“Back to School”

I always see transitions in life as opportunities – a chance to start something new, make changes, revise plans, routines, etc. The “back to school” transition in September has stayed with me my whole life as the best timing for this, even though it has been a long time since I was at school.

This September, my youngest daughter is starting university, and staying at home. A lot of young adults and families are in this same situation. And because of COVID, other family members are also working from home. In our house, we now require three “work-from-home” stations. For some, you may need more…

I am a firm believer in separating study/work areas from sleep areas, although I do recognize that this may not be possible for some. However, in order to try to maintain this separation, we are re-thinking the use of different rooms in our home. I have realized that, in our particular case, we spend about 95% of our waking, non-working time in our kitchen-family room. The dining room and the living room are used so in-frequently, that they are obvious choices, for us, to create some additional work/study stations.

Other under-utilized parts of the house might be an upper landing, basement (with a window!), guest room if you are lucky enough to have one. Do a slow walk through your home and think about where you spend your time, and where you don’t, as a start for what areas might work in your case.

Things to consider when making a decision about alternative work areas:

-what acoustic barriers are needed, if any, to make this new space work during a zoom call or online live lecture?

-what are the electric outlet sources for computers, additional lighting, and any other power needs?

-how often and how easily can you “pack-up” if needed so that you can still use the space for its original use – crazy idea, but say you have an indoor dinner party and the space you are using, as in our case, is the dining room?

I hope your transitions are successful and aligned with your life goals. As always, I am here to help if you need some advice or support on how best to use the spaces that you have. I wish you all a great September!