Technology is great…except when you are wired into your office 24/7. It’s my fault, really. I’m am enabler. Years of playing “whack-a-mole” the minute an e-mail come in from management “off-hours” just to prove that I’m paying attention, has trained them well.
Let me back up for a second. If you are here to see my sculptures, this rant might confuse you, but stay with me. It will circle back to art. You see, I have a day-job that is equally important to me. I head up the marketing department of a small private college, Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
For almost a decade I have followed the same morning routine. Wake up. Feed the cats. Drink some coffee. Check my work e-mail. It made me feel oh-so-responsible and STRESSED. The e-mails never stop, and I started my day feeling the weight of everything on my shoulders.
For the past two weeks, I have switched up the routine. Instead of logging in at 6 a.m., I JUST DON’T LOOK. To replace the sickening feeling of withdrawal, I pick up some clay. For about a half hour each morning, I’ve worked on a tiny bit of a creative project. Sculpting was usually something I put off until the weekend when my mind was clear, but this new routine is working wonders for both my morale and my output.
Full discloser: As I typed this blog post on my laptop, a text popped up on my phone from my boss giving me a heads up on something. I paused to respond to her and then turned back to you all. Forgive me for the backslide 🙁