I’ve always believed that it’s possible to make time for things that are important to you, no matter the situation, which means I am finding time to write these days. Even with my school work and home duties, there are small blocks of time that I can carve out for my novel, or an essay, or my newsletter, The Joyful Creative. But there are many days that I still struggle to write. The problem isn’t the time. The problem is my laptop.

Before the quarantine, my laptop was almost entirely for writing. I brought it to school, but only so I could write during my lunch break. My school work stayed on my work computers. I didn’t even check my school email on my laptop if I could avoid it. I spent most of my day off the computer and on my feet, teaching in real life.

Now my laptop is used for EVERYTHING. Google Meets, Google Classroom, my giant to-do list for work, my work email. I always have multiple browser tabs open, and only some of them are writing-related. Most are research or lesson plans or articles about structuring band in a COVID-19 world. It’s all on one screen, and I have to look at it constantly.

Jennifer Senior wrote a New York Times article this week about the challenges of working from home with young kids in proximity and its interference on parents’ ability to find flow. Flow is the state of mental synchronicity that allows us to get into a rhythm while doing a project, and it has been found to be an important predictor of happiness.

I thought the article was interesting, but haven’t actually found this to be the case. I can still get into a flow state and even do deep creative work as long as my husband and I are trading off parenting duty. That means we each get at least 1.5 hours in the morning to work at our desks undisturbed. Sometimes I spend those 1.5 hours on Google Meets, but I often get that time in the morning too, when I write or work before the kids wake up. It’s all about having a flexible schedule and clear co-parenting expectations.

What’s more distracting than my kids is everything on my laptop. Now that all of my work is in one place, it’s really tempting to check my email or Google Classroom even while I’m writing. It niggles at me, and can break my focus. I burn out on both activities– writing and teaching– more quickly.

I can’t wait until my laptop can just be for writing and personal use again. Maybe I’ll even get a new one to commemorate the end of the quarantine. This one is starting to show its age.

How have your other interests and hobbies been affected by the way you now work?