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In theory, summer is a time to slow down. When I was a classroom teacher, I looked forward to my 'summers off.' Then and now, however, summer seems full. Maybe it's the romantic narrative it gets through the rest of the year and so we delay some of the more desirable activities and rhythms, but it always seems like by the time summer arrives, my plate is full trying to catch up on all the things I've put off. And by the time I feel "caught up" and ready to finally relax, there are only a handful of days before it's back to the usual fall routines.
This summer, I'm taking a summer course (Intro to SAS programming), a Project Management Professional prep course, helping on-board three new team members at work, wrapping three consecutive months with a conference, and, oh yeah, trying to run my normal life and hoping to sneak in fun things like golf and baseball. (Amanda is legit a saint for putting up with me.)
If could give one piece of advice, more for myself than anything, it would be to schedule time for yourself. Put it on your calendar. Add blocks of time to your day that are 'meetings with yourself.' If someone else wants access to that time, "sorry, I can't, I have a meeting." This is a practice that has worked well for me in the past and I need to get back into it. While there's still some daylight left to enjoy...
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What I'm Reading
Eric Klinenberg
The central thesis is that we vastly underestimate the power of social infrastructure. We are running headlong into personalized futures that are largely devoid of the kinds of situations where we must negotiate how to interact (peaceably) with others. We're abandoning public transit for rideshare (though we often aren't actually sharing the ride...), public libraries for bookstores for Amazon (the irony of the link above notwithstanding), and public parks for gym memberships for in-home gym equipment.
This is thoroughly-researched and provides really incredible examples of how public spaces quietly but persistently shape our lives and how statistics related to crime, education, addiction, and even climate change are affected by public social infrastructure. Ahead of what will surely be a tame 2020 </eyeroll> it might be a good idea to have some insight into what actually does have the ability to bring us together.
Quotes
"Even the Internet, which was supposed to deliver unprecedented cultural diversity ad democratic communication, has become an echo chamber where people see and hear what they already believe."
"In a world where we spend ever more of our time staring at screens, blocking out even our most intimate and proximate human contacts, public institutions with open-door policies compel us to pay close attention to people nearby. After all, places like libraries are saturated with strangers, people whose bodies are different, whose styles are different, who make different sounds, speak different languages, give off different, sometimes noxious, smells. Spending time in public social infrastructures requires learning to deal with these differences in a civil manner."
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Just for fun:
A guy who can hit a golf ball 445 yards shows you what happens when he uses an indoor simulator.
Disclaimer: I did begin an Amazon affiliate program for my book links. On the off-chance folks are buying the books, I recommend, the idea is to use the referral money to pay for my URLs and to (eventually) upgrade my website. If you are offended by this practice, open a separate tab, google the book title, and order from whatever service you choose. Or, better yet, check out your local library and ask if they'll get it for you.
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Like what you're reading? Share it with a friend!
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