On Motion

The title of this post is on motion, but it could have just as easily be called toxic culture of productivity, let me explain. I did a lot of work this week. In fact on reflection I did the amount of work that is probably impossible to do in a week, but somehow it got done, and I am not sure how that happened. And when I have weeks like that, which happen every once in a while it often gives me pause and though I am happy that I got done what I got done, weeks like this also make me sad. 

The sadness comes from a misalignment in values. I am always someone who reinforces that it is important that folk acknowledge, articulate, and live their boundaries. It is important in Higher Ed that we remember that being in academe in whatever ways we are in, are just one of the parts of our whole selves we bring to a space. There is a whole bunch of other responsibilities, care of others or self, and being in our communities that exist simultaneously to work or school or school work that has to be done. This is often difficult to remember, especially about students in classes, especially at the crunch time at the end of the semester when exams are on the horizon and grades are due.

I had a long list of things that I needed to get done by Thursday evening and this hustle started last Saturday. And some of the reasons we end up with lists that are longer is because some of the tasks require reflection and deep thought to finish. The last thing on this list was writing this blog in fact. I wanted to try to get this written a few days ago. Instead here I am writing it on Sunday morning, very early in bed, because of motion. You see sometimes when you are in hyper focus, trying to get all the things off the list done, the things that require more thought or reflection will be the things that are left for last. And what  requires more or less thought or energy is very individual, and yet our systems wrongly assume that this is the same for everyone. Going in and plugging numbers and letting the machine do the rest (like doing your taxes) was one of my lower brain energy tasks this week, but for others I know that would be an extremely high brain energy task. 

This blog took this long to get to because my brain could not stop spinning from all the other things it did this week, and I needed it to slow down a bit so I could eek out some reflection so the words I am stringing together here were meaningful. This is also another reason why extreme checking things off lists weeks make me sad. Because it often takes me a longer time to then reset and do the deep thinking that is needed for a task like writing a biweekly blog.

We often don't factor in that reset time, that need to acknowledge the motion, and then change the kind of motion needed, in the way we frame our asks or set deadlines. Like how we schedule back to back meetings with no breaks in the middle, folk simply cannot bounce from task to task without factoring in time to switch modes. There is a neurotypicality that is foundational to the belief that there is no need for a lead up and down time for a meeting or an ask. 

We also don't think about the kinds of responsibilities and life asks that folk could have going on when we set deadlines. For example we are in the midst of holidays and observances for many religions right now and yet I can readily think of at least three highish profile conferences and journals that have today as the deadline for submissions.

I wish that we had more conversations about that lead up but more so the down time needed between asks, meetings, and events. The perpetual motion, the productivity expectations of the spaces we are in makes a lot of assumptions about the person in motion and that person's bodymind. It also often fails to take into account a holistic understanding how each bodymind that is part of a project will work at a pace that is meaningful to them, and will need supports that are meaningful to them to achieve milestones. 

Resets are difficult and space needs to be planned for them. I hope that some of you get time to do that reset this weekend. I hope some of you get the support you may need to get to that reset - be it a distraction, be it a resource to start or shift a thought or project. It is important to frame Newton's First Law for neurodivergent folk, so whether you are staying in motion (in whatever ways your bodymind stays in motion) or staying at rest this Sunday, remember our motions do not all appear in the same ways.