One Thing At a Time

I am back at work - with TWO interns again - trying to get myself accustomed to working with company in a modified schedule where my job responsibilities have shifted yet again. Don't get me wrong, now. I am so glad that things have progressed to the point where we are able to open up our facility to volunteers (like my interns) and to family members of our clients (who visit in the outside areas of our facility at the moment), but it signifies another significant change in how we do things.

I am not a person who does well with significant and immediate change.

When I have to figure out changes in my own life, I take some time to weigh the pros and cons of the situation, consider as many options as possible, and then I make my change. Once I make a decision, I rarely second guess it because I feel like I have considered as much as I can and can move forward on a path that works for me.

This pandemic has shattered my ability to make choices for myself - mainly because it was not personal, it was global. I didn't have a choice in whether I would be the only therapist at my facility for the last two months. I had to shut down my internship the way I have always run it! So - change. My foundation shifted, and I figured out a way to make it work. There was no choice involved. The change had to happen immediately.

I have been at work for only one day now. There are many things that have changed in that amount of time. I am still only allowed on campus for 4 hours a day, but I now have two interns who are there with me. This means that I cannot really get the work that I could do when I was alone done in the same time frame. It also means that other types of work are no longer my focus, but it does mean that I have to figure out another "new" way of getting things accomplished.

Right now, I am relying on my lists. Man, am I relying on my lists. I have so many little things that I need to get done. Split the columns on one file. Add designators to another file. Consolidate documentation in a way that allows people to access it in a meaningful manner that does not violate our confidentiality responsibilities under HIPAA and FERPA. There are also things on my list that are the usual things - laundry, dishes, running errands that are not part of my work, but that take time and planning. In addition, I will be attending the MAR online conference this weekend, so I will not have as much time to do other things as I usually do.

It feels like my responsibilities have tripled with the changes that occurred yesterday.

So, one thing at a time. I still have about an hour before I need to leave for work, so I can start the dishwasher and get that chore off my list. I am going to save the documentation changes for after school. They won't take long, and I can then update them on our shared Google Drive so my intern can start using it. I have to plan when I am going to take my showers and when I am going to play in my craft room based on the fact that I will be very busy this weekend, but I will take some time for relaxation when I can find it.

One thing at a time. The dishes have started. I can cross that off my list. This is a good start to my day, so I will head off to work with a small feeling of accomplishment.

One thing at a time.