When I knew I was going on furlough for an extended length of time, the temptation was to attempt a “Summer of George.” You know, from Seinfeld: George is between jobs and makes plans to accomplish great things, only he ends up glued to the couch within a few days of his announcement, accomplishing nothing. My goals were more modest: eat a little more healthy, move more, learn some programming every day. And my modest goals have been achieved consistently: first thing in the morning I get in a couple miles of walking, and before lunch I complete a lesson from a programming book. Today was my first day back from furlough, and I now realize that the total absence of what is work was the greatest gain of all.
I had set my alarm for an hour earlier in order to continue to accomplish my exercise and education goals. Last night, knowing I had to go into work, it took longer than normal to fall asleep. I also woke up 15 minutes before my alarm was set, so already I’m starting the day with a sleep deficit.
Because I was sleep-deprived, I walked at half speed and didn’t realize it until midway through my walk. I picked up my pace to finish. But it meant that I didn’t have as much time to ice down the swelling on my knee and I was completely SOL on getting in a programming lesson.
Driving into work I was focused on all of the potential negative scenarios to deal with, adding stress before I even got to work. Arriving at work, you’re hyper focused on all the protocols to avoid getting COVID-19. Seeing people wearing masks at work is unsettling, even if necessary.
All this before I’ve even turned on my computer.