHEN i DO GET HOME i WILL NOT BE DISTRACTED. i ALSO WANT TO HAVE THAT TIME ASIDE FOR MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
That sounds like a big challenge Jenny. Yes, when we take on positions that involve telecommuting, we've got to set reasonable expectations with ourselves and others. When we are working remotely, we are still very much working. Sometimes, we must focus even more attention on our remote work when trying to communicate asynchronously with our coworkers and students.
