I know it appears that way recently, and it actually illustrates a point I've been wanting to make and which has come up again recently. It seems that people who have what we might consider "traditional" lives (aka working a five-day-a-week job) don't understand that we who have "nontraditional" lives (aka schedule of our own making/non-standard hours) are often just as busy as they are.
There's an assumption that because you can make your own schedule that you have a lot of free time or can really easily reschedule things. The truth is that frequently, because we make our own schedules, we've done a little Tetris to ensure we get the work done so all the hours fit together in a nice neat package. The fact that I'm writing this post right now means that I'm pushing off another task, which will need to be attended to and which may mean that I'm working late.
Let me just outline what's been going on in my life since the beginning of the year. I've taken multiple trips - one family-related, one activism-related, one writing-related, and one hockey-related. While they're definitely not all "work," there's something to be valued in each of them.
I've had three pieces of writing published; my most recent one went live yesterday and was an opportunity netted from an announcement about the other two. (I failed to mention the short story publication here - but you can still check it out). I've also written two new short stories and submitted my short story collection to a number of publishers.
There's also the fact that the art collective of which I'm a part, Shake-n-Make, has two major shows this year; one opening in late August and the other opening in November. Both are labour-intensive, and we've been working on finessing the details of installation as well as material considerations. This requires not only physical labour but meetings and various email communications. All of this takes time.
This is in addition to my teaching, which is considered a full-time load for tenured faculty but not necessarily for sessional/adjuncts, and my volunteer work (delivering library books to those who can't get to the library once a month), which actually requires that I schedule at least an hour with one of my clients.
I know this sounds a tad defensive, and it is. Why lie? But I also think it's important for all of our friends and family to understand that while I may be sitting in my pajamas as I type this (which I am, and it's almost 11am), I've been working for a few hours already, and I've scheduled the work of my day (this blog post, as noted, excluded). Don't let the wardrobe or nontraditional schedule fool you. There's a schedule; there is work.
Okay, I got that off my chest. I feel better now. Back to work.
There's an assumption that because you can make your own schedule that you have a lot of free time or can really easily reschedule things. The truth is that frequently, because we make our own schedules, we've done a little Tetris to ensure we get the work done so all the hours fit together in a nice neat package. The fact that I'm writing this post right now means that I'm pushing off another task, which will need to be attended to and which may mean that I'm working late.
Let me just outline what's been going on in my life since the beginning of the year. I've taken multiple trips - one family-related, one activism-related, one writing-related, and one hockey-related. While they're definitely not all "work," there's something to be valued in each of them.
I've had three pieces of writing published; my most recent one went live yesterday and was an opportunity netted from an announcement about the other two. (I failed to mention the short story publication here - but you can still check it out). I've also written two new short stories and submitted my short story collection to a number of publishers.
There's also the fact that the art collective of which I'm a part, Shake-n-Make, has two major shows this year; one opening in late August and the other opening in November. Both are labour-intensive, and we've been working on finessing the details of installation as well as material considerations. This requires not only physical labour but meetings and various email communications. All of this takes time.
This is in addition to my teaching, which is considered a full-time load for tenured faculty but not necessarily for sessional/adjuncts, and my volunteer work (delivering library books to those who can't get to the library once a month), which actually requires that I schedule at least an hour with one of my clients.
I know this sounds a tad defensive, and it is. Why lie? But I also think it's important for all of our friends and family to understand that while I may be sitting in my pajamas as I type this (which I am, and it's almost 11am), I've been working for a few hours already, and I've scheduled the work of my day (this blog post, as noted, excluded). Don't let the wardrobe or nontraditional schedule fool you. There's a schedule; there is work.
Okay, I got that off my chest. I feel better now. Back to work.
