Michael Braun's Blog

My first week of school wasn’t as blissful as I had expected it to be. That’s not to say I would rather be somewhere else, but more to note that there are some stark contrasts between being in school and being in the workplace. The adjustments that I had to make (and am currently making) were tougher than I had expected. Had I not taken a couple of years off to work, I don’t think the change would have been as noticeable.

Here’s what’s different.

1. No More Work/Personal Time Distinction.
One of the more clearly evident differences I felt when going from college to work was that, when I got home after work, I didn’t have to think about work any longer. I was able to build a wall between those two aspects of my life. This wall was built even stronger when I got flack at work for writing certain things on my personal blog. My employer seemed to be saying, “hey, keep work out of your personal life!” I was happy to oblige by keeping even more of a separation between the two.

But that wall is now eroding. When I look at how much I have to do and try to schedule it in, I realize that if I work out in the mornings, I need time in the evenings for school work. And on days when I have class from 9-5, I need to get ready for the next day by taking traditional non-work time and using it differently. I’m working for myself now, as well as the University, and that means that I can’t keep such a large wall assembled.

2. Dual Roles – Student and Teacher.
At work, I did a variety of tasks, but never once did I have to consider myself in two different roles. For example, I was never an employee and a customer. This meant very little mental juggling on how to act. I only needed to think of myself as an employee. I did what I was asked and little more. Overall, it is a pretty simple life.

But with school, I’m now an instructor for a course and a student in four others. I have to change my mindset to switch between the two. It’s possible that with a little time, I can reconcile those two frames, but for now, they seem very different. I go from my professional behavior to my student behavior. Even though the two aren’t very different in outward action, I have very different expectations for myself. Whereas I can agree to merely skim a reading as a student, I feel compelled to very carefully read something as an instructor. It’s hard to switch between the two, however, meaning at times I feel a bit overworked!

3. Workspaces.
One of the easy ways to make a distinction between work and personal life was the physical spaces that defined both roles. For most of my time at my former employer, I was not even capable of checking my work email while at home (there was no web portal, and I refused to install the software necessary to connect to my work computer from home). That meant that my desk at home was for personal work; my desk at work was for work.

Now, I find myself in a variety of workspaces, none with clear definition. For example, as I write this, I am sitting in the Wisconsin Historical Society Reading Room. 15 minutes ago, I was reading an introduction to the main focuses of Social Research. When I finish this, I’ll start reading a chapter in the persuasion textbook we use for the class I’m instructing. Three different kinds of work being performed at the exact same space! When I get home, I’ll do school work as well. Any physical distinction has been eliminated.

I don’t expect this period of adjustment to last more than a semester. After all, I’m pretty well committed to doing this for at least a couple of years. And I’m really not in any hurry to get back out into the “real world.” But adjusting has definitely been harder than I thought it would be. It’s strange to be working for so many different people and organizations – myself, my students, my professors, and my future. How can one slave serve so many masters? That sounds like another frame of reference I need to adjust.