I don’t have anything to offer you on working from home.

Well, I have this book on the subject that some friends wrote to recommend, but that’s about it.

No, what I’m here to tell you is that there is no “one simple trick” for working from home amidst a black swan of a pandemic flu, while your community is crumbling amid the weight of late capitalism’s failure to provide basic safety nets.

The tips that I have are:

• Put your own mask on first. You have to care for yourself first. If you can’t function, you can’t help anyone else.
• Take breaks. Lots of them if you have to. Get up and walk around. Take a walk at lunch. Go Outside.
• It’s okay to miss your pre-pandemic life and schedule. I do. Every day.
• It’s okay to change everything you’re doing.
• It’s okay to change nothing you’re doing.
• It’s okay to clear backlog.
• It’s okay to just maintain.

Nothing about now is normal, this isn’t some perfect downtime. Don’t feel pressure to pick up a skill, learn to play the flute, or reinvent everything you’ve been doing. This is a time for us all to focus on everything we’re doing to survive, help others survive, and push through.