“To walk a thorny road, we may cover its every inch with leather or we can make sandals.” -- Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence
This quote really hits home as we all struggle to get used to the new normal that the coronavirus has brought upon us all.
Some of us are suddenly working from home, something we’ve never tried before.
Others have been working home for a while now. But suddenly all our neighbors are home, as well!
For the first-timers at this working from home stuff, I refer you to a great article I read about this in the Washington Post several years ago:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2016/04/17/how-to-make-it-work-when-your-apartment-is-also-your-office/
And for everyone trying to cope with all this new work environment, the most important thing to remember is that we’re all in this together.
A few additional points for us all to consider:
- If you tend to be a heavy walker and you live in the apartment upstairs, perhaps try wearing those big fuzzy slippers that your wife gave you for Christmas? And try walking more softly.
- If you like to play your music or your TV at a number 10 on the remote, how about trying it at a 5? Or even a 3? Better yet, use headphones.
- Loud talking can drive your neighbors over the edge, as well. Could we all try to speak more softly out of respect for those around us?
- That DIY project you decided to work on? Now? In the middle of a pandemic? Don’t you think it could wait? That hammering upstairs really makes it hard for me to concentrate on my work.
- If you are sensitive to a lot of noise, it could be tough going for a while, I’m afraid. I don’t want to sound flippant, but I think it’s time to invest in some good earplugs or, better yet, a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
This is going to be a rough road for all of us for the foreseeable future. Let’s all figure out how to make sandals, shall we?